Ok, so let me see if I can get a response together here. Will try to make it as concise as possible, but not sure if it is possible.
The additional background I forgot to mention previously is that I never even initially desired to submit a financial forgiveness request! Only did so as a last resort. I went through great lengths to get my professor and then the school to grant me an Incomplete, which would have allowed me additional time (until the start of the next term, I believe) to complete the outstanding requirements. That was all I wanted. I had gotten an A or A- (can’t remember) on the first major assignment and had already proved myself in the course. I just simply couldn’t get my sh*t together to get everything else completed before the end of the term. Other than the money I dropped on the course and books, my performance in the course itself had no bearing whatsoever on my academic record – unless I received a B- or greater and opted to transfer the credit to my real graduate school. Otherwise, my real graduate school could care less what I got in it, and they are the only ones who matter; my academic record at the other organization posing as a school is of zero consequence to me and I certainly will not be enrolling in any further courses there. I think I just reexplained the same thing a few different ways, so apologies.
The reason why this is relevant is because the response I got from my professor and the school is the same type of crap I’ve been dealing with regarding the financial forgiveness request. Thus, it is my opinion this issue of stonewalling goes much farther than financial forgiveness. The school appears to have a lot of so-called policies and processes in place but in reality does not seem willing to work with students in any respect. I know this is probably common across institutions and that it’s not itself a sound legal argument, but it is also not representative on what this “school” claims to be.
The school’s policy is that you can apply for an Incomplete if you are able to complete 50% of the course work before the end of the term, but the professors have the ability to grant exemptions to the 50% requirement on an individual basis. I went back and forth with the professor and my student advisor who pointed the finger at one another as having the authority to grant the exemption. Initially, the professor (who, by the way, I had been keeping fully apprised of my situation throughout the course and advised him that I might have to withdraw) seemed willing to work with me on this, saying we would have to figure something in conjunction with my student advisor. Subsequently, he instructed me to contact my student advisor directly, because he was not in a position to grant me an exemption. I contacted the student advisor who then pointed the finger back at him, saying the instructor (in consultation with the student advisor) is the one with the authority to make this decision. At some point I ended up having to put them both on the same email to get them talking. Ridiculous. The next thing I knew the student advisor stated the professor had decided he would have to stick the school’s policy regarding Incompletes and had declined to give me an exemption.
I then decided (for my own personal well-being) I needed to contact the professor to see if he could give me some insight into his thought process. I mean, what skin was it off his back to give me the time to finish the course? I explained that I understand he had made the decision to deny my request, and that the decision was likely final, but that I had some outstanding questions that I was hoping discuss with him. I laid everything out for him - very respectfully, in fact. He responded saying he was "sorry my experience in the program had been unsatisfactory, but he doesn’t know what else to add." (Is that the same thing as saying "I can see you are angry?") The only thing he did say is that he has had several students in the past who required medical extensions work very hard to meet the 50% threshold, and it would be “unfair” of him to set one standard for them and another for me. My response back went as follows, “Thank you for your response. Just to clarify since you questioned what you could add: I was looking for direct communication from you and insight into your thought process behind your decision. I believe that is a reasonable expectation in a situation such as this. While I have to accept your decision, I still don't fully understand it and find it somewhat contradictory to Name of School’s policy and the flexibility thereof.”
I’m sorry this has become so long but I guess I just wanted to shed further light on this school's sham policies. Let me see if I can quickly address everyone’s latest comments:
@Solara Good idea. I will look into doing that when I return to my real school.
@joeylittle I understand, but what is the point of providing a process if they don’t intend to honor it and they are not legally required to have one? It seems like it’s a pretty big mind f*ck. Again, I don’t mind documenting, but I don’t agree that I need to figure out what they need without them giving me any sort of parameters whatsoever. In that case, I could send them something (quite detailed) and they could still come back and say they need more. Definitely don’t feel you are being a jerk! Thanks :)
@Eleanor I like your idea of asking for general examples of what they need. I can promise I will be in more pain if I can’t get this resolved satisfactorily. And that doesn’t even mean getting my money back. Actually, I forgot that I had access to their crappy school email system, thanks for the reminder!
@ghotiff I respectfully disagree on the documentation point, for the reasons stated above. As for the grades, I forgot to mention that you are required to submit a request for academic forgiveness if you are submitting a request for financial forgiveness. So, of course I did so, and the academic forgiveness was in fact granted. Financial forgiveness declined. Go figure.
@Elsa23, thank you a million times. I should be registered now, so I will see if I can drop you a PM.
