Decision Letter
Submission Number: 14047
Decision Date: March 23, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Lingjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 215
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ANAT 315
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BIOL 335
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jasmine,
I have carefully considered your request to drop ANAT 315, BIOL 335, and PHGY 215 (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.
While I recognize the circumstances described in your petition letter, and understand that you were completing outstanding coursework from previous terms alongside new Fall term courses, your petition did not include documentation from a professional demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping these courses prior to the academic drop date. In the absence of such documentation, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade in these courses have on your cumulative GPA I would suggest that you consider repeating them 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.
Given the ongoing nature of the circumstances described in your petition letter, I would suggest that you consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you can obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
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: March 23, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Lingjie Kong
Student Email: 20lk21@queensu.ca
Course: PHGY 215
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: ANAT 315
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: BIOL 335
Term: Fall
Year: 2025
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Jasmine,
I have carefully considered your request to drop ANAT 315, BIOL 335, and PHGY 215 (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.
While I recognize the circumstances described in your petition letter, and understand that you were completing outstanding coursework from previous terms alongside new Fall term courses, your petition did not include documentation from a professional demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping these courses prior to the academic drop date. In the absence of such documentation, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade in these courses have on your cumulative GPA I would suggest that you consider repeating them 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.
Given the ongoing nature of the circumstances described in your petition letter, I would suggest that you consider registering with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) if you have not done so already, so that you can obtain ongoing support from an Accessibility Advisor who can help manage the ongoing impacts of your health on your academics.
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 March 23, 2026 at 12:03:14 PM.