Problems At University Continued

[Heartofsilver]

Hello everyone,

Part One Background (https://www.christianforums.com/threads/problems-at-university.8017784/#post-71515440)

This past semester has been weighing heavy on my mind lately as I'm typing up a letter to a college commitee about issues happening at my private school. Many students have complained about there being a lack of proper communication amongst departments and the disabilities department is no different.

I ended up meeting my disabilities counsler's boss who is the head of academics. I told her about how most of my semesters had been going and that my dad and I wanted to have her at that last meeting before I was officially placed in academic probation. She told me that she somehow fell out of the email chain. My dad and I had a meeting with J. I emailed her and the head of academic V. I told them multiple times that we wanted both to be at the first academics probation meeting. When I asked my disabilities counsler J how to book an appointment with the both of them she told me to just book one with her. My dad and I show up and just my disabilities counsler was there. I asked her where V was and she told me that she was in a different meeting. I told her that we wanted them both present, so we didn't understand why V wasn't there and my disabilities counsler said, it's because we had booked an appointment with her. So while meeting with V during my semester, she told me that J told her that it wasnt necessary for her to be there after I had told her multiple times that we wanted her there also. J went against what we had asked for without telling us and then we knew that we couldn't trust her.

While I was on academic probation J taught the class that went along with it. I had to go on a wild goose chase to figure out how to view my attendance when my disabilities counsler who was running the class for it wouldn't tell me how exactly to do that. I was sent around the school to find that other staff members didn't know either including administration which eventually led me to IT. They told me that my attendance could only be viewed by the instructor allowing us to do so online which is why I couldn't see it, because she didn't select that option. I then emailed her letting her know this which she probably already should have known. She told me that I had one absence which I knew about and two tarfies which I didn't. On the academic class attendance terms, it stated that if we have two absences we get terminated from the school. Also that three tardies makes one absence. So, I was one tardy away from being terminated which I wasn't notified until then. I talked to her about us communicating better, she just gave me a strange look, and went back to what she was doing. When I asked her for a copy of my disability files she refused to give them to me. I asked her why and she told me that she didn't need to give me a reason even though they are my documents. While looking them over together she commented on them being old, so I recently got mentally reevaluated.

This past semester I ended up taking too many classes again. The night before I was supposed to apply for next semester classes I was having a breakdown and almost dropped out of the university. I couldn't mentally handled going to my school as a full time student for another semester after having multiple panic attacks, breakdowns, almost going to the psych ward a couple times, and my mom almost admitting me into the crisis center. I went into the Financial Aid office (FA) and they told me that with my FA package that being a part time student would actually be cheaper if we pulled out a second loan. I called my dad to tell him that I wanted to become a part time student for the rest of my time there. He told me that it would be fine. I went into the disabilities department to get my accommodations and to tell my disabilities counsler our plans for next semester. She continued telling me what she has been telling me for about a year, that being full time was cheaper. When I presented to her what FA told me she admitted that she didn't know how that worked. If she didn't know how it worked, I don't understand why she was telling me this information. Since she didn't know how it worked she shouldn't have been telling me that misinformation in the first place which misled me into yet again taking on too many classes last semester.

I thought that I was going to be able to finish all of my classes possibly, it turned out I needed an extenstion on a couple of them at the end. I had teachers give me an extension last semester, so I thought that it would happen for me again. One of them accepted while the other told me that I could have a few days, but I told them that I needed a week and they declined it. I ended up getting an F in that class and now I'm on academic probation a second time where I'll have to pay $250. I feel like the people working at this school knows mine and their rights including thier system or at least they should if they don't. I feel like I have been wandering and stumbling around in the dark at this university.

 

[Angeldove97]

When it comes to money, listen to financial aid. My guidance counselor and the whole department that we used to schedule our classes and track how we were doing FREQUENTLY screwed people over.

Ask FA to print you out a budget showing what you would pay if you were full-time (certain # of credits) or part-time (certain # of credits) and compare.

Your degree should have some kind of list created with all of the courses you need to take to graduate. You also should be able to get a course booklet that has all the courses being offered that semester and the dates/time they are offered. Start creating your own schedule - based on what you can honestly handle - and show that to your guidance counselor or who ever does the schedule at your college.

Does your college have a dept that handles students with disabilities? Mine did and they would meet with each student that had needs and work out a plan with them that each professor had to make sure they were meeting for the student. Technically if the college has not agreed to any accommodations, you might just have to work with each professor.

Also, welcome to college - don't expect to be allowed deadlines all of the time. That's a part of growing up: learning to balance expectations and get work done on time, regardless of what might be going on in our personal lives. I survived 5 years of college myself - with depression and anxiety - it taught me a lot of great lessons and made me a stronger person.