Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12096
Decision Date: September 3, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Selena Jagdeo
Student Email: 19ssj2@queensu.ca
Course: ECON 112
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Professor Rajni
Additional Information: 3.2
Course: PHIL 157
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: WRIT 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Selena:
I have carefully considered your appeal request for Credit Standing in ECON 112 (F23) and to drop PHIL 157 and WRIT 125 (W24) 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 Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1 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, your academic transcript and the information that I received from the instructor of ECON 112 (W24).
I acknowledge the multiple health-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2023/2024 academic year as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied, and I was glad to read from your petition letter that these conditions have become managed successfully so that you can continue with your studies.
I have denied your request for Credit Standing in ECON 112 (F23) as the academic impacts on this course are not clear. The information that I received from the instructor of the course confirms that you achieved good grades in all components throughout the Fall term except for the final exam. With the absence of documentation to confirm that your academic performance was specifically impacted from extenuating circumstances during the Fall term exam period, I cannot grant this request.
I have also denied your request to drop PHIL 157 and WRIT 125 (W24) past the academic deadline as your petition letter suggests that you were aware of the academic impacts from extenuating circumstances prior to the drop deadline of the Winter term. The documentation that you supplied suggests that you had been experiencing health-related extenuating circumstances in May of 2023 and received a new diagnosis in October of 2023. Your petition letter suggests that the academic impacts of these circumstances progressively worsened beginning in the 2023 Fall term. I want to let you know that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through QSAS. 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.
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 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: September 3, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Selena Jagdeo
Student Email: 19ssj2@queensu.ca
Course: ECON 112
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Professor Rajni
Additional Information: 3.2
Course: PHIL 157
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: WRIT 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Selena:
I have carefully considered your appeal request for Credit Standing in ECON 112 (F23) and to drop PHIL 157 and WRIT 125 (W24) 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 Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1 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, your academic transcript and the information that I received from the instructor of ECON 112 (W24).
I acknowledge the multiple health-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2023/2024 academic year as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied, and I was glad to read from your petition letter that these conditions have become managed successfully so that you can continue with your studies.
I have denied your request for Credit Standing in ECON 112 (F23) as the academic impacts on this course are not clear. The information that I received from the instructor of the course confirms that you achieved good grades in all components throughout the Fall term except for the final exam. With the absence of documentation to confirm that your academic performance was specifically impacted from extenuating circumstances during the Fall term exam period, I cannot grant this request.
I have also denied your request to drop PHIL 157 and WRIT 125 (W24) past the academic deadline as your petition letter suggests that you were aware of the academic impacts from extenuating circumstances prior to the drop deadline of the Winter term. The documentation that you supplied suggests that you had been experiencing health-related extenuating circumstances in May of 2023 and received a new diagnosis in October of 2023. Your petition letter suggests that the academic impacts of these circumstances progressively worsened beginning in the 2023 Fall term. I want to let you know that the petition process is not meant to be used to manage a chronic condition. Academic impacts from ongoing circumstances should be managed proactively by utilizing options such as academic consideration or accommodations through QSAS. 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.
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 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 September 3, 2024 at 9:12:34 AM.