Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter:
Via email and Academic Petition/Academic appeal portal
Dr. Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Academic) jenn.stephenson@queensu.ca
Dr. William Nelson, Associate Dean (Teaching & Learning) artsci.nelson@queensu.ca
Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Dunning Hall
Queens’ University
94 University Ave.
Kingston ON K7L 3N6
Re: Academic Petition for student 20453335 - RELS163 (Fall 2024) Mia Klayman
Dr. Stephenson & Dr. Nelson,
I am an Education Consultant representing the above student in an academic petition for course
RELS163 (Fall 2024) with Professor Shobhana Xavier.
Please find attached a signed consent form from the student allowing for this disclosure and
exchange and for representing her in this process.
This letter is addressed to both of you as it pertains to elements of both portfolios.
Having reviewed the student’s correspondence with faculty staff and attempts for an informal
review of assignment grades with the course instructor, the course syllabus and assignments to
the students, this petition meets the grounds for a formal grade review as outlined in Queen’s
University’s Student Guide Grade Review document:
Student Guide Grade Reviews
Within 15 business days of receiving an instructor’s decision or feedback of an informal grade
review, the student must submit petition to the Associate Dean (Academic)Level 1 requesting a
formal review of an instructor’s decision on grading of work via the appeal portal. The student
must include a letter detailing the grounds for a formal review of their work (see “grounds for
review”). The submission must also contain a copy of the marked work, a clean copy of the work,
the class syllabus, the assignment outline, the marking rubric and all correspondence between
92 Southpointe Ave. Ottawa ON K2J 4T5 613-612-6842 www.horizoned.ca
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the student and instructor relating to the work in question, including the grade feedback from the
informal review.
/https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/sites/faswww/files/Student%20Guide%20Grade%20Reviews.pdf
This letter constitutes the required letter stating the grounds for the request for a formal review.
TAB 1 contains the email exchanges between the student and Queen’s faculty staff during the
course enrollment period (correspondence).
TAB 2 contains the emails exchanges related to the informal grade review request to the
instructor after the final grade for the course (correspondence) .
TAB 3 contains the syllabus of the course and a copy of the assignments for students to complete
TAB 4 contains the assignments completed by the student which were submitted (clean copies) .
TAB 5 contains the signed consent form from the student for the exchange and disclosure of
information and representation
TAB 6 contains the request for a virtual meeting with the instructor on February 28, 2025 which
went unanswered.
As part of the formal grade review request, we are unable to provide the following as they
were not provided to the student, nor indicated in the assignment outline or course syllabus
⮚ a copy of the marked work
⮚ the marking rubric
The grounds for the review are the lack of the above components, which are required for a
student to know how an assignment will be graded (marking rubric) and the right to
receive feedback on their work as a professional teaching and learning practice (a copy of
the marked work).
Another significant challenge to the informal request to review grades on assignments by a
student is that the access to the course platform is removed after the completion of the course,
which is within the 15 days allowing for a review request.
This lack of access within the allowed time frame for a grade review presents an unreasonable
obstacle for a student trying to obtain relevant feedback to understanding their final grade
calculation (lack of procedural fairness).
The lack of response from the course professor to our request for a virtual meeting on February
28, 2025 is what prompted this formal request to review the grades on assignments.
We also request confirmation that participation and attendance marks assigned to students in the
manner in which they were for RELS 163 is compliant with Queen’s policies, since these
elements, while part of the final grade, cannot be part of an appeal which contradicts the
procedural fairness component of the Queen’s Student Academic Appeals Policy.
92 Southpointe Ave. Ottawa ON K2J 4T5 613-612-6842 www.horizoned.ca
Page 3 of 3
Kindly confirm receipt of this communication and advise of next steps and timelines.
Sincerely,
Monika Ferenczy, BA, BEd., MEd (she/her)
Senior Consultant & Owner
Osgoode Hall Certified in Education Law &
Human Rights Law for Education Professionals
Horizon Education Consulting Inc./ Conseillers en éducation
www.horizoned.ca