Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11429
Decision Date: March 4, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jennifer Farrell
Student Email: j.farrell@queensu.ca
Course: MATH 121
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ping Li
Course: CISC 121
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Erin Meger
Course: CISC 102
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Erin Meger
Dear Jennifer Farrell:
I was so sorry to have read of the passing of your father and I want to offer my condolences. I have carefully considered your petition for Credit Standing in CISC 102, CISC 121 (W23) and MATH 121 (S23). After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request for Credit Standing in CISC 102 and CISC 121 (W23) due to the timeline of your extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. Your grades in these courses will be replaced by a CR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request for Credit Standing in MATH 121 (S23). 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 instructor related to your grades in this course.
I was happy to see a strong grade on your transcript from the 2023 Fall term and I want to commend you for making the decision to repeat MATH 121 during the current academic year.
While I completely acknowledge the ongoing nature of bereavement, I need to remind you that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage chronic circumstances. Your petition letter suggests that the academic impacts from your extenuating circumstances began in the 2022 Fall term and continued to impact your 2023 Winter term courses. The information that I received from the instructor of MATH 121 (S23) indicates that you failed the mid-term which occurred prior to the academic drop deadline of the Summer term. As you were aware of the ongoing academic impacts from these
extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Summer term, I cannot grant this part of your request.
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 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: March 4, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Jennifer Farrell
Student Email: j.farrell@queensu.ca
Course: MATH 121
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Ping Li
Course: CISC 121
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Erin Meger
Course: CISC 102
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Erin Meger
Dear Jennifer Farrell:
I was so sorry to have read of the passing of your father and I want to offer my condolences. I have carefully considered your petition for Credit Standing in CISC 102, CISC 121 (W23) and MATH 121 (S23). After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request for Credit Standing in CISC 102 and CISC 121 (W23) due to the timeline of your extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. Your grades in these courses will be replaced by a CR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request for Credit Standing in MATH 121 (S23). 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 instructor related to your grades in this course.
I was happy to see a strong grade on your transcript from the 2023 Fall term and I want to commend you for making the decision to repeat MATH 121 during the current academic year.
While I completely acknowledge the ongoing nature of bereavement, I need to remind you that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage chronic circumstances. Your petition letter suggests that the academic impacts from your extenuating circumstances began in the 2022 Fall term and continued to impact your 2023 Winter term courses. The information that I received from the instructor of MATH 121 (S23) indicates that you failed the mid-term which occurred prior to the academic drop deadline of the Summer term. As you were aware of the ongoing academic impacts from these
extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Summer term, I cannot grant this part of your request.
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 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 March 4, 2024 at 10:44:48 AM.