Decision Letter
Appeal Number: 6434
Decision Date: February 24, 2020
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Lindsay McCarley
Student Email: 14lm46@queensu.ca
Course: ENGL
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Steve Asselin
Course: ENGL 360
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Heather Evans
Course: ENGl 465
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Heather Macfarlane
Dear Lindsay McCarley:
I am sorry to have read that you believe your work was not up to par during the Fall/Winter session 2018/19 and I understand that you are seeking Credit standing in ENGL 351, ENGL 360 and ENGL 465 (FW 2018/19) due to the impact those circumstances had on these courses. After reviewing our regulations, your appeal letter and the information we have received from your instructor, 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 all of the work in the course including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the course, 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.
Also, for your information Appeal Regulation 3.2.2.5 states that €œstudents are not able to revisit the same time period in submitting subsequent appeals. For example, if a student has appealed to drop one or more classes without academic penalty, he or she is not able to make a subsequent different appeal in relation to the same time period.€ As you may recall, you submitted an appeal to receive Credit standing in ENGL 431 (F 2018) and appealed to drop ENGL 471 (W 2019) so, according to this regulation, you cannot submit a second appeal for these same timeframes.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however, as you note in your appeal, you were accommodated in courses during that time period which I trust helped you achieve the level of success you did. In addition, the information I received from your instructors offers proof that the grades received accurately reflects the learning outcomes you achieved in these courses and is a clear reflection of your mastery of the course content.
Going forward, I suggest that you inform yourself of the academic regulations concerning deadlines as they are outlined in the Important Dates section on the Arts and Science web page and assess your progress in your courses or discuss your options with an Academic Advisor during week 7 or 8 of the term. If you find that you have fallen behind in your attendance, readings or assignments, it is your responsibility to drop by the end of week 8.
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 University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities as well as guidance on policy and procedure (www.queensu.ca/ombuds).
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
10181047McCarley1
Decision Date: February 24, 2020
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Lindsay McCarley
Student Email: 14lm46@queensu.ca
Course: ENGL
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Steve Asselin
Course: ENGL 360
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Heather Evans
Course: ENGl 465
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2019
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Heather Macfarlane
Dear Lindsay McCarley:
I am sorry to have read that you believe your work was not up to par during the Fall/Winter session 2018/19 and I understand that you are seeking Credit standing in ENGL 351, ENGL 360 and ENGL 465 (FW 2018/19) due to the impact those circumstances had on these courses. After reviewing our regulations, your appeal letter and the information we have received from your instructor, 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 all of the work in the course including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the course, 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.
Also, for your information Appeal Regulation 3.2.2.5 states that €œstudents are not able to revisit the same time period in submitting subsequent appeals. For example, if a student has appealed to drop one or more classes without academic penalty, he or she is not able to make a subsequent different appeal in relation to the same time period.€ As you may recall, you submitted an appeal to receive Credit standing in ENGL 431 (F 2018) and appealed to drop ENGL 471 (W 2019) so, according to this regulation, you cannot submit a second appeal for these same timeframes.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however, as you note in your appeal, you were accommodated in courses during that time period which I trust helped you achieve the level of success you did. In addition, the information I received from your instructors offers proof that the grades received accurately reflects the learning outcomes you achieved in these courses and is a clear reflection of your mastery of the course content.
Going forward, I suggest that you inform yourself of the academic regulations concerning deadlines as they are outlined in the Important Dates section on the Arts and Science web page and assess your progress in your courses or discuss your options with an Academic Advisor during week 7 or 8 of the term. If you find that you have fallen behind in your attendance, readings or assignments, it is your responsibility to drop by the end of week 8.
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 University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities as well as guidance on policy and procedure (www.queensu.ca/ombuds).
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
10181047McCarley1
Generated February 24, 2020 at 1:20:57 PM.