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I attended college from 2009-2011 and ultimately withdrew (unauthorized) from a few of my courses my last semester because my mom had severe health issues and I became her caretaker as well as started working full time to help with household expenses. I did not mind the implications to my transcript because I never thought I would go back to school. Unfortunately she has passed away and my life is together enough now that I have since enrolled elsewhere with a 4.0 and am ready to graduate soon. My previous school has a generous compassionate retroactive withdrawal policy so I can wipe them clean off my record.
However one of my professors gave me an F, not a WU. An F cannot be changed by the office that does retroactive withdrawals so I had to bring my case to my old professor. According to written school policy an F is not the correct grade to give to a student who stops attending (a WU is, which could easily be changed). My professor taught a bunch of large lecture classes so when I called his department to inquire the secretary said it was likely he made a mistake and there would be no problem in switching, so I politely emailed my professor and explained the situation as suggested.
... It did not go well. He basically offered no sympathy to my situation caring for my terminally ill mom, said he had no recollection of me ever in class (I did not expect him to) and that he was not going to do anything about my irresponsibility. He snottily answered my emails with "You again??" as well. The school mandates professors keep records for seven years so I am still within my rights. I take full responsibility for leaving school unauthorized but my college has options in place for retroactive withdrawals which I am trying to avail myself of. If I truly deserved the F by turning in poor work I would take it, but I left the course and as per school policy should not have received the F. Before leaving, I was also a straight A student.
I was prepared to just give up and take the F after speaking to my professor but my professor then involved the department chair on his own who was equally nasty and doubled down, saying they were unwilling to help and I needed to escalate. They also gave me a totally unnecessary dressing down about being in "the real world" and responsibility and being in "the work force." So laughable... but I did not respond to those statements and kept it cordial and professional. As an aside, I would not wish the situation I was in with my mother ANYONE so to use that as a means to wag their finger at me was just gross on a human level. Because of that, the whole situation rubbed me the wrong way so I decided just to inquire in another office about what happens if you think a grade was given erroneously and I was actually given an appointment with the dean.
Do I have a shot? Converting the F to a WU would mean my retroactive withdrawal appeal would take off all punitive/failing grades as if the F were not given in error it could not be changed. Ultimately I wish to get the grades wiped off my transcript because I am going to law school and would take a huge GPA hit over it. All my other professors that semester gave WU--the correct grade--and I left their classes at the same time. So why was this professor different? I am not asking for a failing grade to be made inyo a passing grade. I am asking for the CORRECT failing grade which I can the rectify.
How best should I approach the issue with the dean?
Law School? Think of this as a good warm-up exercise. You either need:
A) Actually proof that your actions require a WU and the F was incorrect. When I say proof I mean written verifiable proof, not circumstantial and don't expect them to produce it for you.
B) A good argument, you need to convince the Dean to supersede a professor, that is a huge uphill battle. It can be done but the chances of success are slim, without the above proof.
The worst they can do is say no and the F stands, If one F stands between you and law school, then their is more to the story.
You are right. That is why I am bringing the school grading policy and the emails from my professor where he states he has no record of me finishing the class or taking finals--lending credence to the fact that I withdrew. I am also bringing transcripts showing WUs for the other classes. The professor refused to show me his grade book so I could not see his basis for the F.
Last edited by sognatrice; 05-16-2017 at 09:24 AM..
You are right. That is why I am bringing the school grading policy and the emails from my professor where he states he has no record of me finishing the class or taking finals--lending credence to the fact that I withdrew. I am also bringing transcripts showing WUs for the other classes. The professor refused to show me his grade book so I could not see his basis for the F.
When you withdrew you had to have been given some sort of paperwork with a date that stated you have officially withdrawn, that will be the key piece of paper.
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Since you have a 4.0, and I'm assuming you have completed 120+ college credits, how does one F bring you so far down? By my calculations, that takes you roughly from a 4.0 to a 3.85. If you are unable to get the grade changed to a WU, I would think explaining that and including accompanying documents when you apply to law school would be helpful.
OP, when I first saw your thread title, I thought to myself, "No way!" After reading your story, I thought, "There's gotta be a way". It's too bad you're being ganged up on, and frankly, it's even weirder that the prof. took the matter to the chair, unless you mentioned something about taking it to a higher authority, yourself.
Here's the only thing you can do: Call the central advising office. They know all the policies, it's their job. They even set some of the policies. Ask to speak to an adviser, or make an phone appointment with one, to signal that it's important, and the discussion may take some time. Discuss. The problem is, they may say that it's up to the prof., and if he's not cooperative, nothing more can be done. If it comes to that, ask if there's any avenue for appeal, or if the Dean has discretion in the matter. You've done a good job of keeping everything calm and professional so far. Keep up the good work.
Good luck! Oh, and PS--I used to be an academic advisor at a university. This is the protocol. It's premature to take it to a Dean, yet. It would be great if you could get some support from Central Advising. You really do have to exhaust all avenues before taking it to a Dean, and even then, it's questionable as to whether you'd be given an appointment.
It's too bad you didn't take care of it way back when, and notify all your profs and the dept. of your withdrawal, but as you said, you didn't know you'd be going back to school. Hindsight is 20/20.
You are right. That is why I am bringing the school grading policy and the emails from my professor where he states he has no record of me finishing the class or taking finals--lending credence to the fact that I withdrew. I am also bringing transcripts showing WUs for the other classes. The professor refused to show me his grade book so I could not see his basis for the F.
The basis for the F was that from his perspective, you flaked, and he was ticked about it. The other problem is that at a time like this, everyone suddenly comes up with a dying parent or guardian.
Also, even I can't help question whether you truly thought you'd never go back to school to get a BA. Really? Why would you think that? You actually thought at the time that a HS degree was all you'd need in life? I suppose you were distraught and stressed, so you weren't thinking right, and you were just trying to keep your head above water, what with the job to help w/you & mom's living expenses, the terminal care, etc.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-16-2017 at 07:16 PM..
Just be very patient and keep it professional. Eventually, you will find someone who will follow the school policy.
I went through this with a neighbor who had a similar situation to yours several years ago. In her case, the prof was an adjunct and long gone. She finally had to go to the Dean with all of her supporting paperwork, but she won in the end. It took about 3 months as I recall.
Moral of the story: do an official withdrawal for that semester if you have to leave school to take care of a family member.
I would point out to the dean that since every other class reflects the withdrawal, that was clearly your intent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sognatrice
... It did not go well. He basically offered no sympathy to my situation caring for my terminally ill mom, said he had no recollection of me ever in class (I did not expect him to) and that he was not going to do anything about my irresponsibility. He snottily answered my emails with "You again??" as well.
I was prepared to just give up and take the F after speaking to my professor but my professor then involved the department chair on his own who was equally nasty and doubled down, saying they were unwilling to help and I needed to escalate. They also gave me a totally unnecessary dressing down about being in "the real world" and responsibility and being in "the work force." So laughable... but I did not respond to those statements and kept it cordial and professional.
There is nothing that compares to the arrogance of a tenured academic sometimes. It is laughable that someone that could do anything short of a capital offence and not suffer professionally to lecture you about full time employment and the real world. And, to his point he's probably tired of dealing with special snowflakes that feel entitled to whatever they want.
Even in private employment, you could take FMLA unpaid leave and had your job when you get back.
The basis for the F was that from his perspective, you flaked, and he was ticked about it. The other problem is that at a time like this, everyone suddenly comes up with a dying parent or guardian.
Also, even I can't help question whether you truly thought you'd never go back to school to get a BA. Really? Why would you think that? You actually thought at the time that a HS degree was all you'd need in life? I suppose you were distraught and stressed, so you weren't thinking right, and you were just trying to keep your head above water, what with the job to help w/you & mom's living expenses, the terminal care, etc.
Hi Ruth,
I actually run my own business (and am pretty successful) so going back to school was not on my radar at all. I've gotten very far in life without my BA as of yet, and I am actually enrolled now because I'm wanting to go to law school. If I weren't going to law school I wouldn't care about the Ws and Fs because my current GPA would be the one that mattered (3.85), however law schools calculate every single grade you have earned during your entire academic lifetime in their own way. So, in essence I could graduate with a GPA today of 3.85 but actually have a GPA of about 2.9 when it comes to law school admissions. Crazy, right? To make a long story short: I am going to law school specifically to help my own clients (a JD would grow my business exponentially), and the better my GPA is for those law schools, the more scholarship money I get. That's the long and short of it.
In any case, here is an update: I was able to remedy all the Ws save for the F. I ended up speaking to the Dean who was a fabulous, kind man and who said he would love to help me but it's just too far from the time the grade was given. He was extremely nice and apologized for my professor's unprofessional behavior profusely. I find it disgusting that professors can treat students with such harsh attitudes, but... whatever. They want to give me a lecture about professionalism, but I feel I could give them one. ;-)
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