Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 6051
Decision Date: July 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jiwon Lee
Student Email: 15jl176@queensu.ca
Course: CHEM 282
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jiwon Lee:
I was sorry to read of the health related challenges you outlined in your letter of appeal and I have carefully considered your request to drop CHEM 282 (W 2018) late. 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. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however finding a course difficult since it is a new field of study is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Since you successfully completed CHEM 281, which is also an Organic Chemistry course, you did have some familiarity with the subject and had met the pre-requisite requirement. I also took into consideration the fact that you had received permission to write a deferred exam in this course due to your health related challenges so you have been accommodated in this course.
Going forward, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you are finding the material too difficult or have not kept 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.
Let me remind you Jiwon of the repeat policy which is that if a student repeats a course, the lowest grade earned will be excluded from the GPA and the higher grade earned will be included with the GPA. This may be a strategy for you to consider if you are concerned about the impact that grade may have 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. 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)
20015095Lee
Decision Date: July 30, 2019
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jiwon Lee
Student Email: 15jl176@queensu.ca
Course: CHEM 282
Term: Winter
Year: 2018
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jiwon Lee:
I was sorry to read of the health related challenges you outlined in your letter of appeal and I have carefully considered your request to drop CHEM 282 (W 2018) late. 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. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however finding a course difficult since it is a new field of study is not considered an extenuating circumstance. Since you successfully completed CHEM 281, which is also an Organic Chemistry course, you did have some familiarity with the subject and had met the pre-requisite requirement. I also took into consideration the fact that you had received permission to write a deferred exam in this course due to your health related challenges so you have been accommodated in this course.
Going forward, I encourage you to carefully evaluate your progress in a course by week 7 of the term and if you are finding the material too difficult or have not kept 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.
Let me remind you Jiwon of the repeat policy which is that if a student repeats a course, the lowest grade earned will be excluded from the GPA and the higher grade earned will be included with the GPA. This may be a strategy for you to consider if you are concerned about the impact that grade may have 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. 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)
20015095Lee
Generated July 30, 2019 at 8:44:37 AM.