Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 12820
Decision Date: March 31, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Stella Zed
Student Email: 22swz1@queensu.ca

Course: SOCY 122B
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: GNDS 120
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: FILM 111
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: ARTH 120B
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: ENGL 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: COGS 100
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Dear Stella Zed:

Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2023 Winter and 2023 Fall terms and to drop ARTH 120 (FW23/24), COGS 100, and ENGL 100 (S24). I have carefully reviewed your petition and while I’m unable to grant all of these requests, 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. An appeal of this type should include a presentation of the specific reasons for the delay and must include documents that support the reasons for this delay.

I will allow you to drop ARTH 120 (FW23/24), COGS 100, and ENGL 100 (S24) after the academic deadline as the documentation that you supplied confirms an unaccommodated disability during these terms. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.

I was sorry to read about the health-related extenuating circumstances that you reported within your petition letter. I understand how difficult this situation has been for you, and I was glad to see that you have been supported by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) since October of 2024, as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied.

Please know that students can petition courses within 1-year of a term ending and these academic options are outlined within the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar. I want to remind you of your previous petition request that was granted in January, 2023 related to dropping a course from the 2022 Fall term. As this petition request did not demonstrate an extenuating circumstance preventing you from submitting other petition requests within their 1-year deadline, I cannot grant your request.

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 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 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.

Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) or Rules of Procedure for USAB are Queen’s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.

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)