Advising (PASS) | Queen's University Faculty of Arts and Science

Peer Academic Support Service (PASS) is an academic advising service designed specifically to assist first-year students in their transition into university and to promote academic success. The PASS team is made up of upper-year student volunteers, and regardless of their own area of study, all Peer Advisors are trained to address questions concerning any program within the Faculty of Arts and Science.

Please note: PASS advising is only available to students in their first year of study in Arts and Science.

Connect with a PASS Advisor for help with:

Navigating SOLUS
Adding/dropping courses
Using the Arts and Science Academic Calendar
Understanding academic policies and deadlines
Choosing degree programs, plans, and courses
Summer term studies
Referrals to other Queen’s resources and support services

Connect with a PASS advisor

Email advising: Students in their first year of study in Arts and Science are welcome to email questions to passhelp@queensu.ca. Please include your full name, student number, and the degree program that you’ve been admitted to. Please note this email will not be monitored until PASS Services resume Monday January 8, 2024.
Daily drop-in advising via Zoom: Friday, April 5 is the last day for Winter term PASS advising! After this date, first-year students who have urgent academic questions are welcome to join advising sessions using the link under Academic Advising for Upper-Year Students on the main advising page.
Questions about Plan Selection? Head to the Plan Selection page for information on navigating the process, making wise choices, and how to get help if you need it.

Join Zoom Meeting

Please note that students are now required to sign into their Queen’s email address when joining our Zoom meetings. You will need to click the key icon labelled “SSO” and enter your email address without “.ca” as well as your netID password.

Having trouble logging on to your Queen's Zoom account? Use this helpful step-by-step tutorial from Queen's ITS.

Meet your Summer PASS Team

Mary

Hello! My name is Mary (any pronouns) and I’m a third-year student doing a joint honours in French Studies and Music. I’m the incoming PASS Coordinator and Student Services Intern for May 2024 to August 2025, and I’m delighted to be working at the Faculty of Arts and Science! Outside of school and work, you can find me listening to music, taking long walks by Lake Ontario, or petting all the outdoor cats in the neighbourhood.

Girl in black standing in front of a white wall.

Kayla

Hi! My name is Kayla (she/her) and I am a fourth-year Kinesiology student and am currently the PASS Coordinatoor and Student Support Intern. I am also going to be the next PASS Assistant Coordinatoor for the next academic year! Other than Kinesiology my interest lie in working out, dancing, and reading every book possible. I am excited to be working/helping all the incoming first-year students this summer!

Girl wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and a gold necklace standing in front of a white wall.

Mid-year Grades posted in SOLUS!

The beginning of the calendar year marks the midpoint of your first academic year at Queen’s, and it’s a good opportunity to evaluate your academic progress. All instructors have been asked to provide first-year students with feedback on their performance in 100-level full-year courses via SOLUS by January 12. You can view your final grades in Fall Term classes, and mid-year grades in full-year courses in the “Academic Records” tab in your Student Services Centre in SOLUS. Click on “View Grades”, select ‘Fall Term 2023, then click on the ‘Official Grades’ or the ‘Mid-Year Grades’ tab to view your grades. Keep in mind that if you have deferred your mid-year or final exam in a course, the grade may appear as IN, be blank, or be your interim grade as it stands right now.

How are you feeling about the grades you see from your first term of university study?

I'm feeling good about my grades

That’s great! Keep up the good work!

As you head into Winter term, be sure to keep taking advantage of the many academic and personal-support services offered by Queen’s. You may contact your instructor or the department offering the course for advice on specific course. Personal counselling is available at the Côté Sharp Student Wellness Centre, located on the ground floor of Mitchell Hall. Student Academic Success Services (SASS), located in Stauffer Library, provides a range of services, including virtual workshops designed to hone your study skills and develop strategies for meeting the demands of academic life. They also offer individual consultation to aid in coping with any difficulties of a more personal nature that may arise. It may help to start by reviewing their online resources.

My grades are okay, but I really want to improve them

Yellow light illuminated on traffic light

If your mid-year grades aren’t quite where they need to be, remember that you still have the Winter term to raise your grade point average (GPA)! Mid-year grades that are lower than you had expected can provide an early indication that you may benefit from some academic advice and/or learning support through the second half of the academic year.

Academic advising is available through the Faculty of Arts and Science Student Services office via Zoom. First year students have exclusive access to PASS, our Peer Academic Support Service. You can connect one-on-one with a PASS advisor by dropping into any of our Zoom Meetings that run Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you need additional assistance, please visit the Student Services Office on the main floor of Dunning Hall or call us at 613-533-2470. Our advisors will also be hosting a webinar in mid-January to provide academic information and options for first year students – watch your Queen’s email for details.

I’m concerned that I’m not succeeding academically

Some of you may face more serious decisions. Please be aware that low final grades on your transcript can lead to academic penalties ranging from being placed on probation (for achieving a GPA of less than 1.60) to being required to withdraw from the University (for achieving a GPA of less than 0.70). An estimate of your GPA can be made by using the GPA calculator available on our GPA Information & Repair webpage. If you have any questions about how a mid-year grade was calculated, please contact your instructor.

If you are struggling with a full-year course, you should seek academic advice immediately and consider the possibility that dropping the course may be the best option. While dropping courses can have financial implications for you and/or implications on your degree completion schedule, there are no academic regulations requiring that students must take a specific number of courses in any one year.
If your unofficial mid-year GPA is below 1.60, you will need to make some improvements to avoid being placed on academic probation at the end of the academic year. To help you improve, you will receive an email invitation from the Bounce Back Program in January. Bounce Back is a confidential one-on-one peer mentorship program designed to help get you back on track academically. We strongly encourage your participation in that program. If you have any questions email academic.success@queensu.ca.

Note that the final deadline for dropping a Winter Term course or the B half of a Fall-Winter course is Friday, March 1, 2024. Additionally, the deadline for adding a Winter Term course is Friday, January 19, 2024.