Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 156
Decision Date: July 9, 2014
Associate Dean: J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D.
Student Name: Yiou-Hua Lu
Student Email: 9yl4@queensu.ca
Ms. Yiou-Hua Lu
9yl4@queensu.ca
Dear Ms. Lu:
I have carefully considered your appeal to waive the Faculty ruling that you be Required to Withdraw for a Minimum of Three Years. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
As you already know, the academic requirements in the Faculty of Arts and Science are clearly outlined in the Academic Regulation section of the Calendar. The requirement to withdraw is invoked only where students experience ongoing or extreme academic difficulties. The ruling is designed to provide the student with time away from the university to reflect on and remedy the factors impeding their academic success.
The Academic Regulations stipulate that waiving the requirement to withdraw can be considered only where a student€™s academic performance is affected by extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control. The requirement to withdraw is waived only in rare and exceptional circumstances where documentation makes clear that the difficulties are temporary rather than ongoing or that these difficulties have been dealt with in such a way that the student may make a successful return to the university. While it is clear that you experienced a difficult year at university and that you are eager to return to classes, the appeal did not demonstrate to me that an early return to classes is warranted.
You appealed to waive a requirement to withdraw last spring as well and as part of this appeal, you submitted a letter from your doctor indicating that your health condition was being treated and was under control. You were warned in your decision letter that the documentation was weak and that it did not address the severity of your illness, the impact that it had on your studies or the timeline over which your health challenges would be resolved. The new letter supplied by Dr. Kao is essentially identical to the one from last year. Furthermore, your academic improvement since May 2013 has been marginal. Finally, I note that while you require only 6.0 units of electives to complete your degree, your GPA is 1.42 which is well below the 1.60 minimum threshold required to graduate. Your current academic progress does not convince me that you will be able to significantly improve your GPA and meet the requirements to graduate in the near future.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit a letter of intent to appeal within 21 days of receiving this decision. Appeal forms are available from this office (F200 Mackintosh-Corry Hall) or on the web: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/help/forms General information on appeals is available at http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/academics/academic-appeals. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Coordinator for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 153 Richardson Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (drm@queensu.ca).
Yours sincerely,
J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
06187490Lu
Decision Date: July 9, 2014
Associate Dean: J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D.
Student Name: Yiou-Hua Lu
Student Email: 9yl4@queensu.ca
Ms. Yiou-Hua Lu
9yl4@queensu.ca
Dear Ms. Lu:
I have carefully considered your appeal to waive the Faculty ruling that you be Required to Withdraw for a Minimum of Three Years. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
As you already know, the academic requirements in the Faculty of Arts and Science are clearly outlined in the Academic Regulation section of the Calendar. The requirement to withdraw is invoked only where students experience ongoing or extreme academic difficulties. The ruling is designed to provide the student with time away from the university to reflect on and remedy the factors impeding their academic success.
The Academic Regulations stipulate that waiving the requirement to withdraw can be considered only where a student€™s academic performance is affected by extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control. The requirement to withdraw is waived only in rare and exceptional circumstances where documentation makes clear that the difficulties are temporary rather than ongoing or that these difficulties have been dealt with in such a way that the student may make a successful return to the university. While it is clear that you experienced a difficult year at university and that you are eager to return to classes, the appeal did not demonstrate to me that an early return to classes is warranted.
You appealed to waive a requirement to withdraw last spring as well and as part of this appeal, you submitted a letter from your doctor indicating that your health condition was being treated and was under control. You were warned in your decision letter that the documentation was weak and that it did not address the severity of your illness, the impact that it had on your studies or the timeline over which your health challenges would be resolved. The new letter supplied by Dr. Kao is essentially identical to the one from last year. Furthermore, your academic improvement since May 2013 has been marginal. Finally, I note that while you require only 6.0 units of electives to complete your degree, your GPA is 1.42 which is well below the 1.60 minimum threshold required to graduate. Your current academic progress does not convince me that you will be able to significantly improve your GPA and meet the requirements to graduate in the near future.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit a letter of intent to appeal within 21 days of receiving this decision. Appeal forms are available from this office (F200 Mackintosh-Corry Hall) or on the web: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/help/forms General information on appeals is available at http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/academics/academic-appeals. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Coordinator for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 153 Richardson Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (drm@queensu.ca).
Yours sincerely,
J. Hugh Horton, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
06187490Lu
Generated July 9, 2014 at 11:19:59 AM.