Has anyone ever appealed academic dismissal?

[PAstudentduringcovid]

Hi Everyone, 

I'm finishing up my second semester of PA school and may be getting dismissed due to academic reasons (sub-3.0 gpa). I was off to a rough start in the beginning and had a difficult time with online school. I eventually brought up all of my course averages except pathophysiology.

Has anyone ever appealed academic dismissal? Do you know of anyone who has successfully appealed, and what was that process like?

Thank you, any advice would be great appreciated. 

[AbeTheBabe]

I wouldn't worry about an appeal until you are actually dismissed. Work with administration to avoid this at all costs. They DO NOT want you to fail. If it's one course maybe you can retake, or pass a special test or something.

[ANESMCR]

Once you’re dismissed, you’re dismissed. No appeal will be successful. You’ll be in the hands of whatever remedial process your school decides if you choose to pursue entry into the next cohort and start over. I would get the idea of appealing out of your head as soon as possible and instead figure out how to overcome your current situation. 

Edited August 15, 2020 by ANESMCR

[TiggerPA]

I understand your situation, as I am going through the exact one. In a regular academic year I would completely agree to dismiss a student from a program, but unfortunately the school(s) did not take Into consideration how much this pandemic would students. Personally I requested to extend my academic probation but that was to granted (not sure if that’s still an option for you). 

Also, I was encouraged to do an academic appeal. As we all know this is not a regular academic year and I just feel it was not a fair decision. Personally I’m working on the academic appeal (what else there is to lose?) If you plan to do that + see there might be a chance, I would selfstudy for the next unit that way you don’t get behind. I hope this helps.

Remember, that you are more than your GPA. Difficulty doesn’t mean inability. 

[ANESMCR]

On 8/20/2020 at 3:23 PM, TiggerPA said:

In a regular academic year I would completely agree to dismiss a student from a program, but unfortunately the school(s) did not take Into consideration how much this pandemic would students. 

Are there many others in your cohort that are being concurrently dismissed?

[TiggerPA]

2 so far (one per semester), we were a class of 30, and many went on academic probation after this semester.

[CAAdmission]

People appeal all the time, but successful appeals usually happen when some policy is violated. Read your manual carefully. If policy was followed properly, you might be in a jam. 

[bensexton2]

@CJAadmission would they even admit that a policy is violated?

[CAAdmission]

If a mistake was made, they would much rather fix it themselves than have a court make them do it, plus damages. 

Some policies might even be a little ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations. 

[LostSauce]

On 3/26/2021 at 11:20 PM, bensexton2 said:

@CJAadmission would they even admit that a policy is violated?

They don’t have to admit it. I would suggest the student comb through the policies & procedures of the program, college & university. From there compare what was said/done to what is the normal protocol. If there’s a violation it will be evident. 

[CAAdmission]

6 hours ago, LostSauce said:

They don’t have to admit it. I would suggest the student comb through the policies & procedures of the program, college & university. 

This is often where there is some flex. Sometimes a program writes policies that are in conflict with a school document like a student handbook or course catalog. When that happens, they usually have to find in your favor.