Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12568
Decision Date: March 31, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Briana Frew
Student Email: 19bjf1@queensu.ca
Dear Bri:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2023 Summer term. 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.
The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 3.7.2 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that exceptions to the petition and appeal deadlines can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control render the student unable to submit a petition or appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced from March until June of 2023 as confirmed within the documentation you supplied. I want to remind you that it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to 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 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.
Please know that students can petition courses within 1 year of a term ending and these academic options are outlined within the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar. Looking at your transcript, I can see that you were able to academically engage and successfully complete courses during the 2023 Fall and 2024 Winter terms. As your petition request did not demonstrate an extenuating circumstance preventing you from petition your 2023 Summer term within the 1-year deadline, I cannot grant your 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.
Going forward, 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, 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.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) or Rules of Procedure for USAB are Queen’s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.
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 31, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Briana Frew
Student Email: 19bjf1@queensu.ca
Dear Bri:
Thank you for your petition request to Waive a Petition Deadline related to the 2023 Summer term. 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.
The Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 3.7.2 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that exceptions to the petition and appeal deadlines can only be granted in cases where extenuating circumstances beyond a student’s control render the student unable to submit a petition or appeal within the specified timeline. The student must be able to show that the extenuating circumstances were ongoing. The student must also be able to demonstrate that these circumstances prevented the student from acting between the time the original decision was received and the time at which the appeal was eventually initiated.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstances that you experienced from March until June of 2023 as confirmed within the documentation you supplied. I want to remind you that it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their classes prior to 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 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.
Please know that students can petition courses within 1 year of a term ending and these academic options are outlined within the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar. Looking at your transcript, I can see that you were able to academically engage and successfully complete courses during the 2023 Fall and 2024 Winter terms. As your petition request did not demonstrate an extenuating circumstance preventing you from petition your 2023 Summer term within the 1-year deadline, I cannot grant your 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.
Going forward, 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, 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.
Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) or Rules of Procedure for USAB are Queen’s university Senate approved appeal policies. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and Arts & Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.
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 31, 2025 at 9:18:32 AM.