Academic Consideration

Faculty/Staff Resources

Instructor Handbook

Instructors are encouraged to review the Instructor Handbook for yearly updates.

Redirecting Consideration Emails Guide

We know that receiving emails from the Portal, sometimes multiple per request, can be overwhelming. To assist with managing email volume, we recommend implementing the suggestions in our Redirecting Considerations Email Guide.

Video Tutorials

What Circumstances Qualify?

Types of Requests

Remedies Offered Through Consideration

Deferred Exam Process

Academic Consideration & Instructor Handbook

Evaluation, Timelines, and Referrals

Responsibilities

Consideration vs Accommodation

Webpage Resources

Academic Accommodation Support

For comprehensive information on the difference between Academic Consideration and Accommodation, please refer to the main Academic Consideration webpage.

If you need support in administering Accommodations for a specific student, we recommend reviewing the student’s Accommodation Plan in Ventus to determine the student’s Accessibility Advisor. The Accessibility Advisor is best positioned to assist, or you can contact qsas.intake@queensu.ca for general support. More information can also be found on Queen’s Student Accessibility Services’ website.

If you would like support in adding accessibility or principles of Universal Design to your course(s), you may want to access support through the Instructional Design Support team through Arts and Science Online. Please refer to the Teaching and Learning page for more information.

Deferred Midterm Exam

Important Information for Requesting to Defer a Midterm Exam

Students may submit a consideration request to defer a midterm during the current term using the same process as they would for any other consideration request (see “Applying for Academic Consideration” tab).

Important Information when Students Request to Defer a Midterm Exam:

Students may use their one no-document request and one attestation request per term, including midterms. All additional requests in the same term will require documentation.
Once a consideration request is verified, the student must discuss deferring the midterm, or other academic options, with the instructor. It is at the instructor's discretion as to what options they can offer.
If a student needs to defer a midterm a second time within the same term, they must have a valid consideration request covering the date(s) of the deferred midterm and then discuss the possibility of a second deferral with their instructor(s). A second deferral is not guaranteed and is granted at the instructor’s discretion.
Students should not submit a petition to defer a midterm, or to request a second deferral, if the request is still within the term the course is being taught. A petition is required only if a student need to defer an exam a second time after the course has ended.

Deferred Final Exam/Incomplete (IN) Grade Process

Once an academic consideration request has been verified by the consideration team, it is the student’s responsibility to reach out to their instructor(s) to discuss the options available to them.

While our office verifies severity and the timeline being requested, it is the instructor who will decide if offering a deferred final exam, or an IN-grade, is an appropriate consideration option for their course.

If the instructor has agreed to defer a final exam, or IN-grade for a student, they have two options:

Allow the student to write the exam during the deferred exam period:
1. The instructor is responsible for submitting all deferred student names to the Exam Office, as the Exam office will then schedule and proctor the exam.
2. The Exams Office is responsible for scheduling and administering deferred final exams in December and April.
3. For instructions on how to arrange a deferred exam, please visit the Exam Office webpage.
4. The deferred exam period is usually approximately 1-2 weeks after the end of term. Please see the sessional dates in the current Academic Calendar for the exact dates each term.
Allow the student to write the deferred exam outside of the deferred exam period, or an incomplete (IN) grade:
1. It is the instructor’s responsibility to arrange the time, location, and proctor the exam, or timeline for the remaining course work to be completed.
2. Complete a Permission for an Incomplete Grade form with your student. This helps to set clear expectations for outstanding work and deadlines.
3. Deferred exams or Incomplete work can be submitted no later than the end of the subsequent term.

Limitations of a Deferred Final Exam

Deferred Exam Period: It is the instructor's decision as to when to schedule the deferred exam, whether that is during the deferred exam period, or outside of this time (to a maximum of the end of the following term). Once the agreed scheduled time has passed, the student will need to consider other options (e.g., petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) for extended incomplete, late drop etc.). The consideration portal will not accept requests to defer exams a second time.
Request verified Beyond the Deferred Period: If a consideration request is originally verified for an end date that extends past the official deferred exam period, the student will need to discuss the timeline with their instructor to see what they are able to offer. It will be at the instructor’s discretion when the deferred exam is to be written.
Exam Format: All deferred exams are to be written in the format they were originally scheduled. For example, if a student’s original exam was scheduled to be in-person, they must write their deferred exam in-person. This is an important factor to consider, especially if the student knows they will not be in Kingston during the deferred exam period.

Faculty/Staff FAQs

Can I ask students for information about their extenuating circumstance?

To maintain the student’s privacy, please do not ask the student for more information about their extenuating circumstance, for medical notes, or to upload correspondence to OnQ or another online platform which may include personal information. If you require verification of a student’s circumstance to be tracked in any way, the student is copied on the verification email you receive and may use this correspondence for this purpose.

How many requests for Consideration can a student make?

There is no set limit on the number of Academic Consideration requests a student can make. The Faculty Office does audit how many Academic Consideration requests a student submits but the purpose of this is not to limit or cut-off further requests. At a certain point, the student will be required to meet with the Academic Consideration Manager in the Faculty Office to ensure that they have adequate support for their health and wellness needs before they are able to submit further requests.

Students receiving Academic Considerations must meet all essential academic requirements/learning outcomes and standards of the course. If Academic Consideration is not possible, the student should be referred to an Academic Advisor to discuss reducing course load and/or appeal options, etc. The student is informed that Academic Consideration does not guarantee academic achievement in a course/program.

What if a student from another Faculty is taking my FAS course?

Students in other Faculties and Schools who are enrolled in this course should refer to the Academic Consideration protocol for their home Faculty. This means you will receive requests from other Faculties' Consideration departments. Please honour these requests as you would those coming from the Arts & Science Academic Consideration Team.

I would like all requests sent to a specific email address. Can you direct students to do so?

As students input this information directly into the Portal which sends automated emails, we cannot control where requests are sent. We recommend including a statement in your syllabus or on OnQ to inform students of the email address you’d like them to use when submitting a Request for Academic Consideration.

I haven’t received confirmation of a student’s Consideration request.

The student likely incorrectly entered your email address when submitting their request. Please contact us at asc.consideration@queensu.ca and we can send along the confirmation email.

How long do requests take to be processed?

Short-term Requests

Short-term requests are deemed valid unless instructors are notified otherwise by our office. Our office aims to review these requests within 1 business day of submission. When this is not possible (long weekends, peak periods) requests are always reviewed within 2 business days. If our team requires additional time to follow up with the student or if the request has not been verified, we will notify you by email.

Updates and withdrawals of short-term requests occur in less than 5% of requests, so we ask that these requests are assumed valid until instructors are notified otherwise.

If you receive a short-term withdrawal and you have already provided Academic Consideration in good faith, instructors have the right to withdraw/remove the academic consideration provided to date.

Long-term Requests

As students are given 5 business days to submit supporting documentation, long-term requests can take between 2 – 6 business days to be processed. If our office needs longer than 6 business days, we will contact you to advise of any processing delays.

The student’s request does not cover the date of a deliverable. How should I attend to this?

Our office verifies requests for Academic Consideration based on clearly defined dates listed on supporting documentation. If a student would like our office to verify a longer period of time to cover the date of an assignment, they will need to provide additional documentation. This can be provided to our office at asc.consideration@queensu.ca to extend the request.

Please note that in cases where the student needs an additional day or two beyond the verified timeline, instructors have discretion extend Academic Consideration beyond the verified timeline should they deem appropriate.

If I offer universal design in my course, do I need to grant further Academic Consideration?

If universal design is clearly listed in your course syllabus, you do not need to grant further short-term requests for Academic Consideration as it has already been offered to the entire class.

However, we would encourage you to direct students experiencing a long-term extenuating circumstance to submit a long-term request via the Academic Consideration Request Portal for our office to review. Long-term requests require valid supporting documentation. We encourage Instructors to provide additional Consideration in these cases since the student may have been impacted for both the original and extended deadline offered through universal design.

What is a reasonable length of time to allow students to follow up with me to arrange for Consideration? What if they don’t contact me at all?

Students are notified that it is their responsibility to follow-up with you as soon as possible to discuss the Academic Consideration options available given the deliverable being missed.

There is no standard timeline for when this communication needs to occur; however, if a student delays following up with you, then there may be limits on the types of Consideration available to the student, if consideration can be offered at all.

There are many reasons for not having a set timeline. Perhaps the student is ill beyond the verified timeline or does not have regular access to the internet, etc. and leaving this open-ended allows for flexibility. We also recognize that courses are offered in many different formats - for example, accelerated summer courses may warrant quicker communication compared to those offered during the Fall/Winter terms. As such, the Professor is best positioned to determine a suitable timeline for communication for their specific courses.

If there is a standard timeline you wish to set, we would recommend adding information about your communication expectations to your course syllabus. If you were to do so, we would encourage you to leave room for flexibility in cases where students are unable to contact you within set guidelines.

If the student does not contact you at all, we would encourage you to grade their work accordingly.

Can I deny Consideration requests?

Academic Consideration is a good faith process. Although we encourage Instructors to honour requests where possible, there are cases where denying requests would be warranted (e.g. for short-term requests where Universal Design has been employed, if a student has not completed a proportional amount of coursework, etc). In these cases, other academic remedies may be more beneficial for the student, and we recommend directing the student to speak to an Academic Advisor regarding appeal options (ie: late drop, aegrotat standing, etc). Please direct students to our advising webpage for up-to-date information regarding making appointments.

A student has an Accessibility Plan available in Ventus. What is this and what do I do with it?

Accessibility Plans are administered by Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS) for students with functional limitations or disabilities. These are available to teaching staff through Ventus. If a student has an Accessibility Plan in place, you have a legal duty to accommodate the student in your course. If you have questions about administering an Accessibility Plan, please contact the Accessibility Advisor listed on the Plan or see the Educator Rights and Responsibilities page on the Student Wellness Services website (under “Accessibility Services,” then "Faculty and Staff.")

For more information see the “Academic Consideration and Academic Accommodation” section on our website or in the Academic Consideration Instructor Handbook.

What if a request is verified beyond the end of the academic term?

The role of the Academic Consideration team is to verify the duration and severity of a student’s circumstance. This can sometimes mean that a student’s request is verified beyond the end of the academic term. Professors should evaluate the student’s academic progress to determine which academic remedy would best assist the student:

In cases where a student has one outstanding requirement or has missed a small percentage of the course, the instructor may decide to grant an Incomplete (IN) grade (see “When should Instructors provide an Incomplete (IN) grade?” below for more information).
In the following cases, it may be more appropriate to counsel the student to submit an Academic Petition to late drop the course.
- If the student has not completed a significant portion of the course and can no longer meet the learning outcomes.
- Sometimes the design of the course requires the student to participate in continued practice and feedback, or to perform work in a group or lab setting as essential learning outcomes. As the course will have ended, the student may not have the opportunity to work with others or receive cumulative feedback.

When should Instructors provide an Incomplete (IN) grade?

As per Academic Regulation 10.3.4: In cases where a student will receive a failing grade if all outstanding work is not completed or the exam is not written, an IN grade will be submitted by the instructor. A grade of IN will not be included in the determination of a student’s GPA, and any course with an IN designation may not be counted for credit towards a degree program.

If the outstanding work is not submitted by the end of the subsequent term, the IN grade will lapse to an F (Failure) and will be included in the student’s GPA.

In cases where a student will pass the course even if the outstanding work is not completed or the exam is not written, the actual earned letter grade will be assigned. The letter grade shall be included in the student’s GPA and may be counted for credit towards a degree program. If the outstanding work is not submitted by the end of the subsequent term, the original letter grade shall stand.

So, for example, if this student has a D grade, and would receive a D grade even if they did not complete the outstanding work, then an instructor would input a D rather than an IN. If the student is already failing the course, then the instructor would submit an IN – if the student does not complete the outstanding work then the grade would change from IN to F at the end of the subsequent term.

Anything beyond the subsequent term would require the student to submit an Academic Petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) to allow an extension of the Incomplete.

A student submitted a request for a course that was offered in a previous term. Is this permitted?

Yes and no. Students are expected to submit requests for Academic Consideration in the academic term for which the course is being offered. However, there is one possible exception where we would permit requests pertaining to previous terms:

If the student experienced a substantial extenuating circumstance which impacted their ability to submit a request for Consideration before the end of the academic term (i.e.: the student was in a coma), leeway may be provided to the student IF grades have not yet been posted. Please have the student contact our office at asc.consideration@queensu.ca so we can assist the student in determining whether the Consideration or Academic Petition process would be appropriate in their specific case.

If the student has been granted an incomplete (IN) grade in the course and they experience a new extenuating circumstance which impacts new deadlines, students will not be able to submit requests for Academic Considerations, they will need to submit a petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) for any further extension. For example, the student has been granted an IN in a Winter term course and negotiated a new deadline for an outstanding essay for July 15th; however, one of the student’s family members passed away on July 12th. The student will need to petition the Associate Dean (Academic) to request a second extension.

When should Instructors advise students to contact the faculty regarding petition options?

Depending on the timing and impact of the extenuating circumstances, the student may not be able to engage in academic tasks to the extent that dropping the course should be considered.

Instructors should refer students to speak with an Academic Advisor or the Academic Consideration Team in the Faculty Office to consider dropping a course before the academic deadline. Dropping a course after the academic deadline requires an Academic Petition to the Associate Dean (Academic).

What is the difference between “re-weighting” and an Aegrotat Standing?

Re-weighting of marks: Allocation/shifting of marks associated with missed academic work to another academic requirement that assesses similar learning outcomes. This type of academic consideration should be used mainly when:

A student has missed a small component of academic work; and/or
It is not possible to have the same assessment at a later time because the component has been compromised (i.e., answers posted or material covered in class); or
It is not possible to set an alternative assessment (with the same learning outcomes).
It is possible to redistribute marks on a mid-term to a final exam when the final exam assesses the same learning outcomes as the mid-term. However, it is not recommended if it puts the student in a Pass/Fail situation. It is not possible to retroactively redistribute marks from a missed final exam (or a comprehensive/end of term assignment) to a previous component of the course. If this final component of the course is missed, the preferred option will be to give the student an Incomplete (with a deferred exam or an extension of the assignment). The alternative option would require a petition to the Associate Dean (Academic) for Aegrotat Standing, which is only possible when the student has completed the majority of the course work and has demonstrated achievement of the course learning outcomes.

Request Aegrotat Standing in a Course (Academic Petition & Appeals Regulation 1.7.1.3): 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. The majority of the work to be evaluated in the class (assignments, midterms, laboratories, final examination, as specified in the class syllabus) must be completed and the instructor must assert that the student has met the essential course learning outcomes. A medical certificate or other documentation that outlines how the personal extenuating circumstances affected the student’s academic performance must be provided with the petition.

If this request is granted, the instructor will be asked to provide an estimated final grade (see Academic Regulation 10). If the student may be able to complete the remaining work at any point in the foreseeable future, they should instead consider a petition to extend the deadline to submit incomplete work or request a deferred exam instead.

A petition for aegrotat standing must be submitted within one year of the end the term in which the class was offered. A student may be granted aegrotat or credit standing for a maximum of 36.0 units over the course of an entire degree program (see Academic Regulation 10).

A student seeking Aegrotat Standing in a class must submit a formal petition to the Associate Dean (Studies) (see Petition of Academic Decisions, Section 3). As part of the petition, the instructor must indicate whether the student has demonstrated an understanding of the class material and must provide an estimation of the student’s grade in the class based on the work completed. If the request is granted, this estimated letter grade will appear on the student’s transcript together with a note reading “Aegrotat Estimated Grade.” Students may be granted Aegrotat and/or credit standing for a maximum of 36.0 units during their entire program.

What to do when an Instructor teaches one half of a full-year course?

It is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor teaching the portion of the course to which academic consideration applies. Should the instructor no longer be available to contact, then students should be directed to contact the Department Head for support.

Instructors should also update their auto-e-mails to direct students to contact the Department Head after the portion of the course that they are teaching has ended.

What should departments do if the Instructor is on sabbatical or their contract has ended?

It is the responsibility of the Department Head to assign a new instructor to oversee any Incomplete (IN) grades for courses for which the instructor is on sabbatical or if their contract has ended. Instructors who are on sabbatical or have completed their contract should also update their auto-e-mails to direct students to contact the Department Head after the course has ended.

A student in my course needs to defer their exam. How is this arranged?

If the request for academic consideration pertains to a time period when a final examination is scheduled, please note that the decision to defer an exam is at the discretion of the Instructor. Deferred examinations may be scheduled as early as the day after the student’s consideration period ends or up to a maximum of the end of the subsequent term.

On-Campus/Online: The central Exams Office will communicate pertinent deferral information and deadlines with Professors prior to each exam period. Although their office coordinates most deferrals, there are circumstances where the Professor may arrange for their own exams. Please refer to this semesterly correspondence for further details and contact exams@queensu.ca, should you have additional questions.

Bader College: Professors offering exam deferrals for courses at Bader College should notify Deputy Director, Dr. Anna Taylor at bc.deputyad@queensu.ca.

A student in my course has been granted Academic Accommodation. How do I arrange an accommodated exam?

It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Professor 10 business days before the date of the exam. Students registered with QSAS before November 15th (Fall) and March 15th (Winter) will be guaranteed their exam accommodations for the upcoming exam session. If a student is granted Accommodation less than 10 days prior to an exam, they may be eligible for Consideration and an exam deferral instead.

On-Campus/Online: The central Exams Office will communicate pertinent accommodated exam information and deadlines with Professors prior to each exam period. Please refer to this semesterly correspondence for further details and contact exams@queensu.ca, should you have additional questions.

Bader College: Students needing exam accommodations must advise Deputy Director, Dr. Anna Taylor: bc.deputyad@queensu.ca, AND the Accommodations Officer, Dr. Isabelle Brent isabelle.brent@queensu.ca immediately by email.

Resources for Students

Should students need assistance in submitting requests for Consideration, please refer them to the Video Tutorials listed on the Academic Consideration website.

If a student needs support from a resource outside of our office, please refer to the Faculty’s Campus and Community Support Resources page.

Contact Information

If you have questions or need support, please reach out to the Academic Consideration Manager at asc.consideration@queensu.ca.

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