Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 1872
Decision Date: March 17, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Anna Teng
Student Email: 12st3@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 499
Term: Winter
Year: 2016
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Ms. Teng:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop CISC 499 (W 2016) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under exceptional circumstances. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student€™s performance was significantly compromised by extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control.
The deadlines for dropping courses have been designed and established in order to provide sufficient time for students to determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
Your appeal does not describe any circumstances that are extenuating in nature. It appears that you had technical issues over the entire term with this course so you should have been able to reasonably determine by the beginning of Week 8 that you would not be able to complete a project of this scope and nature within the 4 weeks remaining of the term. You also stated in your letter that you thought the drop deadline was February 28, not February 26. In my previous appeal decision letter to you of February 3, 2016, I granted your request to drop CISC 282 from the fall term and in this letter I cautioned you to reduce your winter term course load (and included the February 26 deadline date). As your doctor advised, €œthis extra workload will hinder her progress and I have advised her to reduce this workload as a result.€ You chose to remain enrolled in six heavy courses, despite this warning; and were provided with the specific deadline date; therefore, I cannot accept your argument that you were unaware of the drop deadline.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 421 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10061146Teng4
Decision Date: March 17, 2016
Associate Dean: Johanne Benard, Ph.D.
Student Name: Anna Teng
Student Email: 12st3@queensu.ca
Course: CISC 499
Term: Winter
Year: 2016
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Ms. Teng:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop CISC 499 (W 2016) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under exceptional circumstances. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts in general would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation indicating that the student€™s performance was significantly compromised by extenuating circumstances beyond his or her control.
The deadlines for dropping courses have been designed and established in order to provide sufficient time for students to determine their interest in the course material, to consider their ability to handle each course, and to evaluate their overall workload.
Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. Additionally, these kinds of extraordinary situations are normally supported by documentation from a professional.
Your appeal does not describe any circumstances that are extenuating in nature. It appears that you had technical issues over the entire term with this course so you should have been able to reasonably determine by the beginning of Week 8 that you would not be able to complete a project of this scope and nature within the 4 weeks remaining of the term. You also stated in your letter that you thought the drop deadline was February 28, not February 26. In my previous appeal decision letter to you of February 3, 2016, I granted your request to drop CISC 282 from the fall term and in this letter I cautioned you to reduce your winter term course load (and included the February 26 deadline date). As your doctor advised, €œthis extra workload will hinder her progress and I have advised her to reduce this workload as a result.€ You chose to remain enrolled in six heavy courses, despite this warning; and were provided with the specific deadline date; therefore, I cannot accept your argument that you were unaware of the drop deadline.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, you must submit an appeal to the Board of Studies within 21 days of the date this decision was sent. Guidelines for appealing to the Board of Studies and the appeal form can be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€) Do not use the on-line application for this process. You may contact Mr. Harry Smith, Office of the Ombudsperson for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative. His office is located in room 421 Robert Sutherland Hall and he can be reached by phone (533-6495) or e-mail (ombuds@queensu.ca).
Sincerely,
Johanne Bénard, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10061146Teng4
Generated March 17, 2016 at 9:56:06 AM.