Decision Letter
Submission Number: 13789
Decision Date: February 17, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Rylie Tishler
Student Email: 19rjt3@queensu.ca
Course: PHIL 224
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Rylie,
I have carefully considered your request to drop PHIL 224 (F25) after the academic deadline 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 1.7.1.2. a petition to drop a class late must clearly demonstrate the significant extenuating circumstances, beyond the student’s control, which prevented them from dropping the class by the deadline, as indicated in the Faculty’s Sessional Dates. A medical certificate or other documentation that outlines how the personal extenuating circumstances hindered the student’s ability to drop the class prior to the deadline should be provided with the petition.
I acknowledge the circumstances that you described in your petition letter. I understand that while you were enrolled in this course, you were also managing a job that required travel outside of Kingston. I also appreciate the documentation that you supplied to confirm the timeline of the health-related challenges that you experienced during the Fall term.
I want to remind you that choosing to work while taking classes is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. Academic Regulation 6 in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar stresses that students are expected to attend all lectures, laboratories, tutorials, online discussions, tests, and examinations and to submit work at the prescribed times. If circumstances significantly affect attendance or academic performance, students are expected to consider dropping the course by the drop deadline of the term. With the absence of documentation demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance affected your ability to drop PHIL 224 (F25) prior to the academic drop deadline, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade this course has on your cumulative 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.
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.
Sincerely,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Decision Date: February 17, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Rylie Tishler
Student Email: 19rjt3@queensu.ca
Course: PHIL 224
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Rylie,
I have carefully considered your request to drop PHIL 224 (F25) after the academic deadline 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 1.7.1.2. a petition to drop a class late must clearly demonstrate the significant extenuating circumstances, beyond the student’s control, which prevented them from dropping the class by the deadline, as indicated in the Faculty’s Sessional Dates. A medical certificate or other documentation that outlines how the personal extenuating circumstances hindered the student’s ability to drop the class prior to the deadline should be provided with the petition.
I acknowledge the circumstances that you described in your petition letter. I understand that while you were enrolled in this course, you were also managing a job that required travel outside of Kingston. I also appreciate the documentation that you supplied to confirm the timeline of the health-related challenges that you experienced during the Fall term.
I want to remind you that choosing to work while taking classes is not considered to be an unexpected extenuating circumstance. Academic Regulation 6 in the Faculty of Arts and Science Academic Calendar stresses that students are expected to attend all lectures, laboratories, tutorials, online discussions, tests, and examinations and to submit work at the prescribed times. If circumstances significantly affect attendance or academic performance, students are expected to consider dropping the course by the drop deadline of the term. With the absence of documentation demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance affected your ability to drop PHIL 224 (F25) prior to the academic drop deadline, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade this course has on your cumulative 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.
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.
Sincerely,
Dorit Naaman, PhD
Associate Dean (Academic)
Generated February 17, 2026 at 9:52:25 AM.