Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13392
Decision Date: September 30, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Shannon Morrow
Student Email: 23ghq@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT 100
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ASTR 101
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Shannon,
I have carefully considered your requests to drop ANAT 100 (F24) and ASTR 101 (W25) after the academic deadline. While I’m unable to grant both of these requests, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
According to the Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 petitions 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.
I have granted your request to drop ASTR 101 (W25) after the academic deadline in recognition of how the PSAC Local 901 strike and labor disruption affected this course during the 2025 Winter term. Your final grade will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript. Going forward, I encourage you to take advantage of the various academic supports that are available at Queen’s University, such as meeting with an Academic Advisor to discuss degree progress and your academic goals as well as the resources offered by the Student Academic Success Services (SASS). While I hope that you never again encounter circumstances like the PSAC Local 901 strike during your studies, even in normal times it’s good practice to familiarize yourself with the services offered by the University to help students succeed.
I acknowledge the circumstances that you described within your petition letter related to the 2024 Fall term however I want to remind you that competing commitments such as working a job while taking classes is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. I have denied this request as your petition did not include documentation to suggest that an extenuating circumstance, beyond your control prevented you from being able to drop this course by the academic deadline. 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, you should know that it is your responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. 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 ANAT 100 (F24) has 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.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. 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,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: September 30, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Shannon Morrow
Student Email: 23ghq@queensu.ca
Course: ANAT 100
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ASTR 101
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Shannon,
I have carefully considered your requests to drop ANAT 100 (F24) and ASTR 101 (W25) after the academic deadline. While I’m unable to grant both of these requests, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
According to the Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 petitions 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.
I have granted your request to drop ASTR 101 (W25) after the academic deadline in recognition of how the PSAC Local 901 strike and labor disruption affected this course during the 2025 Winter term. Your final grade will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript. Going forward, I encourage you to take advantage of the various academic supports that are available at Queen’s University, such as meeting with an Academic Advisor to discuss degree progress and your academic goals as well as the resources offered by the Student Academic Success Services (SASS). While I hope that you never again encounter circumstances like the PSAC Local 901 strike during your studies, even in normal times it’s good practice to familiarize yourself with the services offered by the University to help students succeed.
I acknowledge the circumstances that you described within your petition letter related to the 2024 Fall term however I want to remind you that competing commitments such as working a job while taking classes is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. I have denied this request as your petition did not include documentation to suggest that an extenuating circumstance, beyond your control prevented you from being able to drop this course by the academic deadline. 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, you should know that it is your responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. 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 ANAT 100 (F24) has 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.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. 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,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated September 30, 2025 at 10:01:57 AM.