Decision Letter
Submission Number: 14140
Decision Date: April 30, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Zheng Qiu
Student Email: 24js8@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC100
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: KNPE 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Terry,
I have carefully considered your request to drop PSYC 100 (FW25/26) and KNPE 125 (W26) 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 acknowledge the health condition described in your petition letter, and appreciate the email from your parent confirming these circumstances, I must also consider the timing of the request within the context of the petition regulations.
I understand that you remained enrolled in these courses in the hope that your academic situation would improve. However, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they 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.
I note that you previously enrolled in these courses during the 2024/2025 academic year and dropped them in June of 2025 through a prior petition request. In the current 2026 Winter term, you were provided an indication of your academic standing in PSYC 100 through your January mid-year grade and should have been aware of your progress in KNPE 125 prior to the April 6 drop deadline.
As your petition did not include documentation from a health-care professional demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping these courses prior to the academic drop date, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade in these courses has 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.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. Appeals to the Board of Studies must be submitted within 10 business days of the date of this decision. 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: April 30, 2026
Associate Dean: Dorit Naaman (Associate Dean Academic)
Student Name: Zheng Qiu
Student Email: 24js8@queensu.ca
Course: PSYC100
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Course: KNPE 125
Term: Winter
Year: 2026
Category: Drop a course after the academic deadline
Dear Terry,
I have carefully considered your request to drop PSYC 100 (FW25/26) and KNPE 125 (W26) 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 acknowledge the health condition described in your petition letter, and appreciate the email from your parent confirming these circumstances, I must also consider the timing of the request within the context of the petition regulations.
I understand that you remained enrolled in these courses in the hope that your academic situation would improve. However, it is the student’s responsibility to pause and evaluate the impact of extenuating circumstances on their coursework prior to the drop deadline of the term. If they fall behind in a course or find the material too difficult, they 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.
I note that you previously enrolled in these courses during the 2024/2025 academic year and dropped them in June of 2025 through a prior petition request. In the current 2026 Winter term, you were provided an indication of your academic standing in PSYC 100 through your January mid-year grade and should have been aware of your progress in KNPE 125 prior to the April 6 drop deadline.
As your petition did not include documentation from a health-care professional demonstrating that an unexpected extenuating circumstance prevented you from dropping these courses prior to the academic drop date, I am unable to grant this request.
If you are concerned about the impact that your grade in these courses has 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.
Additionally, if you wish to appeal this decision, you are welcome to submit an appeal to the Board of Studies. Appeals to the Board of Studies must be submitted within 10 business days of the date of this decision. 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 April 30, 2026 at 10:05:25 AM.