Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13368
Decision Date: October 8, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Tisha Bandyopadhyay
Student Email: 21tb36@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 271
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CISC 204
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: James A. Stewart
Course: CISC 221
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Hesham ElSawy
Course: CISC 203
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tisha,
I have carefully considered your requests to drop CISC 203 (F24), and CISC 271 (W25) after the academic deadline and for Credit Standing in CISC 221 (F24) and CISC 204 (W25). 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.
According to 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 CISC 203 (F24) and for Credit Standing in CISC 221 (F24) due to the timeline and academic impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation you supplied. Your final grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR and CR on your transcript. I will also allow you to drop CISC 204 (F24) as I recognize that this course was also impacted by these circumstances. If you would like to accept this offer, please email asc.petitions@queensu.ca within 10 business days of receiving this letter.
Regarding your requests to drop CISC 271 (W25) and for Credit Standing in CISC 204 (W25), while I acknowledge the circumstances that you described within your petition letter, the documentation provided indicates that you began receiving care in November of 2024, prior to the start of the 2025 Winter term. I also see that you achieved strong grades in other courses during the 2025 Winter term. With the absence of documentation to confirm that an extenuating circumstance beyond your control specifically impacted your academic performance in these courses, I am unable to 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, 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 CISC 204 and CISC 271 have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating these courses 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: October 8, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Tisha Bandyopadhyay
Student Email: 21tb36@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 271
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: CISC 204
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: James A. Stewart
Course: CISC 221
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Hesham ElSawy
Course: CISC 203
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Tisha,
I have carefully considered your requests to drop CISC 203 (F24), and CISC 271 (W25) after the academic deadline and for Credit Standing in CISC 221 (F24) and CISC 204 (W25). 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.
According to 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 CISC 203 (F24) and for Credit Standing in CISC 221 (F24) due to the timeline and academic impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation you supplied. Your final grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR and CR on your transcript. I will also allow you to drop CISC 204 (F24) as I recognize that this course was also impacted by these circumstances. If you would like to accept this offer, please email asc.petitions@queensu.ca within 10 business days of receiving this letter.
Regarding your requests to drop CISC 271 (W25) and for Credit Standing in CISC 204 (W25), while I acknowledge the circumstances that you described within your petition letter, the documentation provided indicates that you began receiving care in November of 2024, prior to the start of the 2025 Winter term. I also see that you achieved strong grades in other courses during the 2025 Winter term. With the absence of documentation to confirm that an extenuating circumstance beyond your control specifically impacted your academic performance in these courses, I am unable to 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, 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 CISC 204 and CISC 271 have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating these courses 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 October 8, 2025 at 9:47:45 AM.