Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11598
Decision Date: March 27, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Femi Abiola
Student Email: 20ofa1@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 212
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 262
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 285
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 350
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HLTH 205
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 243
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 261
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Femi Abiola:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop BIOL 212, POLS 262, POLS 285, POLS 350 (W23), HLTH 205, PLS 263, and POLS 261 (F23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request to drop BIOL 212, POLS 262, POLS 285, POLS 350 (W23) after the academic deadline. I have granted this part of your request as the documentation that you supplied by Student Wellness Services (SWS) confirms the severity of your extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Winter term and suggests late drops. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request to drop HLTH 205, PLS 263, and POLS 261 (F23) after the academic deadline. As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under "extenuating circumstances." 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 your academic transcript.
I see that you are taking the 2024 Winter term away from school and I was glad to read that you are working on your recovery and are planning for a future return to studies. I acknowledge from your petition letter that you left school during the 2023 Fall term and did not drop your courses upon leaving. I want to remind you of the documentation that you supplied dated March 1, 2024 that suggests that Student Wellness Services (SWS) began supporting your leave from school in October of 2022.
I have denied this part of your request as the petitions process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. As both pieces of documentation suggests the impacts from chronic extenuating circumstances and do not suggest a new, unexpected extenuating circumstance during the 2023 Fall term, I cannot grant this request.
Femi, it is my understanding that you have experience with the petitions process and I want to remind you of your previous decisions from both December of 2022 and January of 2023 where you were granted late course drops. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). After failing courses during the 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms, it was your responsibility to make decisions about dropping courses during the 2023 Fall term as needed. As you know, 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 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)
Decision Date: March 27, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Femi Abiola
Student Email: 20ofa1@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 212
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 262
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 285
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 350
Term: Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: HLTH 205
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 243
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: POLS 261
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Femi Abiola:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop BIOL 212, POLS 262, POLS 285, POLS 350 (W23), HLTH 205, PLS 263, and POLS 261 (F23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request to drop BIOL 212, POLS 262, POLS 285, POLS 350 (W23) after the academic deadline. I have granted this part of your request as the documentation that you supplied by Student Wellness Services (SWS) confirms the severity of your extenuating circumstances during the 2023 Winter term and suggests late drops. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request to drop HLTH 205, PLS 263, and POLS 261 (F23) after the academic deadline. As you know, courses must be dropped on SOLUS within the published deadlines. The Academic Regulations (Appeal of Academic Decisions, IIIb) stress that exceptions to this will only be waived under "extenuating circumstances." 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 your academic transcript.
I see that you are taking the 2024 Winter term away from school and I was glad to read that you are working on your recovery and are planning for a future return to studies. I acknowledge from your petition letter that you left school during the 2023 Fall term and did not drop your courses upon leaving. I want to remind you of the documentation that you supplied dated March 1, 2024 that suggests that Student Wellness Services (SWS) began supporting your leave from school in October of 2022.
I have denied this part of your request as the petitions process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. As both pieces of documentation suggests the impacts from chronic extenuating circumstances and do not suggest a new, unexpected extenuating circumstance during the 2023 Fall term, I cannot grant this request.
Femi, it is my understanding that you have experience with the petitions process and I want to remind you of your previous decisions from both December of 2022 and January of 2023 where you were granted late course drops. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). After failing courses during the 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms, it was your responsibility to make decisions about dropping courses during the 2023 Fall term as needed. As you know, 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 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)
Generated March 27, 2024 at 9:44:13 AM.