Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 14131
Decision Date: April 30, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Maxwell May
Student Email: 22pqq1@queensu.ca

Course: CHEM 281
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dr. J Carran

Dear Max,

I have carefully considered your request for Credit Standing in CHEM 281 (F25) and while I’m unable to grant your petition, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account in reaching this decision.

The Academic Petition and Appeals Regulation 1.1 states that 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 acknowledge the health-related circumstances described in your petition letter and how it affected your motivation and academic routines during the 2025 Fall term. I appreciate your efforts to remain engaged in your courses and recognize that you were not able to manage athletic commitments during this time.

While I appreciate the documentation that you supplied confirming your recent engagement with professional support through Student Wellness Services during the 2026 Winter term, your petition does not include documentation demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance affected your academic performance in CHEM 281 during the 2025 Fall term. As such, I am unable to grant this request.

If you are concerned with the impact that your final grade in CHEM 281 has on your cumulative 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”). Appeals to the Board of Studies must be submitted within 10 business days of the date of this decision. 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. I suggest that you consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you can also obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impact of your health on your academics.

Sincerely,

Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)