Being held hostage by AMU

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by bpreachers, Apr 13, 2012.

Loading...
  1. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member

    It feels like AMU is holding me hostage right now. I took my final for my last class, MATH302(Applie Statistics) on the 8th and hoped that I could get the grade reported to the school so I could get a letter of completion from them (wont get official transcripts until the end of May due to their Confer schedule) so that I could get the last step of my FinAid and registration process at Troy started. It wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for the fact that I am trying to start in Term 5 which starts May 21. Contacted the school and asked and was told no by 3 different people in progressively higher positions with zero explanation other than it is just the policy. I do not understand nor can I fathom why I am being forced to twiddle my thumbs until April 21 (the official last day of the class) with nothing to do. The teacher said he would report the grade up if the school allowed him to but there is no budging the school on this. So there is a high likeliehood they are going to cause my scheduled plan to be set back a full 2 months due to their policy. Initially when we started the class the instructor said if grades needed to be posted earlier than the end of class that he would work with us on a case by case basis but apparently the school has different plans. I suppose I should count myself lucky in that this is the only complaint I have ever had about the school but this is a complaint for me and a major setback. This "policy" is not listed anywere that I can find but it is still apparently their policy and it is really annoying the sh!t out of me.
     
  2. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Oh man, that's frustrating. I'm sorry. Now you may not be able to start when you need to. Term 5 is at the same school, right?

    It's not surprising that they would refuse to record grades early. Maybe you could go about this from the other direction, and see if you can talk to someone about letting you start when you want even though the grade is not posted. You could ask your instructor to make a phone call or send an email for you to the powers that be asking them to let you start Term 5 on time.
     
  3. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    I'd recommend using this as a learning experience, in terms of patience and planning.

    As you move up the levels of academia, you learn to wait and build in extra time to plans, if you can.

    Ex: I've been waiting since November for an admissions decision that won't be made until July, for September.
     
  4. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    A lot of schools do not allow early posting of grades. Maybe it's a transcript thing?
     
  5. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    Please do not take this the wrong way, but it appears if you are unfairly placing the blame on AMU about an issue that is entirely created by your lack of patience. AMU policy does not allow for the early posting of grades and they are not the only school with this policy. From my understanding, posting of grades early creates issues with the established contact hours for the course which is a fundamental component of accreditation.

    It has to I know for a fact that this is the policy at AMU and no one at AMU owes you any explanation as to why other than it is the policy. You are not being forced to do anything, you are being held to a policy that everyone else is subjected to. Using the same logic, you could just as easily blame Troy and their policies for not letting you complete the FA and registration process without a completed degree from AMU.

    Your motivation is to be commended, but your "emergency" is yours alone and is not the responsibility of AMU. Use your time and read ahead in your first Troy classes and maybe you can absorb this delay without much of an impact over the course of your Troy degree.

    I really hope I did not come off as a d*ick, but it is what it is - as ITJD said, take it as a learning point and move on.
     
  6. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member

    I would likely agree with you if, as I stated in my initial post, the teacher had not said that he would report the grades up early for those that finished. Also, this policy is new apparently having popped up after the class started.
     
  7. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Simple answer to that: the teacher was unaware of the policy at the time he made the statement.
     
  8. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    Perhaps, but the OP apparently banked on the information they were given and is now irritated that there will be a delay. I don't see anything wrong with feeling that way and venting about it. Productive or not, sometimes people need to vent.
     
  9. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    I agree - a rant can sometimes do wonders for your inner zen, but I think in this case it is directed at the wrong party. I have taught at AMU since 2007 and the policy of not being allowed to post course grades before the term ends had been in place long before I got there. More than likely, your instructor was trying to be accommodating but was unaware of the policy and spoke out of turn.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 14, 2012
  10. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Definitely. It's frustrating, to be sure, but it's not the AMU administration's fault. There are reasons why grades cannot be posted early, and the instructor obviously wasn't aware of them.

    Colleges often have incredibly stupid policies, but this one is actually more reasonable than most.

    Venting, however, is perfectly ok.
     
  11. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    Yep. I totally agree. I just know that feeling of being handcuffed after being given info in error. It really can eat you up.

    The policy thing is something I agree with completely. If one were able to call/write and have procedural changes performed on the spot or whatever, to me, that would lower the reputation of the school.

    Hang in there, OP.
     
  12. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

    There is the answer to the OP's post... the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as we can see by the post made to a public forum about an instructor with good intentions.

    Also, while I agree that venting does work to relieve stress, words outed into the air won't leave a permanent reminder of the rant, unlike a post to this forum. The instructor in this case was misinformed - s**t happens, he tried but is stopped by school policy which, as truckie stated, was well in affect for years.

    Perhaps this 2 month "set back" is a blessing in disguise? Things happen for a reason, and it's always easier to go down the route of anger than it is to find the "silver lining".
     
  13. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    The new school won't let you get rolling and wait for that final grade? I had similar issue where my degree wasn't conferred until May and all it took for me was a letter from the college registrar I attended sent directly to the one I was going to attend and problem was solved.
     
  14. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member


    No because AMU will not send out a letter of completion to Troy until after the final grade is posted.

    and to the other responders I do not care that this is permanent maybe it will help others know that getting a grade posted early is not possible with AMU no matter what the instructor tells you.
     
  15. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    Possibly, but I will think it will be far more of a help to others realize that schools have policies for a reason and it is on you to plan your studies around those policies rather than expecting the school to change them for your lack of planning. Let it go and move on.
     
  16. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member

    Hard for someone to plan around policies that I cannot seem to find listed in the student handbook.
     
  17. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    It's probably a bit unreasonable to expect a student handbook to state explicitly that grades cannot be posted prior to the completion of a course. If the course technically hasn't ended, then it seems logical that a final grade could not be posted.
     
  18. truckie270

    truckie270 New Member

    Conversely, if it is not in the student handbook why would anyone have an expectation that it would be allowed? Enough of this - I feel like I am arguing with a teenage girl about the unfairness of not winning Justin Bieber concert tickets by being the 9th caller. Good luck with the new program and enjoy your break.
     
  19. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member

    You know typically I enjoy reading your posts. I am not certain why my venting about something that should be public knowledge, or at least commonly known to the teachers, has hit some cord with you. You can take your elitist attitude and leave my post I do not care. You do not know me and have absolutely zero right to post a personal attack like that.

    I was merely stating my point of reference on this situation based off of what I was told by the instructor. At the end of the day the teacher made a promise that the teacher could not keep. It is NOT my fault for planning around what someone supposedly entrusted by the school to make decisions and pass information told me. I planned based off of the "authority" figure employed by the school. There is absolutely no reason that I would assume that the teacher was miss-informed or making a false promise. So your entire point has been quite moot.
     
  20. NMTTD

    NMTTD Active Member

    Even if the school were to allow the posting of grades early, it may be a financial aid issue that is holding you up. It took me a while to figure this out, but when you get 2 disbursements per academic year, and both disbursements are released to the same school, you have to wait until the start of the next academic year before you can start again. So if you want to go to Troy but you are still in the academic year that disbursed funds to AMU, you would still have to wait until the start of your next academic year before you could begin classes. So make sure the delay is in posting the grades. Most colleges will allow you to register and start while the last grade is pending, as long as you can provide the rest of the official transcripts. Then once that grade posts you have your officials sent again with the new grade and gpa on it. You usually have until the end of your first class to get that in, so it shouldnt be an issue.
     

Share This Page