Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11935
Decision Date: September 3, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Harsheta Taneja
Student Email: 21ht29@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 206
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Jannice Friedman
Course: MICR 270
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Prameet Sheth
Course: PSYC 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Meredith Chivers
Course: BIOL 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Harsheta:
I have carefully considered your appeal request to drop MATH 121 (FW23/24) and BIOL 200 (W24) past the academic deadline and for Credit Standing in BIOL 206, MICR 270 and PSYC 236 (W24). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1 stress that petitions and appeals are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students’ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.
I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a difficult decision, however, I want you to know that I considered this request very thoroughly. In making this decision, I reviewed your petition letter, the additional information that you supplied via email dated June 11, the documentation that you supplied, your academic transcript and the information that I received from the instructors related to your individual grades in the courses that you’ve requested Credit Standing in.
I acknowledge the extenuating circumstances that you have been experiencing over the past year as reported within your petition letter. I have denied this request as the petition process is not meant to be used to manage chronic circumstances. The documentation that you supplied confirms the extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Summer, 2023 Fall and early 2024 Winter terms which suggests that you were aware of the impacts from this circumstance prior to the 2024 Winter term drop deadline.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes during week 7 of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by week 8 of term. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on “Board of Studies”). You may contact the Office of the University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: September 3, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Harsheta Taneja
Student Email: 21ht29@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 206
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Jannice Friedman
Course: MICR 270
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Prameet Sheth
Course: PSYC 236
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Meredith Chivers
Course: BIOL 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Harsheta:
I have carefully considered your appeal request to drop MATH 121 (FW23/24) and BIOL 200 (W24) past the academic deadline and for Credit Standing in BIOL 206, MICR 270 and PSYC 236 (W24). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1 stress that petitions and appeals are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students’ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student’s performance was significantly compromised by circumstances beyond their control.
I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a difficult decision, however, I want you to know that I considered this request very thoroughly. In making this decision, I reviewed your petition letter, the additional information that you supplied via email dated June 11, the documentation that you supplied, your academic transcript and the information that I received from the instructors related to your individual grades in the courses that you’ve requested Credit Standing in.
I acknowledge the extenuating circumstances that you have been experiencing over the past year as reported within your petition letter. I have denied this request as the petition process is not meant to be used to manage chronic circumstances. The documentation that you supplied confirms the extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Summer, 2023 Fall and early 2024 Winter terms which suggests that you were aware of the impacts from this circumstance prior to the 2024 Winter term drop deadline.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes during week 7 of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by week 8 of term. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on “Board of Studies”). You may contact the Office of the University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated September 3, 2024 at 9:06:43 AM.