Academic Petitions & Appeals | Queen's University Faculty of Arts and Science

The Academic Regulations for the Faculty of Arts and Science are designed to ensure that academic standards are upheld and that all students are treated fairly and equitably.

In general, with the exception of appeals related to final examinations, final grades, or non-academic misconduct where other criteria will apply, petitions and appeals 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.

Petitions and appeals in the Faculty of Arts and Science are detailed in Academic Regulations and Appeal Regulations in the Calendar.

University Governing Policies

The Student Academic Appeals Policy (SAAP) and Rules of Procedure for USAB (University Student Appeals Board) are the Queen’s University Senate approved appeal policies upon which the Faculty of Arts and Science’s appeal regulations and processes are based. In the event that an inconsistency arises between these policies and the Arts and Science regulations, SAAP and USAB will supersede.

Levels of Petition and Appeal in Arts and Science

There are three levels of petition/appeal within the Faculty of Arts and Science (instructor, Associate Dean (Academic) and Board of Studies) and one final level of appeal that is university-wide (USAB).

First level: Petitions to the Instructor

Two kinds of petitions can be made directly to instructors:

An informal review of a grade in a piece of course work
To request an exam deferral

First level (Faculty of Arts and Science): Petitions to the Associate Dean (Academic)

Second level (Faculty of Arts and Science): Appeal of Associate Dean’s decision to the Board of Studies

Third level (University-wide): Appeal of Board of Studies’ decision to USAB

Petition and Appeal Deadlines

Petition for informal grade review to instructor	Refer to course syllabus for class deadlines and instructions
Petition to add classes after the add deadline	10 business days after the add deadline of term
Petition to waive a requirement to withdraw for one year/three years	15 business days
Petition for late course drop, credit standing, Aegrotat standing	Within one year of the end of the term in which the class was offered
Petition for extension of an incomplete grade or deferred exam beyond one term	Prior to the deadline for the submission of the outstanding work/exam
Appeal for formal review of instructor’s decision on coursework	Within 15 business days of receiving the instructor’s decision on the informal review
Appeal of Associate Dean’s decision on petition (to Board of Studies)	Within 10 business days
Appeal of Board of Studies’s decision on appeal (to USAB)	Within 2 weeks

Petition vs Appeal

Petition: A petition is a formal request made by a student to an instructor or the Associate Dean (Academic) for an exception, special consideration or standing (review a grade assigned, waive a drop deadline, waive a requirement to withdraw, apply Credit standing, for example.) The decision maker will review the request and render a decision to the student according to the relevant process and policies.

Appeal: An appeal is the next step of the process when a petition is denied. A formal request made by a student to apply for a review of a decision made by an instructor, Associate Dean or the Board of Studies to a higher tribunal.

First Level: Petition to the Associate Dean (Academic)

The first level is a petition to the Associate Dean (Academic).

Submit an Online Petition here

Below you will find the information you need to help you with the submission of a petition.

What can I petition?

A student can submit a petition letter requesting that various regulations be waived if they have experienced documented extenuating circumstances. Examples of various petition options that a student can request are as follows:

Add a Class after the Last Official Date for Adding Classes

must be submitted within 10 business days of the deadline to add a class

A petition to add a class late must clearly demonstrate the significant extenuating circumstances, beyond the student’s control, which prevented them from making the addition by the deadline, as indicated in the Faculty’s Sessional Dates.

Advice for students:

A petition to add a class late must have support from the class instructor which you can attach to your petition along with your supporting documentation
If the class was full prior to the deadline, the student must have been on the wait list for the class in order for the petition to be considered.

Drop a Class after the Last Official Date for Dropping Classes

must be submitted within one year of the end of the term in which the class was offered.

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.

Advice for students:

Classes in which a student has received a passing grade may not be dropped.
Students may not petition to drop a class in which there is a pending investigation of a departure from academic integrity, or a finding of a departure from academic integrity that has resulted in a failure in the class.

Request Aegrotat Standing in a Course

must be submitted within one year of the end the term in which the class was offered.

Aegrotat standing is reserved for a course in which a student who, because of illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, is unable to complete all the work of the class. At least 60 per cent of the work to be evaluated in the class must be completed.

Advice for students:

A student with short-term extenuating circumstances who may be able to complete the outstanding work in the class during the subsequent term, should request an Incomplete Grade through their instructor instead.

Request Credit (CR) Standing in a Course

must be submitted within one year of the end of the term in which the class was offered.

Credit standing is reserved for a course in which a student who has completed each and every component of the class, including the final examination, and achieved a passing grade in the class, but due to illness or other extenuating circumstances beyond their control, earned a substantially lower grade than might have been expected. Normally CR standing is only awarded for a grade of C or lower.

Advice for students:

A student who did not complete each and every component in the class would not be eligible for Credit Standing and may want to consider repeating the course in a future term if they are concerned with the impact its grade has in their cumulative GPA

Request an Extension of the Deadline to Submit Incomplete Work or to Complete a Deferred Examination in a Class

must be submitted prior to the deadline for the submission of incomplete work. Normally, the deadline for the submission of incomplete work is the end of one term after the course was taken.

Normally such requests are considered if the student has participated actively in the class and only one or two elements of the course work have not been completed due to extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control.

Advice for students:

The instructor will be consulted for their agreement to a further extension and so the student may want to proactively connect with them to request their support
Students with extenuating circumstances who have been unable to complete the majority of the work in a class should consider a petition to drop a class after the deadline rather than an extension of the deadline to submit incomplete work.

Facilitate a Formal Review of Instructors’ Decisions on Grading of Term Work and/or Final Examinations

must be made within 15 business days of receiving the instructor’s decision in the informal review. Note: missing the deadline for an informal review is not valid grounds to proceed with a formal review.
Before submitting your petition, please consult this guide to determine if your request meets the guidelines for a formal review.

For the Associate Dean (Academic) to facilitate a formal review, the student must have received the decision of an informal review of the work by the instructor and can demonstrate that at least one of the following grounds apply: That the instructor did not adhere to the syllabus or the assignment instructions, That there was bias, error, or a discrepancy in marking, That the decision of the instructor in reviewing the work was not reasonable or did not follow procedural or relational fairness.

Advice for students:

No final course grades can be reviewed, only grades on individual assessments.
Assessments that are not eligible for formal review include participation, oral presentation, live performances, group work, or any other practical, graded assessment that cannot be objectively reviewed after the fact by a third party. Grades assigned by peer review are also not eligible for formal review.

Request to take more than 6.0 units of courses on a letter of permission through another university

Students in good standing (i.e., on a degree program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 1.60) may take more than 6.0 units of courses at another university via a letter of permission with the permission of the Associate Dean (Academic). The petition should directly address the extenuating circumstances that make taking courses at a visiting institution necessary OR how these particular courses or institution presents an exceptional academic opportunity not available through Queen’s. If approved, students must then obtain a letter of permission prior to enrolling in courses at another university.

Request to Waive a Requirement to Withdraw for One Year

must be submitted within 15 business days of the receipt of the letter from the Associate Dean (Academic) informing the student of the decision that the student must withdraw.

A petition requesting that a requirement to withdraw be waived must clearly demonstrate how significantly extenuating circumstances, beyond the student’s control, affected their academic performance. In cases where the extenuating circumstances have been temporary, the student should indicate and document how the circumstances have been overcome and why the student is confident that they will not continue to be a factor in academic performance. In cases where the extenuating circumstances are ongoing rather than temporary, the student should also indicate and document how these personal challenges will be managed if the requirement to withdraw is waived.

Advice for students:

In addition to a student’s petition letter and supporting documentation, this type of petition must also include a student’s academic plan.

Request to Waive a Requirement to Withdraw for a Minimum of Three Years

must be submitted within 15 business days of the receipt of the letter from the Associate Dean (Academic) informing the student of the decision that the student must withdraw.

Advice for students:

In addition to a student’s petition letter and supporting documentation, this type of petition must also include a student’s academic plan.

What do I need to include with my petition?

Students should submit with their petition letter, documentation that supports the circumstances outlined. Documentation should include information related to the timeline of the extenuating circumstance(s) as well as the impact the circumstance(s) had on their studies and attests to the severity of the circumstances. If the petition is for a re-read of an assignment or essay, they must submit a copy of the unmarked assignment or essay in question.
Documentation to support late Drops, Credit standing, Aegrotat standing, and to Extend an INcomplete grade includes documents such as medical letters, an Off Campus Physicians document, death certificates, legal documents (if relevant).

Appeal Deadlines

There are deadlines related to the submission of petitions. Please see this website for information: https://www.queensu.ca/academic-calendar/arts-science/appeal-regulations/

Resources

Second Level: Appeal to the Board of Studies

Submit a Board of Studies Appeal Here

A student may appeal the petition decision of the Associate Dean (Academic) to the Board of Studies, with the exception of decisions on matters related to appeals of grading of term work or final examinations (those decisions are final).

Deadlines

Appeals must be submitted via the portal within 10 business days of the date that the petition decision letter was emailed to the student by the Faculty Office.

If additional supporting documentation is to be submitted but the student has not been able to acquire it yet, they still need to submit the appeal letter by the deadline. A student can then indicate in the portal what supporting documents will be submitted and the anticipated date of submission. Waiting for supporting documents is not a valid reason to miss the appeal deadline.

Submission

Appeals must be submitted via the portal and include a letter explaining the reason(s) for appeal, based on one or more of the Grounds for Appeal set out in Appeal Regulation 3.4. It is important in the appeal letter to:

Specifically address the written statements made by the Associate Dean (Academic) in denying the petition and
Identify and explain which grounds you are basing your appeal on

Note: all letters and documentation considered by the Associate Dean (Academic) in reaching a decision on your petition will be forwarded to the Board of Studies for review as part of your appeal.

Outcome of the Appeal

After a careful review of the evidence, the Board of Studies, will act as a true appeal board to determine if

the original decision maker failed to meet the standards of procedural fairness or
if the original decision maker exceeded their jurisdiction (see section3.4).

If the appeal is found to meet either of these grounds, then the decision shall be overturned. If not, the original decision will be upheld.

The Board of Studies will inform the student in writing of the decision, normally within 10 business days after the date of the meeting of the Board of Studies to decide the appeal.

The Board of Studies is the last level of appeal on academic matters for students whose appeal does not affect the progression in their program.

The decisions of the Board of Studies on academic matters are final (see SAAP).

Resources

Third Level: Appeal to the University Student Appeal Board

For those students whose appeal does not affect their progression in their program the Board of Studies is the final level of appeal. The University Student Appeal Board (USAB) is the third and final level for an appeal that does affect a student’s progression in their program.

Appeals to the University Student Appeal Board relate only to the process by which the previous decisions were rendered and does not deal with the merits of the appeal itself. USAB is intended to ensure that fair procedures have been followed and that there has not been a clear error in the exercise of discretion.

You will have 14 days (2 weeks) from the date that you receive the Board of Studies decision letter to submit your appeal. To do so, you would need to contact the Secretary of USAB in the Office of the University Secretariat and Legal Counsel at usabsecretary@queensu.ca.

For further details on the jurisdiction of USAB see Rules of Procedure for University Student Appeal Board.

You may also consult with the Office of the University Ombudsperson (https://www.queensu.ca/ombuds/appeal-process) for information about student rights and responsibilities and guidance on policy and procedure.

For general information please refer to the Student Academic Appeals Policy.