Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12211
Decision Date: September 16, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Julia Hampton-Davies
Student Email: 19jlhd@queensu.ca
Course: HIST 220
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 203
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 271
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Julia Hampton-Davies:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop HIST 220, PHIL 203 and PHIL 271 (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 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.
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 via an email dated August 30, and the documentation that you supplied.
I acknowledge the recent health diagnosis that you received as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied dated May 18, 2024 and I encourage you to consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
Julia, it is my understanding that you completed all of the work for these courses within their respective due dates yet some of your work wasn’t received by the instructors due to them not be submitted correctly online by your family member. I recognize that this must be frustrating for you however, I have denied this request it is the student’s responsibility to complete and submit their own work in every course that they are enrolled in. As your petition did not demonstrate that your grades in these courses were a direct result of the impacts from an extenuating circumstance, I cannot grant this request. 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.
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 16, 2024
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Julia Hampton-Davies
Student Email: 19jlhd@queensu.ca
Course: HIST 220
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 203
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: PHIL 271
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Julia Hampton-Davies:
I have carefully considered your petition request to drop HIST 220, PHIL 203 and PHIL 271 (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 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.
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 via an email dated August 30, and the documentation that you supplied.
I acknowledge the recent health diagnosis that you received as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied dated May 18, 2024 and I encourage you to consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
Julia, it is my understanding that you completed all of the work for these courses within their respective due dates yet some of your work wasn’t received by the instructors due to them not be submitted correctly online by your family member. I recognize that this must be frustrating for you however, I have denied this request it is the student’s responsibility to complete and submit their own work in every course that they are enrolled in. As your petition did not demonstrate that your grades in these courses were a direct result of the impacts from an extenuating circumstance, I cannot grant this request. 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.
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 16, 2024 at 12:06:41 PM.