Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 2335
Decision Date: June 22, 2016
Associate Dean: Sue Blake
Student Name: Zac Warren
Student Email: 14zw42@queensu.ca
Course: FILM 260
Term: Summer
Year: 2016
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
June 20, 2016
Mr. Zac Warren
14zw42@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Warren:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop FILM 260 (S 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. FILM 260 is a technical course and learning how to properly embed and submit the assignments is one of the learning outcomes so testing a student€™s ability to perform this task is considered to be an important assessment of the student€™s mastery of the course material. The decision to assign a grade of zero on the assignment is also consistent with the guidelines in the course syllabus. The course outline clearly indicates the policy on what constitutes acceptable submission of the assignment which you accepted when you registered in the course. Therefore, without the presence of any extenuating circumstances, beyond your control, which would have prevented you from meeting the drop deadline for FILM 260, I cannot reasonably waive the Faculty Regulation.
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 Ombudsman 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,
Sue Blake
Assistant Dean (Studies)
10186478Warren
Decision Date: June 22, 2016
Associate Dean: Sue Blake
Student Name: Zac Warren
Student Email: 14zw42@queensu.ca
Course: FILM 260
Term: Summer
Year: 2016
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
June 20, 2016
Mr. Zac Warren
14zw42@queensu.ca
Dear Mr. Warren:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop FILM 260 (S 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. FILM 260 is a technical course and learning how to properly embed and submit the assignments is one of the learning outcomes so testing a student€™s ability to perform this task is considered to be an important assessment of the student€™s mastery of the course material. The decision to assign a grade of zero on the assignment is also consistent with the guidelines in the course syllabus. The course outline clearly indicates the policy on what constitutes acceptable submission of the assignment which you accepted when you registered in the course. Therefore, without the presence of any extenuating circumstances, beyond your control, which would have prevented you from meeting the drop deadline for FILM 260, I cannot reasonably waive the Faculty Regulation.
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 Ombudsman 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,
Sue Blake
Assistant Dean (Studies)
10186478Warren
Generated June 22, 2016 at 1:47:32 PM.