Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11424
Decision Date: February 20, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Julie Nguyen
Student Email: 21jtn4@queensu.ca
Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ping Li, Michael Cabral, Sonja Ruzic
Course: CHEM 211
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Peng Wang
Course: CHEM 212
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Jason Vlahakis
Dear Julie Nguyen:
I have carefully considered your petition for Credit Standing in MATH 121 (FW22/23), CHEM 211 and CHEM 212 (F23). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.4. at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that credit standing is reserved for a course in which a student who has completed all of the work of the class, including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the class, but due to illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected. A medical certificate or other documentation outlining how the personal extenuating circumstances affected the student’s academic performance must be provided with the petition. 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 instructor related to your grades in these courses.
In regard to MATH 121 (FW22/23), I recognize the bereavement-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2023 Winter term and I want to offer you my condolences. I have denied Credit Standing in this course as the information that I received from your instructor indicates that your lowest grades do not directly correlate with the timeline of the impacts from your extenuating circumstances. I see that that you obtained strong grades in the tutorial tests, webwork assignments and term tests throughout both the 2023 Fall and 2024 Winter terms and that your mid-year grade in MATH 121 isn’t much different from your final in this course. Your lowest grades appear to stem from the mid-term, and the final exam. I want to remind you that your mid-term was written in December prior to your unexpected extenuating circumstance.
In regard to your credit standing requests related to the 2023 Fall term, I do understand the situation that you reported within your petition letter regarding your roommate, and I recognize how difficult this must have been for you at that time. I acknowledge that the
documentation that you supplied dated November 30 suggests academic impacts however, I want to remind you that you were accommodated through Academic Consideration for the timeline suggested within that same piece of documentation.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes during week 7 of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by week 8 of term. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your cumulative 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 attempt 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 as well as guidance on policy and procedure (queensu.ca/ombuds).
With sincere sympathy,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: February 20, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Julie Nguyen
Student Email: 21jtn4@queensu.ca
Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2022
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ping Li, Michael Cabral, Sonja Ruzic
Course: CHEM 211
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Peng Wang
Course: CHEM 212
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Jason Vlahakis
Dear Julie Nguyen:
I have carefully considered your petition for Credit Standing in MATH 121 (FW22/23), CHEM 211 and CHEM 212 (F23). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 3.3.1.4. at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that credit standing is reserved for a course in which a student who has completed all of the work of the class, including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the class, but due to illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected. A medical certificate or other documentation outlining how the personal extenuating circumstances affected the student’s academic performance must be provided with the petition. 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 instructor related to your grades in these courses.
In regard to MATH 121 (FW22/23), I recognize the bereavement-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2023 Winter term and I want to offer you my condolences. I have denied Credit Standing in this course as the information that I received from your instructor indicates that your lowest grades do not directly correlate with the timeline of the impacts from your extenuating circumstances. I see that that you obtained strong grades in the tutorial tests, webwork assignments and term tests throughout both the 2023 Fall and 2024 Winter terms and that your mid-year grade in MATH 121 isn’t much different from your final in this course. Your lowest grades appear to stem from the mid-term, and the final exam. I want to remind you that your mid-term was written in December prior to your unexpected extenuating circumstance.
In regard to your credit standing requests related to the 2023 Fall term, I do understand the situation that you reported within your petition letter regarding your roommate, and I recognize how difficult this must have been for you at that time. I acknowledge that the
documentation that you supplied dated November 30 suggests academic impacts however, I want to remind you that you were accommodated through Academic Consideration for the timeline suggested within that same piece of documentation.
Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes during week 7 of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by week 8 of term. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that these courses have on your cumulative 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 attempt 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 as well as guidance on policy and procedure (queensu.ca/ombuds).
With sincere sympathy,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated February 20, 2024 at 9:52:52 AM.