Registrar won't do her any good, they don't handle this. She needs to talk to the advisor, and beyond that probably the Dean.
She should receive written confirmation of the issue. Make sure her mentor teacher believes that she successfully completed her student teaching. I did my student teaching and the only thing I can figure out is that she didn't turn an assignment in? I knew a few people that struggled, and they received MULTIPLE warnings and chances to fix things.
Being told that she can't graduate 2 weeks out, with no advance warning that she was missing something, or did anything wrong is completely unacceptable. If the Dean of her college won't help her, make her go to the Dean of Students. They are an advocate for students, and might be able to help resolve the issue.
Betty, I am an advisor- pm me if you have questions, and I'll see if I can help. I wish I could hug your sis right now :*(
I'll send you a pm in a few minutes, I'm on the phone with her now. Thank you so much.
Post by EmilieMadison on May 2, 2013 9:02:51 GMT -5
OMG, this is unbelievable. She absolutely needs to climb the ladder until she finds someone who will explain this and help her resolve it. ONE PERSON says she's "missing" some mystery "ingredient" that they wont discolose to her? This sounds...crazy. Are they accusing her of some personal wrongdoing? Are they saying she's not fit to be a teacher? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? And why the everloving fuck hasn't anyone told her anything.
Tell her to find out if there is someone, perhaps the equivalent to an attorney?, at her school that will help advocate for her and get her some answers. Her university adviser should be doing this as well.
I hope you'll update us as soon as you hear anything.
I would encourage her to make photocopies of every single piece of paperwork, email, receipts, ANYTHING she's gotten from the school or her professors that states that she's completed the coursework. if she's got voicemails from anyone, make backup copies of those as well. Organize it in a folder and take it along to these meetings with her.
I'm glad the dean can see her so quickly. She should bitch about this nonsense to absolutely anyone that she can.
Yes, having documentation of the requirements and the fact that she's fulfilled them all will be helpful. Have her continue talking with everyone she can. The squeaky wheel gets the grease in higher ed. I've seen kids who were clearly in the wrong get the resolution they want just by continuing to push the issue, so hopefully this will work for your sister who will have a lot of evidence on her side.
And I don't even care if she did majorly screw something up and I 100% believe she did NOT - not in the slightest - to tell someone their future has just been ripped away from them via TEXT or even telling them via ANY form when they are DAYS away from graduating and starting said future is absolutely unforgivable and if I were the dean, I would take serious disciplinary action against whoever sent that text.
I am having flashbacks right now to when I almost didn't graduate from law school because one of the instructors accused me of plagiarism - all because I allegedly hadn't included proper citations to certain sources - after she told me it wasn't necessary for those items (the citation I would have cited was citing something else and she instructed me to cite the original source, not the quoting source - then turned around and accused me of cheating).
Thank God I got that in writing (in an email) - but it was still a good 3 months before I knew I had graduated since she had deleted the email on her end and it was my word against her's. Probably the worst summer of my life.
It worked out in the end, but I still shudder when I think about it. Although the instructor (who was a visiting professor) had been slated to return the following fall ultimately never returned to my law school.
And at least I still graduated/walked/had my celebration GTG - not learning until a week later what had transpired and the allegations.
I'm thinking good thoughts that it will work out for her as it did for me.
This just seems so crazy - waiting until the last minute and then letting her know via text that she won't graduate??? I really hope that her mentor and adviser can advocate for her to figure this out.
Post by sparkythelawyer on May 2, 2013 9:31:34 GMT -5
The registrar runs the last spot check before graduating. Somehow, it ended up on their list.
If I were her, I would be in her deans office RFN, and they would understand that I would not be leaving until someone met with me, went over all of this with me, and then explained to me WHY THE ACTUAL FUCK DID THEY NOT TELL ME THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM BACK IN FEBRUARY WHEN I COULD STILL FIX IT.
It will be a PITA, but she can probably throw enough of a fit to get it to pass.
Can she take contact information for any of the references you stated she confirmed with? Also, possibly have them on standby to be called during her meeting if necessary?
What I find completely baffling is the statement, unless i misread it, to not consider re-applying to the program. WTH, if she is missing 1 "ingredient" why couldn't see simply complete that next semester or whenever it is offered again or can she do some kind of -crap, can't think of the word but basically a project equivalent to the requirement rather than a class?
Ok, this is what I have so far, I just got off the phone with her.
Here's the fucking text, verbatim (including spelling errors): "The Peofessional Concerns Committee was to contact you. I'm sorry to say that you will not receive credit for student teaching this semester. This comes from concerns expressed by your mentor teachers, Dr. Santiago & myself. We all feel that ypu need additoonal time - perhaps methods classes, work with others in the profession, maybe work as a para professional for a while. You are just missing an ingredient that is needed. It was just not enough. Time, hard work and some experience in your field is needed. Skill and sport knowledge, as well a great need for classroom management are areas that need to be addressed. Many options are open to you. It will just require a huge desire from you to accomplish your goals. Let me know if you have any questions."
My sister's response: "I don't understand, after reviewing all four of my evaluations given over the course of this student teaching semester, you've never mentioned one negative for me to work on throughout the semester. If something was so dire as to limit me from class credit, how was it not important enough to mention until the last day of the course semester?"
She got no response.
My sister then went to her mentor professor, who has admitted after giving her 3 A's in three separate classes that he doesn't think she's cut out to be a teacher. Tells her to try a different minor and that he was being nice by giving her A's. Sister specifies that she doesn't want to be a teacher, that she doesn't understand because even if she graduates with this minor it does not certify her to be a teacher. Seriously, my sister just got an academic award in this education department two weeks ago.
Her mentor teachers have written letters saying she's qualified. This is all so ridiculous. SHE DOESN'T WANT TO BE A TEACHER. THIS WOULDN'T EVEN CERTIFY HER. THIS WAS A MINOR THAT WAS EASY SO SHE COULD FOCUS ON HER KINESIOLOGY MAJOR SO SHE COULD GET INTO GRAD SCHOOL. SHE DID TEACHING IN CASE SHE DIDN'T GET INTO GRAD SCHOOL SO SHE COULD WORK WITH OTHER KIDS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. IT'S FUCKING PE. LET THE GIRL GRADUATE.
If she gets nowhere with the dean/advisor-I would go to the media. They are being completely shady. Sending her a text? Not telling her WHY she didn't pass? Even though she has rave reviews? Claiming she is missing an "ingredient" but won't tell her what the fuck that means? Public pressure and outcry can do wonders.
She has her last day of student teaching today, so she's attending that before she starts stalking the dean's office. The last thing she wants is her lack of attendance TODAY to be used against her.
Post by EmilieMadison on May 2, 2013 9:40:53 GMT -5
Holy fuck. Well, she's got a shitload of evidence that contradicts her instructor's sudden change of heart regarding her performance, so I think she should be able to throw a fit and make it happen. If her instructor had concerns and NEVER brought them up and, in fact, did the opposite (gave her As and glowing reviews), then what leg can they stand on to say she shouldn't get credit? None. Tell her to call the Dean of Students STAT. This is fucking ridiculous.
What kind of shady school sends texts? This should have been a sit down meeting. And bullshit, bullshit, bullshit that she didn't get feedback.
I work in higher education on the curriculum side. Any program worth their weight has formal feedback plans in place to help a student along. My students have a formal feedback session 2 weeks into their clinical session for the purpose of not being surprised during their final evaluation.
Giving As to be nice? WTMF Your sister better be bringing that shit up to the Dean. That is bullshit.
I am channeling Sue Sue. Document, document, document.
DS ran in to something similar. He kept thinking he and his advisor (which seemed to change often and they had a constant learning curve) would work it out, he'd exchange emails & think things were worked out. Yet he wasn't getting closer to graduating, they kept finding things he hadn't taken. To be honest I went off on him, told him to get a degree (any degree) and get out cause I wasn't paying any more money.
Turns out one of his roommate's/best friend's mom was the fricking dean of his college. He springs this on me with a maybe I can talk to X's mom. I asked what does she do (met her, didn't know what she did though) - oh she's my dean. WHAT? He meets with her, she goes through is transcript and says well this met that requirement AND that requirement. This class met that other requirement. She knocked so much stuff off because he HAD met the requirements. Granted the kid changed majors a couple times but geez.. After she weeded out everything she could she called up her #1 advisor and had him go through DS's records. DS had met everything, should already have graduated. He graduated that quarter. While I was aware of major changes, not seeming to be close to graduating I'd tried to stay out of it - I was trying to not be a helicopter parent. My parents certainly didn't run my college education so I really tried to not to be involved in what classes my kid's were taking, etc.
Sometimes you really have to push and push hard. As I mentioned maybe she can do something to make up for the missing 'ingredient". Possibly she's got something in her history that can be substituted for it.
Post by onomatopoeia on May 2, 2013 9:44:56 GMT -5
Wow (to your follow up). It almost sounds like they are holding something against her personally, with the apparent change of heart? The documentation does not support what they are telling her, at all, and it's total fail on their part to have not addressed any issues with her prior to this. Her graduation is on the line, ffs.
He gave her A's to be nice? No no. To be nice, you give the grade that you feel is appropriate at the time, and include with it constructive feedback and suggestions on how to improve in order to meet her objectives. You don't give A's and then say, "Oh well I didn't really mean it".
Post by Captain Serious on May 2, 2013 9:49:21 GMT -5
Could it be that they feel slighted that she doesn't want to teach and that she minored in their subject because it seemed easy, and they decided to stick it to her?
Whatever their motivation, they are trying to stonewall her, and she's best to address this with people higher up now, like the dean, as she's attending, because it doesn't sound like they are going to give in any way unless they are called on the carpet.
He gave her A's to be nice? No no. To be nice, you give the grade that you feel is appropriate at the time, and include with it constructive feedback and suggestions on how to improve in order to meet her objectives. You don't give A's and then say, "Oh well I didn't really mean it".
This is such bullshit to me. Seriously, to me this is even a bigger issue.
I am way more pissed off about this then I should be right now lol.
Your sister needs to point out to the Dean that by getting As (not even Bs or Cs) that she was never given a chance to correct behavior. If you are getting the best grade in class after class then you assume you are doing everything correctly. She needs to point that out over and over again. Feedback, feedback, feedback. She was given formal feedback in the form of grades. And that feedback was that she was doing excellent.
Also there should have been no suprise. Any student even close to not passing should be WELL aware of that. There should be extra meetings with mentors, meetings with committees, plans of action etc.
OMG I am raging right now. I need to go find a cookie or something to calm down lol.
Holy fuck. Well, she's got a shitload of evidence that contradicts her instructor's sudden change of heart regarding her performance, so I think she should be able to throw a fit and make it happen. If her instructor had concerns and NEVER brought them up and, in fact, did the opposite (gave her As and glowing reviews), then what leg can they stand on to say she shouldn't get credit? None. Tell her to call the Dean of Students STAT. This is fucking ridiculous.
Ditto. This is absolutely something she can fight and win.
I am way more pissed off about this then I should be right now lol.
Your sister needs to point out to the Dean that by getting As (not even Bs or Cs) that she was never given a chance to correct behavior. If you are getting the best grade in class after class then you assume you are doing everything correctly. She needs to point that out over and over again. Feedback, feedback, feedback. She was given formal feedback in the form of grades. And that feedback was that she was doing excellent.
Also there should have been no suprise. Any student even close to not passing should be WELL aware of that. There should be extra meetings with mentors, meetings with committees, plans of action etc.
OMG I am raging right now. I need to go find a cookie or something to calm down lol.
Right?! If this happened to one of my students I would clear my schedule to spend my day fighting for her.