My hopes for Graduation are slipping away (multi-pit)

The BBQ Pit
1

School has been winding down, and I started Summer Vacation with the sense that I’m almost done. I had thought I only had one more semester to go, but some bad news has complicated the matter.

This semester I had failed two classes :frowning: It was a drag, but it only meant two more classes to take the following semester. This in itself wasn’t that bad, I would have to take four classes in the Fall instead of 2 for my ‘last’ semester. I had applied for Graduation back in March and thought that everything would go okay. I got a letter in the mail last Saturday about my graduation progress. The paper had several errors, which was stressful to sort out because it came on a Saturday and there was nothing I could do but wring my hands and HOPE that it was a mistake until monday. Earlier this morning I got a hold of the Counselor in charge of graduation and had a heated talk with her.

Seems that one of the classes I DID take didn’t have a grade reported. Because of that, they couldn’t count it toward my total units completed. This made the total units ‘left’ to graduate an alarmingly high amount- and they won’t adjust it until I get this sorted out with the teacher who messed up. Hearing all the things I still have to do on the phone gave me this horrible revelation- I may not graduate this Fall, I may have to take MORE classes in Spring 2005…:eek: My whole time in college has felt like I take two steps forward, and one step back. Half my time is spent fixing some screw-up either I or the administration made. I told everyone I would be graduating this December, I’ll be crushed if I can’t. I tried to make it my personal goal- I seldom lack the drive to come through with long-term goals but I seriously thought I could get my shit together to GRADUATE on schedule. And so, because that may not happen, I pit the following-

The School Administration- For taking three months to give me partially incorrect information and presenting problems without any suggestions or help on the matter. Also for cheerfully telling me any documentation/transcrips I request will take months and months and there will be fees fees and more fees…I swear these people are like the asshat bankers in the Capitol One commercial. :mad:

My English 125A professor- For omitting my grade for the Semester, which made the administration simply assume I never completed the class.

Myself- For being a dunce and failing classes, putting myself in difficult situations and disappointing myself when I can’t come through in a clutch no matter how hard I try to motivate myself.

I’ve never been driven to the point of nausea from so much anger before…:frowning:

2

I’ve been through a lot of school, and I’ve learned that when it comes to dealing with school administration, you have to follow up your issues, problems, and questions to an almost obsessive degree to make sure everything proceeds as planned. It sounds like your missing grade will get sorted out in the end (which should provide you some relief), but as far as your self-pit is concerned, buckle the fuck down for your last semester and work to pass your courses and graduate.

3

I take my hat off to you for shouldering some of the blame. Take it one step at a time, and hopefully you’ll graduate eventually.

Good Luck.

4

Deep breath. This is an administrative problem with an administrative solution.

Remember that they want you to graduate. They want to help you, but you have to do the leg work.

This is how to deal with school administration:

Clear a full day. Getting this straightened out will be your only priority.

Pack a bag. Include the following:
Lunch
Notebook
Pen
Big Paperback book.
ANY documentation you have about the missing course–a paper you wrote, (and if you don’t have the graded hardcopy, can you print off a new one?) scraps of homework, the syllabus you doodled over–anything and everything you have.

Go to the records and registration desk, Find out EXACTLY what you need. If they say “We need to know from the professor that you took this class”, say “What do you need from him? Is there a form? Can he write a letter?” Do NOT assume that they will tell you if there is a form, or any other detail. If they say they need a letter, ask what needs to be in the letter. Repeat back what they say like this: “Ok, so if I get a letter from Dr. Jimbo on an official letterhead stating that I did indeed take the class and recieved a B-, that will fix this problem and get this back on schedule?” There is a good chance that at this point they will say something like “Oh, no, it also has to be signed by the dean in virgin’s blood”. Keep repeating things back to them until they agree that they have given you every single step.

Write the steps down.

If there is a form the prof needs to fill out, ask for a copy you can run over to him/her. They probably won’t let you have it, but if they will it wil make getting it processed quicker.

If they try to make you come back later, or make an appointment, or say “oh, we’ll have to wait till Suzie gets here to answer that question, and she’s at lunch,” smile and say “That’s ok, I’ll wait”. Then pull out the Big Paperback book, settle yourself in, and start reading. Don’t be rude, or pushy, or look uncomfortable and unhappy. Just quietly read your book till they have a chance to help you.

Next, to the department. Hopefully, your proff will be in his/her office, but probably he/she is not.
Your next step is the department secratary. Now then, remember, your ENTIRE FATE rests in this person’s hands. Be nice. If the department secratary isn’t there, wait. He/She is at lunch or something. Just sit and read your book.

Ask when prof will be in office. These are the possible answers and the course of action to take for each:

  1. He/She has office hours for later today. If this is the case, you wait. You’ve got a book, make yourself comfortable. You’re not leaving campus until you get this taken care of. Proffs can be very casual about their office hours, especially in the summer, so you are gonna stalk the man/woman.

  2. He/She has office hours later this week. Very nicely explain the situation, explain that time is of the essance, and ask about the best way to contact the professor. Do whatever this person says. They are god, they know everything. They know which profs like to be emailed and which ones are most approachable at 7:30 AM and which ones never keep their office hours but are teaching such and such a class in such and such a building at such and such a time.

  3. He/She is gone for the summer. Pour your heart out to the secratary. Ask him/her if he knows any way to straighten this out. Now, I want to be clear on something–if there are any loopholes or heroic measures that can save your butt, this is the person that knows about them–more so than the dean or department chair, even. If your prof is in a French Chalet, this person is the only person who knows or cares how to reach him. Be very nice. But persist.

  4. As a last resort, try and get in to see the department chair.

Once you get a hold of the proff, make your case. Show your proof. Be humble. Explain exactly what paperwork is needed, and do whatever you can to facillitate the process–i.e. if there is a form, have it ready, if oyu can. If they need a stamped addressed envelope, have one.

The key here is not to give up when there are stumbling blocks. Getting this straightened out is your job ,and if you can’t find the person you need to speak to, or if they are busy, don’t use that as an excuse to give up. Stay on campus until this is fixed. If someone that I’ve sent you to says they can’t help you, ask them who can, and then go sit outside that person’s office, rinse and repeat until you get the problem fixed.

Lastly, follow up weekly to make sure everything is being processed, and nothing is laying on a desk for weeks.

5

Tomorrow morning I will go see if I can find the head of the English department and explain the situation to him. I also need him to modify the original list of classes I entered on my graduation form (since I failed two classes, can’t retake them, and just plan on taking two OTHER classes that fulfill the requirement).

I don’t know how I will be able to get a hold of the English 125A instructor now that it is summer…I don’t know what profs do during the summer and am unsure as to whether or not she would even bother to check her campus e-mail adress (the only one I have), or answer any phone messages before the beginning of next semester…But I NEED to find out why there is a BLANK SPOT where my grade should be- I did pretty well in the class and was anticipating a low A/high B, even if there was something wrong I would have gotten an ‘incomplete’ or something along those lines, but not a blank spot. I’m kind of angry they leave it to me to sort it out- it was her obligation to submit my grade to the department, why can’t they get on her about not doing her job?! Since when am I her boss?! :mad:

If I can fit all my classes into Fall semester, I will be okay…but my main concern right now is if I CAN’T. :frowning:

6

You go to SJ State? If they’re anything like SF State, you’re in for a long semester. Amazingly, I graduated from SF State with little problems. Of course, it took me 7 years to do so.

Good idea, contacting the head of the English Department. He/She’ll know how to reach your professor over the summer. That’s just weird that you’d have the blank spot. Fortunately, that’s weird on it’s face and will alert those in charge that there’s something funky going on that needs to be dealt with and you’re not trying to scam them into giving credit for a class you didn’t really take or whatever else they might think.

And if you’re planning on graduating in December, I wouldn’t start having anxiety attacks over this or anything. You had a blank spot next to your grade. Something is, therefore, seriously amiss and there’s a microscopically slim to no chance you’ll have to re-take the class.

Besides, you guys don’t walk until the May graduation, right? So you’ve got almost a year before your “official” graduation ceremony. Also, if you do indeed go to SJ State and they’re anything like SF State, you won’t know if you’ve actually graduated until a couple of months after the ceremony anyway.

What I’m trying to say is this: time is the least of your worries, my friend. The clock aint ticking as quickly as you might think it is.

7

Don’t assume it is her mistake. There are many places down the line where this mistake could have happened.

Talk to the head of the department, yes, but talk to the department secratary first. In every academic department I have ever had anythign to do with, the dept. secratary really took care of all the administrative stuff–dept. chair is often an honerary position passed around like a hot potato because if English profs wanted to to paperwork, they woudn’t be English profs. The department secratary knows. If you are suitably humble, he/she can fix this for you.

8

Or save yourself a lot of work & grief, & don’t waste your time doing any of the above things.

I had something similar happen.

I wasted my time doing most or all of the things mentioned by others in this thread.

Then, I got some good advice, from a man with 50 years experience working in a bureacracy.

Take it to the top, right away. [ol]
[li]Get a copy of any papers you wrote for the class.[/li][li]Photocopy them, & keep the originals. Important!![/li][li]Send a very polite letter to The Dean Of Records. Include the papers. Explain what the problem is, and point out that your records are incorrect. This make it the Dean’s problem. [/li][li]Ask the Dean to contact the relevant Faculty members, & correct your problem[/li][li]Remind her that you are graduating soon, & need prompt attention in this matter.[/li][li]Sit back, put your feet on the desk, & let the Dean do the worrying.[/li][/ol].

9

I work in university admin (in the UK) and second this absolutely.

If you KNOW you are in the right (and it sounds like you are) go as high as you can straight away. Academic staff won’t take directions from students as easily or as quickly as they will from the administration.

Also, someone like me (academic quality assurance) will be responsible for making sure there are systems to avoid cockups. If one has occurred, the administration need to know why in case it is an endemic problem. If it’s a personal mistake by your prof, it can and will be sorted quickly and easily.

J.

10

Incubus:

“Half my time is spent fixing some screw-up either I or the administration made.”
“This semester I had failed two classes.”
“I don’t know what profs do during the summer and am unsure as to whether or not she would even bother to check her campus e-mail adress (the only one I have), or answer any phone messages before the beginning of next semester.”

Tough love time. If you cannot take the initiative to fix these problems all by yourself, then you don’t DESERVE a college degree.

11

Just a comment on the “I only have the campus e-mail address and don’t even know if the professor will be checking it this summer” thing.
Why not try it? Send an e-mail to the professor with your last name, the course number (and semester) and the words “Missing grade! help!” in the subject line (or words to that general effect) and see if you get an answer. Make it as easy as possible for the professor to figure out who you are and why you wish contact. Don’t assume that the professor will e-mail you back immediately, or at all, but it is at least worth a try.

that said, you might be better off listening to someone else’s advice rather than mine, but if time is not a major factor, you might be ahead to at least try sending the professor e-mail. The important thing to remember is that some professors get a lot of e-mail and need all the help they can get identifying urgent non-spam e-mail.

12

Even though it will seem damn near impossible sometimes, try to keep your wits about you when you talk to these people. It’s not the department secretary’s fault, nor the department chair, nor the dean’s fault that you have a missing grade. And it may not even be the professor’s.

When you send the email to the prof, make sure the tone is appropriate. No ALL CAPS or overabundant !!! Make sure the spelling and grammar are on par, and that the message is coherent and professional. Convey the urgency of the situation as calmly as possible. There may be the possibility that the prof does not have your grade anymore and will need to magically make up one on the sly (it happens, believe me). Pissing her off won’t make her inclined to submit a good grade for you.

When I was a professor, I would always skim over messages from students with HELP ME PLEASE!! in the subject heading. Who needs to see something like that first thing in the morning? Try something like, “Grade needed for English 125A” and your message will get top priority.

Good luck!

13

I’ll claim responsibility for any problems that are my fault, but it is rather heartless to say that I don’t deserve to graduate because other parties made errors and did not correct them when it was presented to them in a timely manner.

14

You don’t deserve a college degree if you don’t take the initiative to fix these problems. No one will do it for you.

I’m extremely curious why you didn’t know about this problem until now? Doesn’t your university have a system by which you can check which courses you’ve taken and which you haven’t, and your grades? We had a free form we could go get (now printable off the web) that listed everything as it appears on your transcript. You have to keep on top of these things.

I feel for you, completely. I know how hard it is to get help in the bureacracy of a big university. Stick with it.

You’ll be fine. Don’t give up if you have to go for another semester.

15

Ugh. I’m sorry… and good luck!

Sounds kinda like my story. I was in a very undenrolled major: there were 10 of us in the archaeology program. Some of our courses were of the offered once every 3 years variety, some only every other year. They’d routinely get cancelled because of underenrollment. Who the hell but an archaeology major would take Archaeological Theory? Even our prof felt bad for having to teach it.

Anyway, long story short: I took 21 credits one semester and 18 my last semester, got the OK to graduate… got to graduation day, and got a slip of paper saying “You have an incomplete!” instead of my diploma.

One of our profs forgot to record her grades for 5 of us. So we didn’t get our diplomas that day. We “graduated” but had to get the error straightened out before we got the actual diploma. I got it straightened out, but was out of state and working full time and just never bothered to go back to campus to get my diploma printed.

Cut to almost 5 years later and… now they want $50 from me to get my stupid piece of paper. Bah. I have the folder, I walked across the stage… who needs the stupid piece of paper.

Good luck to you!

16

You don’t deserve to graduate because you haven’t completed the courses required to earn a degree. Period. The rest is just bureaucratic bullshit. You’d better learn to deal with it now because you will encounter it for the rest of your life.

As far as initiative goes, you need to take the initiative to solve some of your problems because there is no one else at the university, or in the job market, whose job it is to be an advocate for Incubus. And how can you ever hope to land an interview if you are too impotent to even type out an e-mail to a professor to inquire about a missing grade?

In other words, quit blaming everyone else for your problems and realize that YOU are the one holding you back. In the sea of life, you are not a jelly fish wafting around waiting for the waves to take you somewhere. You are a fish with fins. Use them.

17

I must agree with PunditLisa here. Aside from all the red tape n’ crap, some of this stuff is all yours, as you noted in the OP. I am a prof and I do not turn in grades late, but I do turn in Fs for some students–quite a few Fs this past semester. Why? For many reasons. Because they didn’t do the work. Because they didn’t go to class. Because they plagiarized. Because I gave them far too many chances to turn in things late and they still didn’t get it in on time, nor was it up to snuff.
Of course, a few of them contacted me by email (I am easy to reach that way, or by telephone, or the college can reach me; it’s not that difficult even in summer) about how bummed they were that they would have to take a class or two over again. Well, of course it sucks when you think you’re going to graduate and then futz it up. But it happens all the time. One of these students was a threepeat (had taken the class for the third time, by petition) and STILL couldn’t get her act together. She was freaking out on her voicemail message left for me, but it’s not my fault that she missed so many classes and failed to do the work.

Just giving the prof’s side of things.

18

I did check my transcript. I had also regularly met with my respective department head about my progress- and up until this letter I was on-track. It was only until I received the letter last Saturday when problems arose, and when they did, I immediately e-mailed the Graduation counselor and left a message. Monday morning, I drove to campus to try to sort things out in person, but they wouldn’t let me see the damn Counselor in person even though she was THERE :mad:

She called me not long after I got home and mentioned the issues that they had with my Graduation. Even though both my English advisor and the head of the English department had indicated I was on-track at the time, the Graduation Counselor said I didn’t have enough upper division units required. She had also mentioned the problem with the English 125A course. So I e-mailed the Professor, in the hopes I will get a response and get that part of it sorted out.

This morning I went back there, registered for Fall Semester (since today was my registration date, and I might as well add the classes I know I need, along with a few extra, just in case) and tried to contact the head of the English department (I’m an English major). He wasn’t there, but they said he would be in for walk-in appointments. I left a message in his box about my situation and told him I would be there early Wednesday morning. I will tell him about the missing grade and see if he can do anything about it. I will keep bugging them and calling them through the week.

I still don’t see how I should be responsible for other people’s errors. I’m not the one who omitted the grade- I dont see why I’m not justified in being unhappy about having to fix someone else’s mistake. Dopers are critisizing me for a lack of initiative, but the fact is that I didn’t even know anything was wrong until Saturday night, and have been doing pretty much everything I can in terms of contacting the people involved.

If the reason I wasn’t graduating was because I was failing classes, I wouldn’t have made a pit thread about it (unless self-loathing threads are appropriate in the pit). At this point, I’ve calmed down about the might-not-graduate-on-time thing, and more about getting the whole thing straightened out.

19

Update

Well, I think I got everything sorted out now…

The class with the ‘missing grade’ has a grade posted (I got a B! :smiley: )

If I take 5 classes next semester, I will have enough units to graduate on time. In fact, I’ll have 2 units extra, which kind of sucks (I have to take a whole nother class otherwise I’d be ONE unit short! :mad: ) but I am still on schedule. I got an unofficial transcript and everything checks out so far, the Graduation Counselor is going to send me an ‘updated’ sheet which takes into acccount this semester, and fixes all the other cock-ups that the first one had.

I also updated my graduation form with the classes I am taking. I will talk to the graduation counselor a few more times just to make sure everything is peachy.