About to blow my top with my D's university.....

[Anonymous]

So my D graduated from a very good top 25 school in May (or so we thought). She was doing a internship abroad right after graduation for 2 months got a job moved out and has been working. The other day she asked if I framed her diploma, I casually said no I don; have it, I thought you did. So she called the school to find out where it was sent.

On top of this her email for the school was no longer working. After leaving several messages 2 days in a. row, finally gets a call back that she got a D in one of her classes and it was not able to go towards her required credits!!!! She of course flips out, never knowing she got the D, and shocked that she technically did not graduate though she walked and we attended the ceremony. We are both shellshocked and then to boot the advisor told her because of that class she has to take it there not elsewhere to get her diploma! You can imagine how livd we are.

The school clearly dropped the ball here, this is the very first any of us have heard about it, if I didn't know better I would swear we are being punched. So she wrote a long email to this person who is seeing if she can get permission for her to take the class locally as she now has a full time job. We just cannot get over this.

We are not telling my H as he is recovering from a major surgery and I cannot let him get upset. The advisor in so many words admitted to my D they dropped the ball and were at fault. What would you do? I could really use some sage advice here.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter really doesn't have any excuse for 1) not knowing her own grades, and 2) not knowing her degree requirements. You're really trying to blame the school but they didn't fail the class, she did.

[Anonymous]

Escalate to their boss.

[Anonymous]

What grade did she think she got?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Escalate to their boss.

p.s. but I agree with the PP that this is your daughter's fault. She should have passed, and if she failed she should have known it, etc etc. But they shouldn't have let you walk without the credits.

[Anonymous]

Is she working in a professional job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Escalate to their boss.

p.s. but I agree with the PP that this is your daughter's fault. She should have passed, and if she failed she should have known it, etc etc. But they shouldn't have let you walk without the credits.

Lots of schools have the ceremony before the grades are final.

[Anonymous]

How can you accuse the school of "clearly dropping the ball"??!

She did! Jeez!

[Anonymous]

You are overly-involved in your daughter's life. Butt the hell out and don't be THAT parent.

[Anonymous]

I say this gently because I understand that it is upsetting. However, they always warn you to check your grades afterwards because the time between finals and convocation is so short that assessments can’t always be graded before you walk. I recall the warning in my own application to graduation twenty some years ago, in my DD’s four years ago, and my SS’s three years ago.

Plenty of people walk, then come back in the summer to do 1-3 more credits, but it is on the student to check.

I would focus on what your DD can do next. Reenroll PT, appeal the grade, see if she can transfer credits from another school?

[Anonymous]

So, your daughter is stretching the truth with you. Clearly, though you don't want to see it.

1) There is no school, much less a top-25 school (including huge ones like Berkeley) that don't inform graduates that "walking" is not the same thing as "graduating," and that they will receive their diplomas after all of their grades are in and it is determined that they meet the criteria.

2) Your daughter is idiot enough to get a "D" in a class, but you think it's the university's fault she hasn't checked her transcript? Uh-huh. There is no way in hell she didn't know about the "D." In fact, I'd assume she thought it might be an "F," and was so relieved that it wasn't, she never bothered to check her transcript.

3) She had a departmental advisor at some point. She knew the rules, and was filling out a graduation checklist from the day she declared the major. It defies belief that she didn't know that you have to make a "C" in all classes required for your major.

4) Didn't the internship require a transcript?

5) Do you really, truly believe your daughter is the rare person who never checks her grades, or goes to find out about her diploma, or has any idea what the graduation requirements are? You, my friend, are being bamboozled by a young woman who knows your every button, and is playing you like a virtuoso on the accordion.

[Anonymous]

Wow - this is all on your daughter.

Advice? Sweet talk someone into approving an online course or a course at another university to complete the degree requirements. Other than that, sounds like she's going back to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Escalate to their boss.

p.s. but I agree with the PP that this is your daughter's fault. She should have passed, and if she failed she should have known it, etc etc. But they shouldn't have let you walk without the credits.

At my top 20 university, we walked across the stage, handed a card to someone who read our name, and then picked up an empty diploma box. Someone off the street who had never set foot on campus previously could have walked.

How did OP's daughter not know that she got a D in that class?

[Anonymous]

Your daughter got into a top-25 university, but doesn't know the requirements for graduation. Just sit with that for a minute.

[Anonymous]

I TOTALLY disagree that this is your daughters fault. I have been on the faculty of a University for more than 20 years. For kids who are graduating, they ask for our grades WAY in advance to ensure that kids only walk if they have met the degree requirements.

PLEASE state the name of your school. Really, one of the main reasons for this website is to warn others about bad consumer experiences.

With regard to next steps...I suggest that your daughter write a calm note to her employer (don't delay). Be apologetic and honest, but explain the situation. Anyone in her boat (since no kid has gone through college graduation before) might have the same story WITH A SCHOOL OF THAT ILK! If you delay, she could be accused of misrepresenting her credentials. If you tell them very soon after you found out, they are much more likely to believe you.

Hopefully, IF your daughter is viewed positively, they will let her stay while she works this out. OR they will change her status (like from full time to intern or something) until the actually meets the position requirements.

I would be just as mad as you. Sorry this happened. But again, please let us know the school. This is not a national website, and it could help another family. Good luck!