Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Submission Number: 12517
Decision Date: January 13, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Elle Gaetan
Student Email: e.gaetan@queensu.ca

Course: STAM 200
Term: Fall
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: MATH 121
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: CISC 121
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: CISC 102
Term: Winter
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline

Course: ENGL 100
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2023
Category: Request aegrotat (AG) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Peter Lowe (Bader) and Scott-Morgan Straker (Main Campus)

Dear Elle Gaetan,

Thank you for your petition requesting to drop STAM 200 (F23), CISC 121, CISC 102 (W24), and MATH 121 (FW23/24) after the academic deadline and for Aegrotat Standing in ENGL 100 (FW23/24). I have carefully reviewed your petition and the supporting documentation that you supplied, and while I’m unable to grant all of your requests, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.

I will grant your requests to drop STAM 200 (F23), CISC 121, CISC 102 (W24), and MATH 121 (FW23/24) after the academic deadline due to the timeline and academic impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. Your grades in these courses will be replaced with a DR notation on your transcript.

Unfortunately, I am unable to grant your request for Aegrotat Standing in ENGL 100 (FW23/24). According to the Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 3.3.1.3, Aegrotat Standing is intended for students who, due to illness or other significant extenuating circumstances, are unable to complete all the work for a course. To be eligible, at least 60% of the course’s components (assignments, midterms, labs, final exams, etc.) must be completed. As part of the petition decision process, the instructor must assert that the student has met all of the course learning outcomes.

After consulting with the instructor of the course, it has been confirmed that you earned 23.8/50 for the 2024 Winter portion of the course which suggests that you didn’t meet the learning outcomes in it. That said, I understand the challenges you have faced, and I do recognize the academic impact of the extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2024 Winter term, as confirmed within the documentation that you supplied. As a result, I will allow you Credit Standing in ENGL 100 (FW23/24) so that your grade can be replaced with a CR notation on your transcript. If you would like to accept this offer, please email asc.petitions@queensu.ca within 15 business days of receiving this letter.

Going forward, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes before the drop deadline of the term. If they have fallen behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they should drop the course by the deadline. The drop deadlines, as they have been outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Arts and Science web page, have been established by the Faculty of Arts and Science to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students.

Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. Information on the appeal process and deadlines is available at queensu.ca/artsci/undergraduate/student-services/academic-petitions-and-appeals (click on “Second Level”). The Office of the University Ombudsperson offers guidance on student rights and procedural fairness at queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process/procedural-fairness, and they are also available to support you at queensu.ca/ombuds.

I am glad to see that you are registered for the 2025 Winter term and I wish you all the best with your courses.

Warm regards,

Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)