Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to respectfully request consideration for an exception regarding how my Certificate in Business courses are being applied toward my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree.
Recently, Queen's updated its policy to state that up to 12.0 units from courses offered by other Faculties and Schools, including the Smith School of Business, may count toward an Arts and Science degree. Based on the wording of this policy, I was hoping that four of my business certificate courses could now be applied toward my degree requirements. However, my academic advisor informed me that while the new 12-unit maximum applies, the 600-level Certificate in Business courses remain excluded from counting toward my degree.
I am petitioning to have this reviewed in the hopes that my COMM 631 and COMM 651 courses will count towards my degree. These classes are the same as their 200-level counterparts. They share the same instructor, classroom, syllabus, assessments, group projects, learning outcomes, and course content. The only distinction is the course numbering within the Certificate in Business program.
Under the revised policy, students are now able to take the equivalent 200-level Smith courses and have them count toward their Arts and Science degree. However, by failing to recognize the 600-level versions of those same courses, I am being penalized for having completed identical academic work.
Even if COMM 631 and COMM 651 were permitted to count toward my degree, I would still have completed two additional business courses beyond my degree requirements to earn the Certificate in Business. This is the same number of additional courses required for many other Arts and Science certificates, including the Certificate in Law. Therefore, granting this request would not minimize the academic work I have completed. It would simply recognize equivalent coursework in the same manner it is now recognized for students taking the corresponding 200-level courses.
I was advised by my specialization department's coordinator that I could appeal this decision to you, as the Certificate in Business Coordinator indicated that having these courses count toward my degree is ultimately at the discretion of my home faculty. Therefore, I respectfully ask that you consider allowing COMM 631/231 and COMM 651/251 to count toward my degree.
I appreciate your time and consideration of my request and would be happy to provide any additional information that may assist you in your decision.
Thank you very much,
Annabelle Roy
I am writing to respectfully request consideration for an exception regarding how my Certificate in Business courses are being applied toward my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree.
Recently, Queen's updated its policy to state that up to 12.0 units from courses offered by other Faculties and Schools, including the Smith School of Business, may count toward an Arts and Science degree. Based on the wording of this policy, I was hoping that four of my business certificate courses could now be applied toward my degree requirements. However, my academic advisor informed me that while the new 12-unit maximum applies, the 600-level Certificate in Business courses remain excluded from counting toward my degree.
I am petitioning to have this reviewed in the hopes that my COMM 631 and COMM 651 courses will count towards my degree. These classes are the same as their 200-level counterparts. They share the same instructor, classroom, syllabus, assessments, group projects, learning outcomes, and course content. The only distinction is the course numbering within the Certificate in Business program.
Under the revised policy, students are now able to take the equivalent 200-level Smith courses and have them count toward their Arts and Science degree. However, by failing to recognize the 600-level versions of those same courses, I am being penalized for having completed identical academic work.
Even if COMM 631 and COMM 651 were permitted to count toward my degree, I would still have completed two additional business courses beyond my degree requirements to earn the Certificate in Business. This is the same number of additional courses required for many other Arts and Science certificates, including the Certificate in Law. Therefore, granting this request would not minimize the academic work I have completed. It would simply recognize equivalent coursework in the same manner it is now recognized for students taking the corresponding 200-level courses.
I was advised by my specialization department's coordinator that I could appeal this decision to you, as the Certificate in Business Coordinator indicated that having these courses count toward my degree is ultimately at the discretion of my home faculty. Therefore, I respectfully ask that you consider allowing COMM 631/231 and COMM 651/251 to count toward my degree.
I appreciate your time and consideration of my request and would be happy to provide any additional information that may assist you in your decision.
Thank you very much,
Annabelle Roy