Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12787
Decision Date: March 18, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Zheng Li
Student Email: 20zl4@queensu.ca
Course: LAW 201
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Zheng:
Thank you for your petition request to drop LAW 201 (S24) past the academic deadline. I have carefully reviewed your petition and while I’m unable to grant your request, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
As you know, courses must be dropped in SOLUS within the deadlines outlined in the academic calendar. According to the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions and appeals are typically considered only when there are significant extenuating circumstances that justify waiving a particular Faculty regulation or decision. A medical certificate or other documentation that outlines how the personal extenuating circumstances hindered the student’s ability to drop the class prior to the deadline should be provided with the petition.
I acknowledge the extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2024 Summer term, as reported within your petition letter, and I understand that you were also not able to complete LAW 201 during the 2024 Fall term through an Incomplete Grade. I have however, denied this request as the documentation that you supplied suggests that the circumstances that you reported are chronic and not unexpected, and the specific academic impacts on LAW 201 during the 2024 Summer term are not clear.
The documentation that you submitted dated September 19, 2024 confirms that a diagnosis occurred in 2020 for the extenuating circumstances that you described in your petition letter. 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 Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS).
Zheng, I appreciate the additional documentation that you supplied dated March 1, 2025 which suggests academic impacts between April of 2024 and February of 2025. I see from your transcript that you were able to successfully complete other courses in both the 2024 Summer and 2024 Fall terms, including achieving a grade of A+ in IDIS 199 (S24) despite the impacts of these circumstances. I hope that you understand that it is difficult to see how LAW 201 was impacted during this time while other courses were not.
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.
If you are concerned about 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 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 hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: March 18, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Zheng Li
Student Email: 20zl4@queensu.ca
Course: LAW 201
Term: Summer
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Zheng:
Thank you for your petition request to drop LAW 201 (S24) past the academic deadline. I have carefully reviewed your petition and while I’m unable to grant your request, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
As you know, courses must be dropped in SOLUS within the deadlines outlined in the academic calendar. According to the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions and appeals are typically considered only when there are significant extenuating circumstances that justify waiving a particular Faculty regulation or decision. A medical certificate or other documentation that outlines how the personal extenuating circumstances hindered the student’s ability to drop the class prior to the deadline should be provided with the petition.
I acknowledge the extenuating circumstances that you experienced during the 2024 Summer term, as reported within your petition letter, and I understand that you were also not able to complete LAW 201 during the 2024 Fall term through an Incomplete Grade. I have however, denied this request as the documentation that you supplied suggests that the circumstances that you reported are chronic and not unexpected, and the specific academic impacts on LAW 201 during the 2024 Summer term are not clear.
The documentation that you submitted dated September 19, 2024 confirms that a diagnosis occurred in 2020 for the extenuating circumstances that you described in your petition letter. 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 Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS).
Zheng, I appreciate the additional documentation that you supplied dated March 1, 2025 which suggests academic impacts between April of 2024 and February of 2025. I see from your transcript that you were able to successfully complete other courses in both the 2024 Summer and 2024 Fall terms, including achieving a grade of A+ in IDIS 199 (S24) despite the impacts of these circumstances. I hope that you understand that it is difficult to see how LAW 201 was impacted during this time while other courses were not.
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.
If you are concerned about 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 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 hope that you continue to seek out the support and resources available to you, and I wish you the best in navigating your next steps.
Warm regards,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated March 18, 2025 at 9:50:19 AM.