Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 5583
Decision Date: April 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Thomas McMillan
Student Email: 17tjm1@queensu.ca
Course: POLS 242
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 264
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Thomas McMillan,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with some health issues. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop POLS 242 and POLS 264 (W 2019), I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations stress that these rules will only be waived under extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation of their extenuating circumstances.
Documentation is a key component to an appeal as it verifies the extenuating circumstances that has been reported. The documentation you submitted is not sufficient as it does not verify the timeline, severity of the circumstances or the impact the circumstances had on your studies, specifically on POLS 242 and POLS 264. Therefore I cannot grant your request. This may be a disappointing decision, 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.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you have not been keeping up with the course work, you should drop the course by the week 8 drop deadline. 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. I encourage you to reach out to Queen€™s Accessibility Services (QSAS) in Student Wellness to explore if you qualify for an accommodation that may help you manage your academics along with your health related challenges.
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. You may contact the Office of the Ombudsman (www.queensu.ca/ombudsman) for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20070191McMillan_5583
Decision Date: April 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Thomas McMillan
Student Email: 17tjm1@queensu.ca
Course: POLS 242
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 264
Term: Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Thomas McMillan,
I am sorry to have read that you have been struggling this winter term with some health issues. Based on the issues you have outlined in your appeal letter, I have carefully considered your request to drop POLS 242 and POLS 264 (W 2019), I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations stress that these rules will only be waived under extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance. The integrity of Arts and Science transcripts would be greatly diminished if the Faculty were to effect changes to students€™ records without clear and compelling documentation of their extenuating circumstances.
Documentation is a key component to an appeal as it verifies the extenuating circumstances that has been reported. The documentation you submitted is not sufficient as it does not verify the timeline, severity of the circumstances or the impact the circumstances had on your studies, specifically on POLS 242 and POLS 264. Therefore I cannot grant your request. This may be a disappointing decision, 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.
In the future, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you have not been keeping up with the course work, you should drop the course by the week 8 drop deadline. 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. I encourage you to reach out to Queen€™s Accessibility Services (QSAS) in Student Wellness to explore if you qualify for an accommodation that may help you manage your academics along with your health related challenges.
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. You may contact the Office of the Ombudsman (www.queensu.ca/ombudsman) for advice on matters of procedure and on obtaining a representative.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Studies)
20070191McMillan_5583
Generated April 30, 2019 at 9:16:52 AM.