Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13471
Decision Date: September 30, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Noah Vladimirsky
Student Email: 21ndv3@queensu.ca
Course: MICR 386
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Tiziana Cotechini
Dear Noah,
I have carefully considered your request for Credit Standing in MICR 386 (W25) and while I’m unable to grant your petition, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
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.
While I acknowledge that you had a heavy final exam schedule in the Winter term due to some Fall course exams being deferred, I want you to know that this is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. The information that I received from the instructor of the course confirms that you were not successful at passing both the February mid-term and the final exam. With the absence of documentation to confirm that an unexpected extenuating circumstance directly impacted your academic performance on each of these exams in MICR 386, 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.
If you are concerned with 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.
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: September 30, 2025
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Noah Vladimirsky
Student Email: 21ndv3@queensu.ca
Course: MICR 386
Term: Winter
Year: 2025
Category: Request credit (CR) standing in a course or courses
Instructor: Tiziana Cotechini
Dear Noah,
I have carefully considered your request for Credit Standing in MICR 386 (W25) and while I’m unable to grant your petition, I want to assure you that I’ve taken your circumstances into account as part of this decision.
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.
While I acknowledge that you had a heavy final exam schedule in the Winter term due to some Fall course exams being deferred, I want you to know that this is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. The information that I received from the instructor of the course confirms that you were not successful at passing both the February mid-term and the final exam. With the absence of documentation to confirm that an unexpected extenuating circumstance directly impacted your academic performance on each of these exams in MICR 386, 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.
If you are concerned with 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.
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 September 30, 2025 at 9:53:24 AM.