Decision Letter
Submission Number: 11846
Decision Date: June 24, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Sarah Burgess
Student Email: 19smb16@queensu.ca
Course: MUSC 171
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Darrell Christie
Course: ANAT 100
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Rachel Law
Dear Sari Cole-Burgess:
I have carefully considered your appeal request to waive the petition deadlines related to the 2020 Fall, 2021 Winter, 2021 Fall, 2022 Winter, 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms and to drop MUSC 171 (S23) and ANAT 100 (W24) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request to waive the petition deadlines related to the 2020 Fall, 2021 Winter, 2021 Fall, 2022 Winter, 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms as I recognize the circumstances that prevented you from being able to petition courses from these terms within their individual deadlines. You may now submit a new petition request for courses taken during these terms through the online petition portal. Within your new petition request, it is advised that you include documentation that directly speaks to the academic impacts during the terms that you are petitioning from. Your documentation should confirm the timeline of the unexpected extenuating circumstance and how it directly impacted your academic ability in the courses that you are petitioning.
To grant your request to drop ANAT 100 (W24) past the academic deadline as the documentation that you supplied dated February 28, 2024, confirms that you experienced academic impacts from an extenuating circumstance during the time period of the Winter term academic drop deadline date. Your grade in this course will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request to drop MUSC 171 (S23) past the academic deadline. Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 states 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. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. 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 additional information that you supplied the petitions office in an email dated May 30, 2024.
I recognize the concerns that you have written about in your petition letter related to Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). I encourage you to connect with your QSAS advisor directly to chat about these concerns so that you can be best supported going forward.
I have denied this part of your request as the documentation that you supplied doesn’t speak to the 2023 Summer term. With the absence of documentation to confirm academic impacts from an unexpected extenuating circumstance during this term, I cannot allow MUSC 171 to be dropped.
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: June 24, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Sarah Burgess
Student Email: 19smb16@queensu.ca
Course: MUSC 171
Term: Summer
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Darrell Christie
Course: ANAT 100
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Rachel Law
Dear Sari Cole-Burgess:
I have carefully considered your appeal request to waive the petition deadlines related to the 2020 Fall, 2021 Winter, 2021 Fall, 2022 Winter, 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms and to drop MUSC 171 (S23) and ANAT 100 (W24) past the academic deadline. After reviewing your file, I have decided the following:
To grant your request to waive the petition deadlines related to the 2020 Fall, 2021 Winter, 2021 Fall, 2022 Winter, 2022 Fall and 2023 Winter terms as I recognize the circumstances that prevented you from being able to petition courses from these terms within their individual deadlines. You may now submit a new petition request for courses taken during these terms through the online petition portal. Within your new petition request, it is advised that you include documentation that directly speaks to the academic impacts during the terms that you are petitioning from. Your documentation should confirm the timeline of the unexpected extenuating circumstance and how it directly impacted your academic ability in the courses that you are petitioning.
To grant your request to drop ANAT 100 (W24) past the academic deadline as the documentation that you supplied dated February 28, 2024, confirms that you experienced academic impacts from an extenuating circumstance during the time period of the Winter term academic drop deadline date. Your grade in this course will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.
To deny your request to drop MUSC 171 (S23) past the academic deadline. Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 states 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. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional. 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 additional information that you supplied the petitions office in an email dated May 30, 2024.
I recognize the concerns that you have written about in your petition letter related to Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). I encourage you to connect with your QSAS advisor directly to chat about these concerns so that you can be best supported going forward.
I have denied this part of your request as the documentation that you supplied doesn’t speak to the 2023 Summer term. With the absence of documentation to confirm academic impacts from an unexpected extenuating circumstance during this term, I cannot allow MUSC 171 to be dropped.
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 June 24, 2024 at 12:03:02 PM.