Decision Letter
Submission Number: 14279
Decision Date: June 23, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: claire geng
Student Email: 21cg44@queensu.ca
Course: RELS301
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: sharday mosurinjohn
Dear Claire Geng,
I have carefully considered your request for Credit Standing in RELS 301 (W26) 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 and understand how this condition impacted your attendance in RELS 301 during the Winter term. The course instructor confirmed that you received a failing grade in the attendance component, and also noted that you achieved a C+ in the Annotations component and a B+ in the Session Presentation/Leadership/Workshop components.
While I appreciate your situation, it is important to ensure fairness and consistency within the petition process. Based on the information provided, your request does not demonstrate unexpected extenuating circumstances that would warrant consideration under the regulations. Your petition request reflects ongoing health-related challenges rather than a discrete, unexpected event, and does not establish that a distinct extenuating circumstance arose that affected your academic performance in this course or prevented you from withdrawing by the academic deadline. As such, I am unable to grant this request.
The petition process is not intended to address the ongoing impact of long-term or chronic health conditions. Academic challenges arising from continuing circumstances should be managed proactively through Academic Consideration or accommodations provided by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). It is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that your final grade in this course 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.
Sincerely,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: June 23, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: claire geng
Student Email: 21cg44@queensu.ca
Course: RELS301
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: sharday mosurinjohn
Dear Claire Geng,
I have carefully considered your request for Credit Standing in RELS 301 (W26) 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 and understand how this condition impacted your attendance in RELS 301 during the Winter term. The course instructor confirmed that you received a failing grade in the attendance component, and also noted that you achieved a C+ in the Annotations component and a B+ in the Session Presentation/Leadership/Workshop components.
While I appreciate your situation, it is important to ensure fairness and consistency within the petition process. Based on the information provided, your request does not demonstrate unexpected extenuating circumstances that would warrant consideration under the regulations. Your petition request reflects ongoing health-related challenges rather than a discrete, unexpected event, and does not establish that a distinct extenuating circumstance arose that affected your academic performance in this course or prevented you from withdrawing by the academic deadline. As such, I am unable to grant this request.
The petition process is not intended to address the ongoing impact of long-term or chronic health conditions. Academic challenges arising from continuing circumstances should be managed proactively through Academic Consideration or accommodations provided by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). It is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that your final grade in this course 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.
Sincerely,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated June 23, 2026 at 10:19:06 AM.