Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 4608
Decision Date: July 13, 2018
Associate Dean: Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Carl Backman
Student Email: cbackman126@gmail.com
Course: CISC 121
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Mr. Backman:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop CISC 121 (W 2018) 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 extenuating 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 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. Your letter argues that you failed CISC 121 because you did not receive all of your approved accommodations; specifically being allowed the use of a computer to write your final exam and receive class notes from a note taker. We consulted with your instructor and with your QSAS advisor and they confirmed that you received additional time for your exam, as per your accommodation letter. They also confirmed that you received class notes for part of the term but the note taker stopped providing them because the instructor posted all of the class material and slides on OnQ, making them available to the entire class. It doesn€™t appear that you took action to follow up with your instructor when you stopped receiving the notes. Lastly, the Exams Office confirmed that you were offered a computer to use for the final exam and while the instructions may have been unclear, you didn€™t seek clarification. The instructor confirmed that the majority of students who were approved to use a computer for the final exam chose not to use it due to the nature of the questions €“ she agreed that writing formulas tends to be quicker to do by hand than by computer. She also confirmed that you completed the exam in full and the answers seemed complete, giving some indication that the failure in the exam was not mainly due to running out of time to finish it.
I am satisfied that the accommodations offered were appropriate and while I understand that you were unclear about some of them, it is ultimately your responsibility to consult with your instructor and QSAS advisor to understand and resolve any issues that come up. Your QSAS advisor reached out to you on multiple occasions but did not receive a response and you did not follow up with your exam concerns until a month after it took place. Moving forward, it is important that you communicate with your advisor on a regular basis.
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)
20054822Backman
Decision Date: July 13, 2018
Associate Dean: Jill Atkinson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Carl Backman
Student Email: cbackman126@gmail.com
Course: CISC 121
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Mr. Backman:
I have carefully considered your appeal to drop CISC 121 (W 2018) 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 extenuating 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 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. Your letter argues that you failed CISC 121 because you did not receive all of your approved accommodations; specifically being allowed the use of a computer to write your final exam and receive class notes from a note taker. We consulted with your instructor and with your QSAS advisor and they confirmed that you received additional time for your exam, as per your accommodation letter. They also confirmed that you received class notes for part of the term but the note taker stopped providing them because the instructor posted all of the class material and slides on OnQ, making them available to the entire class. It doesn€™t appear that you took action to follow up with your instructor when you stopped receiving the notes. Lastly, the Exams Office confirmed that you were offered a computer to use for the final exam and while the instructions may have been unclear, you didn€™t seek clarification. The instructor confirmed that the majority of students who were approved to use a computer for the final exam chose not to use it due to the nature of the questions €“ she agreed that writing formulas tends to be quicker to do by hand than by computer. She also confirmed that you completed the exam in full and the answers seemed complete, giving some indication that the failure in the exam was not mainly due to running out of time to finish it.
I am satisfied that the accommodations offered were appropriate and while I understand that you were unclear about some of them, it is ultimately your responsibility to consult with your instructor and QSAS advisor to understand and resolve any issues that come up. Your QSAS advisor reached out to you on multiple occasions but did not receive a response and you did not follow up with your exam concerns until a month after it took place. Moving forward, it is important that you communicate with your advisor on a regular basis.
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)
20054822Backman
Generated July 13, 2018 at 9:12:53 AM.