Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12933
Decision Date: June 19, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Maria Papadogiannis
Student Email: 22xws3@queensu.ca
Course: KNPE 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Brendon Gurd
Course: HLTH 230
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Jeffrey Lalonde
Course: ANAT 316
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Diane Tomalty
Dear Maria Papadogiannis:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2023 Fall term and for Credit Standing in KNPE 125 (W24), HLTH 230 (F24), and ANAT 316 (W25). I was sorry to read about the family and health-related extenuating circumstances that you reported within your petition letter, and I appreciate your openness in sharing this context, as well as your willingness to seek support. After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant your petition. I want to emphasize that this decision is based on the guidelines outlined in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Petition and Appeal Regulations.
Regarding your request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the Fall 2023 term, students in the Faculty of Arts and Science must petition for CR standing in a course within one year of the end of the term in which the course was offered. Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.5.2 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. Furthermore, the regulation states that a petition 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. Unfortunately, your petition request did not include documentation demonstrating that you were unable to act within the one-year window available to petition courses from the Fall 2023 term. As a result, I’m unable to approve this part of your request.
Regarding your requests for Credit Standing in KNPE 125 (W24), HLTH 230 (F24), and ANAT 316 (W25), Academic Regulation 10.3.2 (https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/academic-regulations/) specifies that CR is normally granted only only when a student’s grade is C or lower. Your grades in HLTH 230 (F24) and ANAT 316 (W25) are therefore too high for CR to be an appropriate option. Furthermore, Academic Petition and Appeal regulation 1.1explains that petitions are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances that would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision, and that such petitions should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. Official documentation must clearly indicate ways in which the extenuating circumstances directly affected the student’s performance in terms of timing and impact, and should verify that these effects were substantial enough to cause the academic problem. In other words, the petitions and appeals process is intended to account for unforeseeable and extraordinary circumstances that affect a student’s academic performances; it is not intended to remedy circumstances that are more appropriately dealt with by Academic Consideration or Accommodations.
While I recognize that you’ve been facing real challenges, your petition did not include documentation from a professional to confirm impacts to your academic performance in these specific courses. Additionally, your academic record shows that you were able to maintain strong grades in some courses during these terms; this suggests a level of academic resilience that’s commendable, but it also makes it more difficult to demonstrate a clear and direct academic impact only in the courses that you’ve requested Credit Standing in.
I understand that this outcome may feel disappointing, and I truly empathize with how difficult it can be to navigate personal challenges while pursuing your studies. 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, but only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
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 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.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Decision Date: June 19, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Maria Papadogiannis
Student Email: 22xws3@queensu.ca
Course: KNPE 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. Brendon Gurd
Course: HLTH 230
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Jeffrey Lalonde
Course: ANAT 316
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Diane Tomalty
Dear Maria Papadogiannis:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2023 Fall term and for Credit Standing in KNPE 125 (W24), HLTH 230 (F24), and ANAT 316 (W25). I was sorry to read about the family and health-related extenuating circumstances that you reported within your petition letter, and I appreciate your openness in sharing this context, as well as your willingness to seek support. After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant your petition. I want to emphasize that this decision is based on the guidelines outlined in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Petition and Appeal Regulations.
Regarding your request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the Fall 2023 term, students in the Faculty of Arts and Science must petition for CR standing in a course within one year of the end of the term in which the course was offered. Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.5.2 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. Furthermore, the regulation states that a petition 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. Unfortunately, your petition request did not include documentation demonstrating that you were unable to act within the one-year window available to petition courses from the Fall 2023 term. As a result, I’m unable to approve this part of your request.
Regarding your requests for Credit Standing in KNPE 125 (W24), HLTH 230 (F24), and ANAT 316 (W25), Academic Regulation 10.3.2 (https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/academic-regulations/) specifies that CR is normally granted only only when a student’s grade is C or lower. Your grades in HLTH 230 (F24) and ANAT 316 (W25) are therefore too high for CR to be an appropriate option. Furthermore, Academic Petition and Appeal regulation 1.1explains that petitions are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances that would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision, and that such petitions should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. Official documentation must clearly indicate ways in which the extenuating circumstances directly affected the student’s performance in terms of timing and impact, and should verify that these effects were substantial enough to cause the academic problem. In other words, the petitions and appeals process is intended to account for unforeseeable and extraordinary circumstances that affect a student’s academic performances; it is not intended to remedy circumstances that are more appropriately dealt with by Academic Consideration or Accommodations.
While I recognize that you’ve been facing real challenges, your petition did not include documentation from a professional to confirm impacts to your academic performance in these specific courses. Additionally, your academic record shows that you were able to maintain strong grades in some courses during these terms; this suggests a level of academic resilience that’s commendable, but it also makes it more difficult to demonstrate a clear and direct academic impact only in the courses that you’ve requested Credit Standing in.
I understand that this outcome may feel disappointing, and I truly empathize with how difficult it can be to navigate personal challenges while pursuing your studies. 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, but only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.
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 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.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Generated June 19, 2025 at 10:03:14 AM.