Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11657
Decision Date: May 13, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Liuyue Zhang
Student Email: 20lz29@queensu.ca
Course: arth210
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Lynette:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop ARTH 210 (F23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. Official documentation must clearly indicate ways in which the extenuating circumstances directly affected the student’s performance in terms of timing and impact and should verify that these effects were substantial enough to cause the academic problem.
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 additional information that you supplied the petitions office via email, the information that I received from the instructor of the course related to your grades, and the documentation that you supplied.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you reported experiencing near the end of the Winter term in your petition letter and was sorry to read about the subsequent car accident that you were involved in. I want to remind you that academic impacts from unexpected circumstances should be managed by the student proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration. A student can request short term academic consideration if they need more time to complete a component or had to miss a class as a result of an illness or other personal circumstance. Here is the link for information about that process: queensu.ca/artsci/undergrad-students/student-services/academic-consideration-for-students
I have denied your request to drop ARTH 210 (F23) as the documentation that you supplied does not provide a timeline of the extenuating circumstances that you reported in your petition letter, nor do they suggest any academic impacts from these circumstances. Also, the information that I received from the instructor of this course suggests that the final exam was not the only component that you missed. They confirmed that you did not attend most of the classes throughout the Fall term and that you did not write the mid-term exam on October 4 which was prior to the academic drop deadline of the term.
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, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that this course has on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating it 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: May 13, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Liuyue Zhang
Student Email: 20lz29@queensu.ca
Course: arth210
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Lynette:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop ARTH 210 (F23) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided to deny your request.
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. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. Official documentation must clearly indicate ways in which the extenuating circumstances directly affected the student’s performance in terms of timing and impact and should verify that these effects were substantial enough to cause the academic problem.
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 additional information that you supplied the petitions office via email, the information that I received from the instructor of the course related to your grades, and the documentation that you supplied.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you reported experiencing near the end of the Winter term in your petition letter and was sorry to read about the subsequent car accident that you were involved in. I want to remind you that academic impacts from unexpected circumstances should be managed by the student proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration. A student can request short term academic consideration if they need more time to complete a component or had to miss a class as a result of an illness or other personal circumstance. Here is the link for information about that process: queensu.ca/artsci/undergrad-students/student-services/academic-consideration-for-students
I have denied your request to drop ARTH 210 (F23) as the documentation that you supplied does not provide a timeline of the extenuating circumstances that you reported in your petition letter, nor do they suggest any academic impacts from these circumstances. Also, the information that I received from the instructor of this course suggests that the final exam was not the only component that you missed. They confirmed that you did not attend most of the classes throughout the Fall term and that you did not write the mid-term exam on October 4 which was prior to the academic drop deadline of the term.
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, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.
If you are concerned with the impact that this course has on your GPA, I would suggest that you consider repeating it 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 May 13, 2024 at 10:27:12 AM.