Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13358
Decision Date: August 11, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Jia Jia Cui
Student Email: 19jjc@queensu.ca
Dear Heidi:
Thank you for your petition requesting to take more than 6.0 units of courses on a Letter of Permission, specifically your request to take 25.5 units at another Canadian institution. After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant this request in its entirety, but 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.
Academic Regulation 14.1 indicates that a student on a degree program in the Faculty of Arts and Science may be permitted to take up to 6.0 units of undergraduate classes elsewhere for credit toward a degree offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science via a Letter of Permission. Students with extenuating circumstances or an opportunity to pursue an exceptional learning experience not available through Queen's may submit a petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) to request an exception to the 6.0 unit maximum.
I have granted your request to take 19.5 units of your required MUSC Specialization plan courses at another institution during the 2025/2026 academic year due to the impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation you supplied.
It is important to note that some institutions are not eligible for a Letter of Permission, and not all courses are eligible for transfer credits. It is your responsibility to apply for a Letter of Permission through SOLUS and receive approval before applying to the host institution.
Please be advised that students admitted to the Faculty of Arts and Science prior to Fall 2024 are allowed a maximum of 57.0 transfer units toward their academic program and no more than one-half less 6.0 units of the total required for the Specialization Plan.
Regarding your request to take your final 6.0 units of elective courses at another institution, I am unable to grant this part of your petition. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 1.7.1.7 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that petition requests to take courses at another institution must directly address how this is necessary due to extenuating circumstances or to an exceptional academic opportunity. As your petition did not demonstrate such extenuating circumstance preventing you from being able to take your remaining electives through Arts and Science Online at Queen’s University, I cannot grant this part of your request. I do recognize that you will be living away from Kingston during the 2025/2026 academic year and I encourage you to explore online elective options through Arts and Science.
If you wish to appeal this decision 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, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: August 11, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Jia Jia Cui
Student Email: 19jjc@queensu.ca
Dear Heidi:
Thank you for your petition requesting to take more than 6.0 units of courses on a Letter of Permission, specifically your request to take 25.5 units at another Canadian institution. After a thorough review, I regret to inform you that I’m unable to grant this request in its entirety, but 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.
Academic Regulation 14.1 indicates that a student on a degree program in the Faculty of Arts and Science may be permitted to take up to 6.0 units of undergraduate classes elsewhere for credit toward a degree offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science via a Letter of Permission. Students with extenuating circumstances or an opportunity to pursue an exceptional learning experience not available through Queen's may submit a petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) to request an exception to the 6.0 unit maximum.
I have granted your request to take 19.5 units of your required MUSC Specialization plan courses at another institution during the 2025/2026 academic year due to the impacts of extenuating circumstances as confirmed within the documentation you supplied.
It is important to note that some institutions are not eligible for a Letter of Permission, and not all courses are eligible for transfer credits. It is your responsibility to apply for a Letter of Permission through SOLUS and receive approval before applying to the host institution.
Please be advised that students admitted to the Faculty of Arts and Science prior to Fall 2024 are allowed a maximum of 57.0 transfer units toward their academic program and no more than one-half less 6.0 units of the total required for the Specialization Plan.
Regarding your request to take your final 6.0 units of elective courses at another institution, I am unable to grant this part of your petition. The Academic Petitions and Appeals Regulation 1.7.1.7 at queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/ stress that petition requests to take courses at another institution must directly address how this is necessary due to extenuating circumstances or to an exceptional academic opportunity. As your petition did not demonstrate such extenuating circumstance preventing you from being able to take your remaining electives through Arts and Science Online at Queen’s University, I cannot grant this part of your request. I do recognize that you will be living away from Kingston during the 2025/2026 academic year and I encourage you to explore online elective options through Arts and Science.
If you wish to appeal this decision 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, Ph.D.
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated August 11, 2025 at 9:47:05 AM.