Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13187
Decision Date: July 16, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Lingjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Chris Ward
Additional Information: Final Exam
Dear Jasmine:
Thank you for your petition request to drop PHGY 216 (W25) 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 your circumstances were considered thoughtfully and with care as part of the decision-making process.
As outlined in the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions are only granted in cases where extenuating circumstances significantly impaired a student’s ability to meet academic responsibilities, and where these impacts can be clearly supported by documentation. The regulations also emphasize the importance of demonstrating how these circumstances directly prevented the student from taking academic actions within established timelines, such as dropping a course by the published deadline.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstance that you experienced in mid-May, as described in your June 9 email to asc.petitions@queens.ca. I appreciate that you contacted your instructor to let them know that you were not able to write the deferred exam at that time. However, after a thorough review, I must conclude that your petition does not include sufficient documentation to meet the standard required to waive the petitions and appeals regulation 1.7.1.2. – to drop a class after the last official date for dropping classes. Specifically, it does not include documentation confirming the illness on the date of the deferred exam, or demonstrating that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping this course by the 2025 Winter term deadline. In addition, the petition does not include evidence that you requested Academic Consideration around the date of the deferred exam, which is the appropriate recourse under such circumstances. The petitions and appeals process at Queen’s is document-based, meaning that some form of official documentation must confirm why you were unable to write the exam on the scheduled date, or to drop the course by the official deadline. In the absence of such documentation, I am unable to grant your request.
Going forward, it is your responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established 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, but 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,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Decision Date: July 16, 2025
Associate Dean: Scott-Morgan Straker (Acting Associate Dean)
Student Name: Lingjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 216
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Instructor: Chris Ward
Additional Information: Final Exam
Dear Jasmine:
Thank you for your petition request to drop PHGY 216 (W25) 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 your circumstances were considered thoughtfully and with care as part of the decision-making process.
As outlined in the Academic Petitions and Appeal Regulations 1.1, petitions are only granted in cases where extenuating circumstances significantly impaired a student’s ability to meet academic responsibilities, and where these impacts can be clearly supported by documentation. The regulations also emphasize the importance of demonstrating how these circumstances directly prevented the student from taking academic actions within established timelines, such as dropping a course by the published deadline.
I acknowledge the health-related extenuating circumstance that you experienced in mid-May, as described in your June 9 email to asc.petitions@queens.ca. I appreciate that you contacted your instructor to let them know that you were not able to write the deferred exam at that time. However, after a thorough review, I must conclude that your petition does not include sufficient documentation to meet the standard required to waive the petitions and appeals regulation 1.7.1.2. – to drop a class after the last official date for dropping classes. Specifically, it does not include documentation confirming the illness on the date of the deferred exam, or demonstrating that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping this course by the 2025 Winter term deadline. In addition, the petition does not include evidence that you requested Academic Consideration around the date of the deferred exam, which is the appropriate recourse under such circumstances. The petitions and appeals process at Queen’s is document-based, meaning that some form of official documentation must confirm why you were unable to write the exam on the scheduled date, or to drop the course by the official deadline. In the absence of such documentation, I am unable to grant your request.
Going forward, it is your responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on your coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If you fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, you should drop the course by deadline. The drop deadlines, outlined in the “Important Dates” section on the Faculty of Arts and Science web page, have been established 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, but 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,
Scott-Morgan Straker
Associate Dean (Acting)
Generated July 16, 2025 at 9:18:32 AM.