Decision Letter
Submission Number: 12899
Decision Date: May 5, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Heather Milligan
Student Email: 21hmm5@queensu.ca
Course: ENGL 349
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Chris Bongie
Dear Heather:
Thank you for your petition request to drop ENGL 349 (FW24/25) 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 circumstances that you described within your petition letter and understand that you were impacted by an extenuating circumstance at the end of the 2024 Fall term. I have however, denied this request as the documentation that you supplied confirms academic impacts for a short period of time in November and doesn’t suggest ongoing impacts. I also see from the screenshot that you supplied that you were accommodated by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services during the 2024/2025 academic year. As your petition did not include documentation to suggest that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from being able to drop this course by the academic deadline, I cannot grant this request.
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.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: May 5, 2025
Associate Dean: Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Student Name: Heather Milligan
Student Email: 21hmm5@queensu.ca
Course: ENGL 349
Term: Fall/Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Chris Bongie
Dear Heather:
Thank you for your petition request to drop ENGL 349 (FW24/25) 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 circumstances that you described within your petition letter and understand that you were impacted by an extenuating circumstance at the end of the 2024 Fall term. I have however, denied this request as the documentation that you supplied confirms academic impacts for a short period of time in November and doesn’t suggest ongoing impacts. I also see from the screenshot that you supplied that you were accommodated by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services during the 2024/2025 academic year. As your petition did not include documentation to suggest that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from being able to drop this course by the academic deadline, I cannot grant this request.
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.
Sincerely,
Jenn Stephenson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated May 5, 2025 at 1:11:14 PM.