Decision Letter
Submission Number: 10289
Decision Date: April 24, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Thomas Santos
Student Email: 18tts1@queensu.ca
Course: POLS 262
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Thomas:
I have read with interest your petition to drop POLS 262 (W 2023), taking note of the challenges you outlined. After reviewing your petition fully, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. Appeal Regulation 3.3.1.2 stresses that ??a petition to drop a class late must clearly demonstrate the significant extenuating circumstances, beyond the student??s control, which prevented them from dropping the class by the deadline. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance, often taking place after the drop deadline.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however your reported circumstances and care began before the drop deadline and there are no circumstances presented or documented, which prevented your from dropping that course by the drop deadline.
Thomas, I am very concerned about your heavy course load during the summer term and strongly suggest that you monitor your health and competing demands during the summer term and drop courses by the drop deadline. Carrying too many courses is not considered an extenuating circumstance, so petitioning to drop summer term courses would be looked at very carefully.
In the future, I encourage you once again to carefully evaluate your progress in courses during the academic year 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.
Another tool to manage your academics in addition to dropping a course by the drop deadline is our Academic Consideration protocol. A student can request short term consideration if they need more time to complete an assignment or had to miss a class due to documented extenuating circumstances. Here is the link for information about that process:
https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/undergrad-students/academic-consideration-for-students
Thomas, let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the lower grade is excluded from their GPA and the higher grade is included.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean??s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on ??Submit a Board of Studies Appeal Here?). You may contact the Office of the University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policyE and Rules of Procedure for USAB https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy/usab-rules-of-procedure are Queen??s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
20170330Santos
Decision Date: April 24, 2023
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Thomas Santos
Student Email: 18tts1@queensu.ca
Course: POLS 262
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Thomas:
I have read with interest your petition to drop POLS 262 (W 2023), taking note of the challenges you outlined. After reviewing your petition fully, I have decided to deny your request.
As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. Appeal Regulation 3.3.1.2 stresses that ??a petition to drop a class late must clearly demonstrate the significant extenuating circumstances, beyond the student??s control, which prevented them from dropping the class by the deadline. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond your control and debilitating to your overall academic performance, often taking place after the drop deadline.
I am certainly sympathetic to your situation and realize that this is a disappointing decision, however your reported circumstances and care began before the drop deadline and there are no circumstances presented or documented, which prevented your from dropping that course by the drop deadline.
Thomas, I am very concerned about your heavy course load during the summer term and strongly suggest that you monitor your health and competing demands during the summer term and drop courses by the drop deadline. Carrying too many courses is not considered an extenuating circumstance, so petitioning to drop summer term courses would be looked at very carefully.
In the future, I encourage you once again to carefully evaluate your progress in courses during the academic year 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.
Another tool to manage your academics in addition to dropping a course by the drop deadline is our Academic Consideration protocol. A student can request short term consideration if they need more time to complete an assignment or had to miss a class due to documented extenuating circumstances. Here is the link for information about that process:
https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/undergrad-students/academic-consideration-for-students
Thomas, let me remind you that if a student repeats a course, the lower grade is excluded from their GPA and the higher grade is included.
If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean??s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at https://www.queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on ??Submit a Board of Studies Appeal Here?). You may contact the Office of the University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policyE and Rules of Procedure for USAB https://www.queensu.ca/secretariat/policies/senate/student-academic-appeals-policy/usab-rules-of-procedure are Queen??s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
20170330Santos
Generated April 24, 2023 at 9:11:58 AM.