Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 14485
Submitted: June 15, 2026 at 10:38:41 PM
First Name: Angelique
Last Name: Hoffstead
Pronoun: She/Her/Hers
Preferred Name: Angelique
Student Number: 20546486
Email: 24yyw@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: HLTH
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Level 1 Status
Status: DeniedLevel 2
Appeal Type: Level 2
ID: 377
Submitted: July 17, 2026 at 10:31:47 PM
Relevant Petition: 14485
Decision(s) Being Appealed: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
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:
- 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: I am basing my appeal on the grounds that the initial decision did not fully account for the financial and systemic barriers that prevented me from managing my academic registration, meaning the conclusion that I
Appeal Letter
Appeal Letter: July 17, 2026
Angelique Hoffstead
20546486
24yyw@queensu.ca
Dear Members of the Board of Studies,
I am writing to formally appeal the decision rendered on July 3, 2026, by Associate Dean Naaman, which upheld the ruling that I be Required to Withdraw for One Year. The initial decision denied my petition on the basis that I failed to drop my Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 courses by the academic deadlines. I am submitting this Second Level appeal because the initial review did not fully account for the absolute financial, systemic, and physical barriers I faced, meaning the conclusion that I simply failed to manage my deadlines was missing critical context.
The primary reason I was unable to drop my courses within the required timeframes was an institutional lockout that was completely out of my control. I come from a first generation immigrant low-income family, and we experienced a financial crisis during the academic year that left my family unable to secure my tuition payments on time. Consequently, Queen's University placed an administrative financial hold on my SOLUS account, which completely locked my account functions. I was procedurally and electronically barred by the university itself from dropping, adding, or altering any part of my course registration. Because of these financial constraints, I was unable to access SOLUS, which was a key resource required to adjust my registration until my family was finally able to secure the necessary funds to clear the balance and lift the hold at the end of the academic year.
Dealing with this financial stress on top of everything else only made my health situation worse. Following an emergency room admission at KGH on December 5, 2025, for a severe concussion, I was placed on a strict clinical protocol to avoid all screens and computers. Because Queen's relies entirely on online portals, I was medically restricted from using any electronics at risk of making my concussion worse. The trauma of the concussion also triggered severe depression and a critical relapse of Bulimia Nervosa, which I noted in my first appeal. The physiological toll of this illness, paired with severe neurological insomnia where I routinely went up to three days without sleep, left me in a complete survival crisis. My executive functioning and memory were so shattered by the physical trauma and nutrient depletion, I was in a state of depression I thought I would never recover from. Per Regulation 1.7.1.8, my current enrollment in two summer courses (IDIS 199 and HLTH 101) serves as real-time proof that these temporary financial and medical extenuating circumstances have been fully resolved. Now that our financial situation has stabilized and my health has recovered, my academic capability has returned. A decision focusing solely on deadlines does not capture the reality of a low income student facing a total administrative lockout while fighting a traumatic brain injury and a severe health relapse.
I respectfully request that the Board of Studies evaluate the reality of these barriers, waive the requirement to withdraw, and permit me to continue my studies this Fall. Upon my return, I intend to register for a lighter and reduced course load to allow myself to earn my education at a pace that works for me and sets me up for long term success.
Thank you very much for your time, empathy, and consideration of my appeal.
Sincerely,
Angelique Hoffstead
Student ID: 20546486
Angelique Hoffstead
20546486
24yyw@queensu.ca
Dear Members of the Board of Studies,
I am writing to formally appeal the decision rendered on July 3, 2026, by Associate Dean Naaman, which upheld the ruling that I be Required to Withdraw for One Year. The initial decision denied my petition on the basis that I failed to drop my Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 courses by the academic deadlines. I am submitting this Second Level appeal because the initial review did not fully account for the absolute financial, systemic, and physical barriers I faced, meaning the conclusion that I simply failed to manage my deadlines was missing critical context.
The primary reason I was unable to drop my courses within the required timeframes was an institutional lockout that was completely out of my control. I come from a first generation immigrant low-income family, and we experienced a financial crisis during the academic year that left my family unable to secure my tuition payments on time. Consequently, Queen's University placed an administrative financial hold on my SOLUS account, which completely locked my account functions. I was procedurally and electronically barred by the university itself from dropping, adding, or altering any part of my course registration. Because of these financial constraints, I was unable to access SOLUS, which was a key resource required to adjust my registration until my family was finally able to secure the necessary funds to clear the balance and lift the hold at the end of the academic year.
Dealing with this financial stress on top of everything else only made my health situation worse. Following an emergency room admission at KGH on December 5, 2025, for a severe concussion, I was placed on a strict clinical protocol to avoid all screens and computers. Because Queen's relies entirely on online portals, I was medically restricted from using any electronics at risk of making my concussion worse. The trauma of the concussion also triggered severe depression and a critical relapse of Bulimia Nervosa, which I noted in my first appeal. The physiological toll of this illness, paired with severe neurological insomnia where I routinely went up to three days without sleep, left me in a complete survival crisis. My executive functioning and memory were so shattered by the physical trauma and nutrient depletion, I was in a state of depression I thought I would never recover from. Per Regulation 1.7.1.8, my current enrollment in two summer courses (IDIS 199 and HLTH 101) serves as real-time proof that these temporary financial and medical extenuating circumstances have been fully resolved. Now that our financial situation has stabilized and my health has recovered, my academic capability has returned. A decision focusing solely on deadlines does not capture the reality of a low income student facing a total administrative lockout while fighting a traumatic brain injury and a severe health relapse.
I respectfully request that the Board of Studies evaluate the reality of these barriers, waive the requirement to withdraw, and permit me to continue my studies this Fall. Upon my return, I intend to register for a lighter and reduced course load to allow myself to earn my education at a pace that works for me and sets me up for long term success.
Thank you very much for your time, empathy, and consideration of my appeal.
Sincerely,
Angelique Hoffstead
Student ID: 20546486
Documentation
Document: Screenshot 2026-07-17 221947.png
Document: Screenshot 2026-07-17 223004.png
