Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12745
Decision Date: March 10, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Meghann Elson
Student Email: 15me16@queensu.ca
Dear Meghann:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2017/2018, 2018/2019, and 2019/2020 academic years. I have carefully reviewed your petition and while I’m unable to grant all of your request, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 3.7.2 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that exceptions to the petition and appeal deadlines can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control render the student unable to submit a petition or appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated.
I was happy to see that you returned to your studies in the 2024 Fall term with academic success. As the documentation that you supplied attests to the need for accommodations as of September of 2019, I will grant your request to waive the petition deadline for the 2019/2020 academic year. I will also allow you to drop GNDS 212 (F19), FREN 150 (FW19/20), CLST 103 (W20), and DEVS 300 (W20) without having to submit a subsequent petition request. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
Regarding your request to waive the petition deadline for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic years, I acknowledge the circumstances that you experienced during your first two years of university as reported within your petition letter. I want to remind you that students can petition courses within 1 year of a term ended and these academic options are listed within the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar. As your petition did not include documentation to confirm that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from petitioning courses from these years before the deadline, I cannot grant your request. 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.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned about the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating it 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 this decision, information on the appeal process and deadlines is available at queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on “Second Level”). The Office of the University Ombudsperson offers guidance on student rights and procedural fairness at queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness, and they are also available to support you at queensu.ca/ombuds.
I hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: March 10, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Meghann Elson
Student Email: 15me16@queensu.ca
Dear Meghann:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2017/2018, 2018/2019, and 2019/2020 academic years. I have carefully reviewed your petition and while I’m unable to grant all of your request, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 3.7.2 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that exceptions to the petition and appeal deadlines can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control render the student unable to submit a petition or appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated.
I was happy to see that you returned to your studies in the 2024 Fall term with academic success. As the documentation that you supplied attests to the need for accommodations as of September of 2019, I will grant your request to waive the petition deadline for the 2019/2020 academic year. I will also allow you to drop GNDS 212 (F19), FREN 150 (FW19/20), CLST 103 (W20), and DEVS 300 (W20) without having to submit a subsequent petition request. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
Regarding your request to waive the petition deadline for the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic years, I acknowledge the circumstances that you experienced during your first two years of university as reported within your petition letter. I want to remind you that students can petition courses within 1 year of a term ended and these academic options are listed within the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar. As your petition did not include documentation to confirm that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from petitioning courses from these years before the deadline, I cannot grant your request. 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.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned about the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating it 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 this decision, information on the appeal process and deadlines is available at queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on “Second Level”). The Office of the University Ombudsperson offers guidance on student rights and procedural fairness at queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness, and they are also available to support you at queensu.ca/ombuds.
I hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated March 10, 2025 at 10:15:19 AM.