Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 4123
Decision Date: March 29, 2018
Associate Dean: Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Emily Fenech
Student Email: 13erf1@queensu.ca
Course: CHEM281
Term: Fall
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Carran
Course: ANAT215
Term: Fall
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Leslie Mackenzie
Course: MICR221
Term: Winter
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ken Jarrell
Course: CHEM282
Term: Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Carran
Course: BCHM218
Term: Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Allingham
Course: PHGY214
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dean Van Vught
Course: MICR360
Term: Fall
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sam Basta
Course: PHAR340
Term: Fall
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Thomas Massey
Dear Ms. Fenech:
I have carefully considered your appeal to receive Credit standing in ANAT 215, CHEM 281 (F 2015), BCHM 218, CHEM 282, MICR 221, PHGY 214B (W 2016), MICR 360 and PHAR 340 (F 2016). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.3.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed and passed all of the work of the course including the final examination, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower€. Credit standing is only granted in cases where there are well documented and unforeseen extenuating circumstances outside of a student€™s control. 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.
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.
According to the Accessibility Services office you submitted documentation of a learning disability and you received academic accommodations in November of your first year of studies in time for your final exams. You did not request any new accommodations after first year or indicate to them that you required anything further. You acknowledged that second and third year were more difficult course-wise because much of first year was a repeat from high school. You also reported that you chose to focus your efforts and enroll in courses that played to your academic strengths which allowed you to do better in Winter term of third year.
In sum, there is no evidence supplied in your appeal of a failure to accommodate. There is evidence that you found the course work difficult and once you focused your effort and chose different courses, you were able to improve your grades. This suggests that your pattern of grades was not affected by circumstances beyond your control but instead reflected the difficulty of the courses you were required to take
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,
Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10143789Fenech2
Decision Date: March 29, 2018
Associate Dean: Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Emily Fenech
Student Email: 13erf1@queensu.ca
Course: CHEM281
Term: Fall
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Carran
Course: ANAT215
Term: Fall
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Leslie Mackenzie
Course: MICR221
Term: Winter
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ken Jarrell
Course: CHEM282
Term: Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Carran
Course: BCHM218
Term: Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: John Allingham
Course: PHGY214
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2015
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Dean Van Vught
Course: MICR360
Term: Fall
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sam Basta
Course: PHAR340
Term: Fall
Year: 2016
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Thomas Massey
Dear Ms. Fenech:
I have carefully considered your appeal to receive Credit standing in ANAT 215, CHEM 281 (F 2015), BCHM 218, CHEM 282, MICR 221, PHGY 214B (W 2016), MICR 360 and PHAR 340 (F 2016). After reviewing your file I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, Academic Regulation 10.3.2. states that, Credit standing in a course is reserved for situations in which a student, who has completed and passed all of the work of the course including the final examination, but because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected, normally a grade of C or lower€. Credit standing is only granted in cases where there are well documented and unforeseen extenuating circumstances outside of a student€™s control. 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.
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.
According to the Accessibility Services office you submitted documentation of a learning disability and you received academic accommodations in November of your first year of studies in time for your final exams. You did not request any new accommodations after first year or indicate to them that you required anything further. You acknowledged that second and third year were more difficult course-wise because much of first year was a repeat from high school. You also reported that you chose to focus your efforts and enroll in courses that played to your academic strengths which allowed you to do better in Winter term of third year.
In sum, there is no evidence supplied in your appeal of a failure to accommodate. There is evidence that you found the course work difficult and once you focused your effort and chose different courses, you were able to improve your grades. This suggests that your pattern of grades was not affected by circumstances beyond your control but instead reflected the difficulty of the courses you were required to take
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,
Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
10143789Fenech2
Generated March 29, 2018 at 9:05:47 AM.