Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5569
Decision Date: April 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Alexander Hoerdt
Student Email: 16atrh@queensu.ca
Course: ECON255
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST211
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Alexander Hoerdt:
I received your letter of appeal requesting a late drop in ECON 255 and HIST 211 (W 2019) and I am sorry to have read of the challenges you outline which impacted these courses. After reviewing your appeal letter, 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.
I am sure this is a disappointing decision, but the timeline of the circumstances outlined in your letter of appeal does not completely correlate with the work you completed in these courses. Your ECON 255 instructor advised that you did not complete any work in this course throughout the term so the train delay may have impacted one component of the course, but not all components. Your HIST 211 instructor advised that a key component missing in this course was due March 22 (essay assignment due date) and the second online tutorial, which you missed, was due between March 29 €“ 31. This assignment due date does corroborate the timeline of your virus which you report impacted you in late March however your documentation states the date that you were seen in a medical clinic on December 31, 2018 which is well before the date you report you had a virus, so your documentation does not support that illness.
The drop deadline is set at Week 8 to allow students plenty of time to assess their progress in a class and withdraw without any academic penalty if they feel that they cannot keep up with the demands or have the academic background needed to successfully complete it.
This is a disappointing decision I am sure Alexander, but let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their grade point average and the higher grade is included which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€). Do not use the on-line application for this process. The Office of the Ombudsman can also assist students with advice about policies and procedures. You may contact the Ombudsman at ombuds@queensu.ca or by phone at 613-533-6495.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20051012Hoerdt
Decision Date: April 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Alexander Hoerdt
Student Email: 16atrh@queensu.ca
Course: ECON255
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HIST211
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Alexander Hoerdt:
I received your letter of appeal requesting a late drop in ECON 255 and HIST 211 (W 2019) and I am sorry to have read of the challenges you outline which impacted these courses. After reviewing your appeal letter, 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.
I am sure this is a disappointing decision, but the timeline of the circumstances outlined in your letter of appeal does not completely correlate with the work you completed in these courses. Your ECON 255 instructor advised that you did not complete any work in this course throughout the term so the train delay may have impacted one component of the course, but not all components. Your HIST 211 instructor advised that a key component missing in this course was due March 22 (essay assignment due date) and the second online tutorial, which you missed, was due between March 29 €“ 31. This assignment due date does corroborate the timeline of your virus which you report impacted you in late March however your documentation states the date that you were seen in a medical clinic on December 31, 2018 which is well before the date you report you had a virus, so your documentation does not support that illness.
The drop deadline is set at Week 8 to allow students plenty of time to assess their progress in a class and withdraw without any academic penalty if they feel that they cannot keep up with the demands or have the academic background needed to successfully complete it.
This is a disappointing decision I am sure Alexander, but let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the low grade is excluded from their grade point average and the higher grade is included which would mean there would be no long term negative impact on your GPA.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean€™s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at www.queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on €œBoard of Studies€). Do not use the on-line application for this process. The Office of the Ombudsman can also assist students with advice about policies and procedures. You may contact the Ombudsman at ombuds@queensu.ca or by phone at 613-533-6495.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20051012Hoerdt
Generated April 30, 2019 at 8:54:09 AM.