Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 11272
Submitted: December 8, 2023 at 8:42:34 AM
First Name: Issamedin
Last Name: Dahlan
Pronoun: He/Him/His
Student Number: 20312112
Email: 21id13@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BSH
Plan: LISC
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Code: ANAT 391
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Petition Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor's Name: Olivia Giovannetti and Diane Tomalty
Section/Class Number: 002
Component: Mind The Gap Essay
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean (Academic),
I am appealing to you regarding my grade for my ANAT 391 Mind The Gap! Essay. The course's TA graded my assignment at 81.5%. I asked the course's instructors to re-grade my assignment. The instructors proceeded to reduce my grade from 81.5% to 77%, which lowered my overall course grade from 89.73% after getting my grades for two other assignments to 88.83%, which will lower my final grade from A+ to A. Academic Petitions and Appeals 3.3.1.6 says that a reconsidered grade may be higher than or remain unchanged from the original grade, which means that it cannot be lowered as the instructors did.
https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/#text
I had provided the instructors with a detailed explanation for why I deserved a better grade than 81.5%, which the instructors completely ignored and did not respond to. I asked the course instructors for a meeting to explain my extenuating circumstances, which are ongoing, including my father being currently stranded due to the current war in the Middle East. Only one instructor, Dr. Giovannetti, showed up. During the meeting, the instructor tried to shame me for applying my academic accommodations during the term and that thus she was being very generous with me. She also claimed that I had applied for academic considerations for more than a month for some of my assignments, which was factually incorrect as my academic considerations for the first assignment was 5 days and for the second assignment was 10 days. When I told the instructor during the meeting that I was petitioning her to change my grade to the old grade of 81.5% due to my ongoing extenuating circumstances and because I did not want to go through further appeals due to my extenuating circumstances and the upcoming exams period, the instructor became hostile and said that I was threatening her with the appeal. That was not true at all because I was only trying to reach a reasonable resolution with the instructor which the instructor was not open to at all. All of this shows the instructor’s lack of empathy and compassion for my extenuating circumstances and that the instructor was not objective in grading my assignment.
I have attached supporting documentation for my ongoing extenuating circumstances. I am managing my extenuating circumstances to the best of my abilities and have finished and submitted all term assignments. I have also attached my assignment, my responses to the TA’s feedback, my responses to the instructors’ feedback, and the Essay Template including all the instructions for the assignment which I followed within the word limit. Since my assignment has been graded by three different reviewers, including the TA involved with the course grading my assignment at 81.5%, and the two instructors being not objective in re-grading my assignment as I explained above, and due to my ongoing extenuating circumstances, I am asking if you or the Department Head could please arbitrate my grade back to the original grade of 81.5%.
Thank you very much,
Issamedin Dahlan
I am appealing to you regarding my grade for my ANAT 391 Mind The Gap! Essay. The course's TA graded my assignment at 81.5%. I asked the course's instructors to re-grade my assignment. The instructors proceeded to reduce my grade from 81.5% to 77%, which lowered my overall course grade from 89.73% after getting my grades for two other assignments to 88.83%, which will lower my final grade from A+ to A. Academic Petitions and Appeals 3.3.1.6 says that a reconsidered grade may be higher than or remain unchanged from the original grade, which means that it cannot be lowered as the instructors did.
https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/#text
I had provided the instructors with a detailed explanation for why I deserved a better grade than 81.5%, which the instructors completely ignored and did not respond to. I asked the course instructors for a meeting to explain my extenuating circumstances, which are ongoing, including my father being currently stranded due to the current war in the Middle East. Only one instructor, Dr. Giovannetti, showed up. During the meeting, the instructor tried to shame me for applying my academic accommodations during the term and that thus she was being very generous with me. She also claimed that I had applied for academic considerations for more than a month for some of my assignments, which was factually incorrect as my academic considerations for the first assignment was 5 days and for the second assignment was 10 days. When I told the instructor during the meeting that I was petitioning her to change my grade to the old grade of 81.5% due to my ongoing extenuating circumstances and because I did not want to go through further appeals due to my extenuating circumstances and the upcoming exams period, the instructor became hostile and said that I was threatening her with the appeal. That was not true at all because I was only trying to reach a reasonable resolution with the instructor which the instructor was not open to at all. All of this shows the instructor’s lack of empathy and compassion for my extenuating circumstances and that the instructor was not objective in grading my assignment.
I have attached supporting documentation for my ongoing extenuating circumstances. I am managing my extenuating circumstances to the best of my abilities and have finished and submitted all term assignments. I have also attached my assignment, my responses to the TA’s feedback, my responses to the instructors’ feedback, and the Essay Template including all the instructions for the assignment which I followed within the word limit. Since my assignment has been graded by three different reviewers, including the TA involved with the course grading my assignment at 81.5%, and the two instructors being not objective in re-grading my assignment as I explained above, and due to my ongoing extenuating circumstances, I am asking if you or the Department Head could please arbitrate my grade back to the original grade of 81.5%.
Thank you very much,
Issamedin Dahlan
Documentation
Professional Letter: Verification of EC - Dec 2022-0.pdf
Document: Essay_Dahlan-0.pdf
Documentation Detail: Mind The Gap! Essay
Document: Essay Template-0.pdf
Documentation Detail: Essay Template and Instructions
Document: ResponseToTAFeedback-0.png
Documentation Detail: Response to TA Feedback
Document: ResponseToInstructorsFeedback-0.pdf
Documentation Detail: Response to Instructors' Feedback
Decision Letters
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 260
Submitted: January 4, 2024 at 2:42:41 PM
Relevant Petition: 11272
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work: ANAT 391, Fall 2023 (Olivia Giovannetti and Diane Tomalty): Mind The Gap Essay
Appeal Grounds
Appeals to the Board of Studies must include a letter based on one or more of the Grounds for Appeal (Appeal Regulation 3.4). What are the grounds you are basing your appeal on?
- The Associate Dean's decision did not follow the rules of procedural fairness. A breach of procedural fairness includes such things as the Associate Dean failed to:
- Follow the university rules and regulations in a way that supported your right to a fair process.
- Make a reasonable decision in your appeal. A “reasonable” decision is one that is based on evidence, thought out and supported by facts and logical inferences from the facts. To be reasonable, the decision must contain adequate reasons for the conclusions.
Appeal Grounds Details: Dear Board of Studies,
My ANAT 391 Mind The Gap assignment grade was appealed and was forwarded to two reviewers for evaluation. There are two instructors for my ANAT 391 course, and Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.6 says that the Department Head may appoint the original instructors. None of the two instructors gave me a grade higher than the grade that I appealed, and when I asked the Faculty of Arts and Science Appeals Team about who re-read my assignment and what grades they gave me, they said that they couldn't give me that information. I am worried that it was the two course instructors who reviewed my assignment even though I detailed why they were biased in my appeal to the Associate Dean.
A reasonable decision was not made because Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.2.1 says that only an informal review of instructors’ decisions on grading of term work or final examination can be petitioned to the instructor, and therefore even though I appealed my assignment's grade, the instructors should only have conducted an informal review, not a formal grade change. For these reasons the Associate Dean or the Department Head should have reversed the instructors' re-grade and re-assigned me my original grade.
My ANAT 391 Mind The Gap assignment grade was appealed and was forwarded to two reviewers for evaluation. There are two instructors for my ANAT 391 course, and Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.6 says that the Department Head may appoint the original instructors. None of the two instructors gave me a grade higher than the grade that I appealed, and when I asked the Faculty of Arts and Science Appeals Team about who re-read my assignment and what grades they gave me, they said that they couldn't give me that information. I am worried that it was the two course instructors who reviewed my assignment even though I detailed why they were biased in my appeal to the Associate Dean.
A reasonable decision was not made because Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.2.1 says that only an informal review of instructors’ decisions on grading of term work or final examination can be petitioned to the instructor, and therefore even though I appealed my assignment's grade, the instructors should only have conducted an informal review, not a formal grade change. For these reasons the Associate Dean or the Department Head should have reversed the instructors' re-grade and re-assigned me my original grade.
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: Dear Board of Studies,
I appealed the grade of my ANAT 391 Mind The Gap Essay to the course instructors. After getting all of my other assignments' grades back, my course average was an A+. However, the course instructors then proceeded to re-grade my Mind The Gap Essay, lowering my Essay mark from 81.5% to 77%, and my course average from A+ to A. The course instructors said that Faculty regulations allowed them to lower a student's assignment grade upon appeal, however, nowhere in Academic Regulations https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/academic-regulations/ or Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulations https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ does it say that instructors can do that. In fact Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.2.1 says that only an informal review of instructors’ decisions on grading of term work or final examination can be petitioned to the instructor, and therefore the instructor should have withdrawn or denied my request for a re-grade and instead offered an informal review. The course instructors did not act in my academic interest at all. For these reasons the Associate Dean or Department Head should have reversed the instructors' re-grade because it was based on a faulty appeal process and reassigned me my original Mind The Gap Essay grade of 81.5%. The decision letter did not address this part of my appeal at all.
The decision letter also said that the review resulted in a lower grade for my Essay. However, when I asked the Faculty of Arts and Science Petitions Team about the two reviewers who reviewed my assignment and what grades they gave me, they said that they couldn't give me that information. This makes me worried that the two reviewers were the two course instructors, since Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.6 says that the Department normally appoints the course instructors for review, and since I explained in my appeal letter to the Associate Dean the reasons that the course instructors were biased in grading my work.
For the above reasons, I am asking only for the reversal of my 77% assignment grade to my original 81.5% grade.
Kind Regards,
Issamedin Dahlan
I appealed the grade of my ANAT 391 Mind The Gap Essay to the course instructors. After getting all of my other assignments' grades back, my course average was an A+. However, the course instructors then proceeded to re-grade my Mind The Gap Essay, lowering my Essay mark from 81.5% to 77%, and my course average from A+ to A. The course instructors said that Faculty regulations allowed them to lower a student's assignment grade upon appeal, however, nowhere in Academic Regulations https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/academic-regulations/ or Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulations https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ does it say that instructors can do that. In fact Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.2.1 says that only an informal review of instructors’ decisions on grading of term work or final examination can be petitioned to the instructor, and therefore the instructor should have withdrawn or denied my request for a re-grade and instead offered an informal review. The course instructors did not act in my academic interest at all. For these reasons the Associate Dean or Department Head should have reversed the instructors' re-grade because it was based on a faulty appeal process and reassigned me my original Mind The Gap Essay grade of 81.5%. The decision letter did not address this part of my appeal at all.
The decision letter also said that the review resulted in a lower grade for my Essay. However, when I asked the Faculty of Arts and Science Petitions Team about the two reviewers who reviewed my assignment and what grades they gave me, they said that they couldn't give me that information. This makes me worried that the two reviewers were the two course instructors, since Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.6 says that the Department normally appoints the course instructors for review, and since I explained in my appeal letter to the Associate Dean the reasons that the course instructors were biased in grading my work.
For the above reasons, I am asking only for the reversal of my 77% assignment grade to my original 81.5% grade.
Kind Regards,
Issamedin Dahlan
Documentation
History
Originally submitted December 8, 2023 at 8:42:34 AM.
| Field | Reference | Old Value | New Value | Note | User | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| status | N/A | Received | Incomplete | Kerri Andrews | 2023-12-12 10:57:26 AM | |
| status | N/A | Incomplete | In Review | Kerri Andrews | 2023-12-14 2:27:23 PM | |
| status | N/A | In Review | Denied | Kerri Andrews | 2024-01-03 3:03:44 PM | |
| associate_dean | N/A | Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D. | Kerri Andrews | 2024-01-03 3:03:44 PM | ||
| decision_letter | N/A | N/A | Decision letter sent | Kerri Andrews | 2024-01-03 3:04:41 PM | |
| new_appeal_level_2 | N/A | Level 2 | Level 2 Appeal ID: 260 | 21id13 | 2024-01-04 2:42:41 PM | |
| status | N/A | Received | Withdrawn | /ADs decision of instructors re-grade is not appealable | Libby Hearn | 2024-01-08 3:20:00 PM |