Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13183
Decision Date: July 31, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Tiana Tsoukalas
Student Email: 21tpt2@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC342
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Minqian Shen
Dear Tiana Tsoukalas,
Thank you for your petition requesting Credit Standing in PSYC 342 (W25). After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant this request however, I want to emphasize that this decision is based on the guidelines outlined in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Petition and Appeal Regulations.
According to the Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 petitions are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional.
In addition, Regulation 1.7.1.4 outlines that Credit Standing is reserved for a course in which a student has completed all of the work of the class, including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade, but due to illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected.
While I acknowledge that the PSAC Local 901 strike and labor disruption affected this course during the 2025 Winter term, the instructor has confirmed that your lowest individual grade was from the February mid-term exam, which occurred prior to the strike. They also noted that the final grade calculation placed greater weight on the higher of the two exam grades, thereby reducing the impact of the mid-term on your overall mark, to your advantage. With the absence of documentation demonstrating that an extenuating circumstance affected your academic performance on the mid-term exam specifically, I am unable to grant this request.
Going forward, you should know that 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.
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 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,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: July 31, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Tiana Tsoukalas
Student Email: 21tpt2@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC342
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Minqian Shen
Dear Tiana Tsoukalas,
Thank you for your petition requesting Credit Standing in PSYC 342 (W25). After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant this request however, I want to emphasize that this decision is based on the guidelines outlined in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Petition and Appeal Regulations.
According to the Academic Appeal and Petition Regulation 1.1 petitions are only granted where there are significantly extenuating circumstances, which would merit the waiving of a particular Faculty regulation or decision. Extenuating circumstances normally involve a significant physical or psychological event that is beyond a student’s control and debilitating to their academic performance. These kinds of extraordinary situations should be supported by official documentation from a health care practitioner or other relevant professional.
In addition, Regulation 1.7.1.4 outlines that Credit Standing is reserved for a course in which a student has completed all of the work of the class, including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade, but due to illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected.
While I acknowledge that the PSAC Local 901 strike and labor disruption affected this course during the 2025 Winter term, the instructor has confirmed that your lowest individual grade was from the February mid-term exam, which occurred prior to the strike. They also noted that the final grade calculation placed greater weight on the higher of the two exam grades, thereby reducing the impact of the mid-term on your overall mark, to your advantage. With the absence of documentation demonstrating that an extenuating circumstance affected your academic performance on the mid-term exam specifically, I am unable to grant this request.
Going forward, you should know that 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.
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 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,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated July 31, 2025 at 12:02:49 PM.