Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11672
Decision Date: April 22, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Adam Quast
Student Email: 20alq@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 102
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sharon Regan
Course: CISC 101
Term: Summer
Year: 2021
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Hazem Abbas
Dear Adam:
I have carefully considered your petition request for Credit Standing in BIOL 102 (F20) and CISC 101 (S21). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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 your academic transcript.
I acknowledge that you had been diagnosed with ADHD in May of 2023, as per the documentation that you supplied, and I recognize the academic struggles that you have experienced as reported within your petition letter. Looking at your transcript I can see however that you were quite successful in many courses over the past 3 years including the 2020/2021 academic year that you are petitioning from. I have denied this request as the academic impacts on these specific courses are not clear when I see you have been enrolled in a full time course load and have been able to successfully complete other courses prior to your diagnosis in 2023.
If you are concerned with the impacts 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: April 22, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Adam Quast
Student Email: 20alq@queensu.ca
Course: BIOL 102
Term: Fall
Year: 2020
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Sharon Regan
Course: CISC 101
Term: Summer
Year: 2021
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Hazem Abbas
Dear Adam:
I have carefully considered your petition request for Credit Standing in BIOL 102 (F20) and CISC 101 (S21). After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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 your academic transcript.
I acknowledge that you had been diagnosed with ADHD in May of 2023, as per the documentation that you supplied, and I recognize the academic struggles that you have experienced as reported within your petition letter. Looking at your transcript I can see however that you were quite successful in many courses over the past 3 years including the 2020/2021 academic year that you are petitioning from. I have denied this request as the academic impacts on these specific courses are not clear when I see you have been enrolled in a full time course load and have been able to successfully complete other courses prior to your diagnosis in 2023.
If you are concerned with the impacts 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 April 22, 2024 at 3:49:16 PM.