Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13178
Decision Date: June 19, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Shiv Parekh
Student Email: 22shp3@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 339
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CHEM 112
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BIOL 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request an extension of an exam deferral
Instructor: Dr. Tim Birt
Additional Information: Final deffered exam
Course: BIOL 206
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request an extension of an exam deferral
Instructor: Dr. Jannice Friedman
Additional Information: Deffered final exam
Course: PHGY 215
Term: Summer
Year: 2025
Category: Add a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Christopher Ward
Course: PHGY 216
Term: Summer
Year: 2025
Category: Add a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Christopher Ward
Dear Shiv Parekh,
Thank you for your petition requesting to drop BIOL 339 (F24) and CHEM 112 (FW24/25) after the academic deadline, to add PHGY 215 and PHGY 216 (S25) after the academic deadline, and for a Deferral of the final exams in BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25). 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 in reaching this decision.
I will grant your request to drop BIOL 339 (F24) and CHEM 112 (FW24/25) after the academic deadline due to the timeline and academic impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you provided within your Academic Consideration requests during the 2025 Winter term. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
Regarding your request to add PHGY 215 and PHGY 216 (S25), as you know, courses must be added on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The deadlines for adding courses have been established to provide sufficient time for students to obtain the relevant permission, determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload. I understand that you need to repeat these two courses; however, I want to remind you that you are already enrolled in 12.0 units for the summer term. As summer courses a typically condensed and fast-paced, it is not recommended that a student attempt more than 6.0 units at a time. I have therefore denied this part of your request as it is too late to add two more courses to an already heavy course load, especially since an instructor is not obligated to accommodate a student for missed work due to late enrolment.
Regarding your 2025 Winter term courses, I acknowledge the health-related circumstances that you described in your petition letter that prevented you from being able to write the exams in BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25). I was glad to read that you were able to complete other courses despite these circumstances. However, I have denied your request for a further exam deferral as your petition did not include documentation to suggest that the impacts of an extenuating circumstance prevented you from writing these exams during the deferral period in May. I want to remind you that Regulation 1.1. suggests 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. 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. Information on the start, duration and present state of the extenuating condition is critical to helping the instructor, Associate Dean (Academic), or Board of Studies to make an informed decision.
That said, I recognize that you supplied documentation within multiple academic consideration requests during the 2025 Winter term that confirms academic impacts of extenuating circumstances and so I am willing to allow you to drop BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25) after the academic deadline instead. If you would like to accept this offer, please email asc.petitions@queensu.ca within 10 business days of receiving this letter.
Additionally, 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.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Decision Date: June 19, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Shiv Parekh
Student Email: 22shp3@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 339
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CHEM 112
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BIOL 200
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request an extension of an exam deferral
Instructor: Dr. Tim Birt
Additional Information: Final deffered exam
Course: BIOL 206
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request an extension of an exam deferral
Instructor: Dr. Jannice Friedman
Additional Information: Deffered final exam
Course: PHGY 215
Term: Summer
Year: 2025
Category: Add a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Christopher Ward
Course: PHGY 216
Term: Summer
Year: 2025
Category: Add a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Christopher Ward
Dear Shiv Parekh,
Thank you for your petition requesting to drop BIOL 339 (F24) and CHEM 112 (FW24/25) after the academic deadline, to add PHGY 215 and PHGY 216 (S25) after the academic deadline, and for a Deferral of the final exams in BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25). 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 in reaching this decision.
I will grant your request to drop BIOL 339 (F24) and CHEM 112 (FW24/25) after the academic deadline due to the timeline and academic impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you provided within your Academic Consideration requests during the 2025 Winter term. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
Regarding your request to add PHGY 215 and PHGY 216 (S25), as you know, courses must be added on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The deadlines for adding courses have been established to provide sufficient time for students to obtain the relevant permission, determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload. I understand that you need to repeat these two courses; however, I want to remind you that you are already enrolled in 12.0 units for the summer term. As summer courses a typically condensed and fast-paced, it is not recommended that a student attempt more than 6.0 units at a time. I have therefore denied this part of your request as it is too late to add two more courses to an already heavy course load, especially since an instructor is not obligated to accommodate a student for missed work due to late enrolment.
Regarding your 2025 Winter term courses, I acknowledge the health-related circumstances that you described in your petition letter that prevented you from being able to write the exams in BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25). I was glad to read that you were able to complete other courses despite these circumstances. However, I have denied your request for a further exam deferral as your petition did not include documentation to suggest that the impacts of an extenuating circumstance prevented you from writing these exams during the deferral period in May. I want to remind you that Regulation 1.1. suggests 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. 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. Information on the start, duration and present state of the extenuating condition is critical to helping the instructor, Associate Dean (Academic), or Board of Studies to make an informed decision.
That said, I recognize that you supplied documentation within multiple academic consideration requests during the 2025 Winter term that confirms academic impacts of extenuating circumstances and so I am willing to allow you to drop BIOL 200 and BIOL 206 (W25) after the academic deadline instead. If you would like to accept this offer, please email asc.petitions@queensu.ca within 10 business days of receiving this letter.
Additionally, 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.
Sincerely,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Generated June 19, 2025 at 10:38:52 AM.