Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 11348
Decision Date: January 22, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: YAO SUN
Student Email: 21ys123@queensu.ca

Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ping Li

Course: STAT 263
Term: Fall
Year: 2022
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Charles Molson

Course: ECON 112
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ugurhan Berkok

Course: DEVS 101
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Marcus Taylor

Dear Yao Sun:

I have carefully considered your petition request for Credit Standing in STAT 263 (F22), MATH 121 (FW22/23) and ECON 112 (W23). After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:

I acknowledge that you arrived late to campus during the 2022 Fall term, and I have granted your request for Credit Standing in STAT 263 (F22) as the documentation dated December 5, 2023 confirms the academic impacts of this circumstance.

To deny your request for Credit Standing in MATH 121 (FW22/23) and ECON 112 (W23). The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 1.1 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that petitions and appeals are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance. 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 their control.

I am sympathetic to your situation and understand that this is a difficult decision, however, I want you to know that I considered this request very thoroughly. In making this decision, I reviewed your petition letter, the documentation that you supplied, and the information that I received from your instructors related to your grades in these classes.

I acknowledge the ongoing nature of the extenuating circumstances that you reported within your petition letter and I recognize that you registered with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) in April of 2023. I have denied this part of your request as your low grades in MATH 121 (FW22/23) and ECON 112 (W23) did not correlate with the academic impacts of your extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. The information that I received from your instructors of these classes confirms that you achieved low exam grades, however the documentation that you supplied dated December 21, 2023 doesn’t mention any exam-related academic impacts. I also want to remind you that you were accommodated appropriately through QSAS for your ECON 110 final exam.

If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating them in a future term. When repeating the exact same

course code, both attempts will appear on your transcript however, only the higher grade will be included within the calculation of your cumulative GPA.

If you wish to appeal the Associate Dean’s decision to the Board of Studies, information and deadlines can be found at queensu.ca/artsci/students-at-queens/academic-appeals (click on “Board of Studies”). You may contact the Office of the University Ombudsperson for information about student rights and responsibilities queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness and guidance on policy and procedure by visiting their website at queensu.ca/ombuds/.

Sincerely,

Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)