Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13365
Decision Date: August 18, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Aryana Parmar
Student Email: 22vf32@queensu.ca
Course: KNPE 251
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Aryana:
Thank you for your petition request to drop KNPE 251 (F24) 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.
I understand that your prior petition decision allowed you an opportunity to write the KNPE 251 deferred exam in May, as it was originally missed due to a health-related circumstance. While I do not doubt the sincerity or the severity of the extenuating circumstance that initially prevented you from writing this exam, having limited notice of a scheduled deferral date does not meet the requirement to waive the regulation and approve a late drop of the course at this time. Students are expected to plan and prepare for assessments in alignment with their academic responsibilities.
Based on the information and documentation that you provided, it is unclear why preparation for the deferred exam could not begin once your initial circumstances had improved or were being managed, particularly during the 2025 Winter term when you were able to complete other courses successfully. With the absence of documentation to demonstrate an extenuating circumstance affected your ability to write the deferred exam as scheduled in May, I am unable to grant this request.
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. If you repeat 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.
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.
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: August 18, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Aryana Parmar
Student Email: 22vf32@queensu.ca
Course: KNPE 251
Term: Fall
Year: 2024
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Aryana:
Thank you for your petition request to drop KNPE 251 (F24) 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.
I understand that your prior petition decision allowed you an opportunity to write the KNPE 251 deferred exam in May, as it was originally missed due to a health-related circumstance. While I do not doubt the sincerity or the severity of the extenuating circumstance that initially prevented you from writing this exam, having limited notice of a scheduled deferral date does not meet the requirement to waive the regulation and approve a late drop of the course at this time. Students are expected to plan and prepare for assessments in alignment with their academic responsibilities.
Based on the information and documentation that you provided, it is unclear why preparation for the deferred exam could not begin once your initial circumstances had improved or were being managed, particularly during the 2025 Winter term when you were able to complete other courses successfully. With the absence of documentation to demonstrate an extenuating circumstance affected your ability to write the deferred exam as scheduled in May, I am unable to grant this request.
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. If you repeat 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.
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.
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 August 18, 2025 at 9:05:17 AM.