I failed my classes and am now on Academic Suspension. I don’t really have any excuses, I was a bad student with poor time management skills and definitely did not prioritize academics. It was a huge wake up call for me and I really do not want to sit out one long semester (and the summer) and delay graduation time. I can be placed in the Academic Recovery program and will be able to take 1-2 courses this semester but only if I have an extenuating circumstance. A job schedule change is considered extenuating at my campus (thank god, none of the other circumstances would have fit my criteria) and I can get a letter from my employer saying anything (we’re close and she is willing to help me out) but the problem is that my employer doesn’t speak a lick of English. Should I write a formal letter and leave my employers name or contact number? Not sure how to dive into this so I would appreciate any advice!
On the Academic Recovery Packet, it says word for word:
Extenuating Circumstances for Consideration of Suspension Appeals:
-Loss of job or schedule change - unemployment verification, W-2, termination letter from employer required for documentation
Maybe you need to sit out the semester and the summer and spend some time working on your time management skills. I don’t think the solution to your problems is having your employer lie for you.
Thank you for completely disregarding my whole post and telling me what I should do with my own life. Thanks for your advice but I don’t think the dishonesty would be affecting anybody besides me.
If your employer is not confident about writing a letter in English, it is perfectly fine for someone else to compose the letter, make certain that it is the letter the employer would write if he/she could, and then for your employer to sign it.
Can you explain to me how composing a letter that my boss is aware of and will be aware of what is written in it and is aware she might get a follow up call would be that much of an effect to her? And it’s not even complete dishonesty… last semester was why my grades got me into suspension and I was called into work many times during class hours. You cast a lot of judgment for someone who doesn’t even know me. You don’t know the relationship between my boss and I. So yes… really! All I’m trying to do is to go to school this semester.
OP, on College Confidential you will get advice that you do not ask for. It’s like a force of nature; it cannot be stopped. If you don’t like it, just ignore it.
It’s still dishonest. I think you should sit this semester out to mature and work on your time management skills. Lying is unarguably wrong. If you’re caught lying to the university, you could potentially be expelled (which we both know is much, much worse than academic suspension.)
I understand that you just want to get an education, and that’s a great thing. But you were placed on academic suspension for a reason - you couldn’t manage your time properly. Getting into this academic recovery program isn’t going to make this next semester any easier for you. I know you think you can change just like that, but it’s never that easy.
An issue is that what your employer would have to dictate (while you translate) would have to be compelling, AND you’d need to have compelling evidence that this was entirely unavoidable. By placing schedule change alonside “unemployment”, the university indicates that they need something drastic.
Think about this more broadly. Let’s say that you lie about the work schedule changes and your academic advisor finds out. It will have consequences for you - but what if this saga means that a letter from the employer is no longer accepted as documentation of problems? Then you are affecting all of the students after you who might need that and have a legitimate reason why their performance was bad. And if your employer employs a lot of students at this school, her word becomes meaningless because she has been shown to be willing to lie for her student employees.
If you were called into work during class hours, your response should be that you can’t come in, you’re at work. Or better yet, “Here are the times during which I am in class; I am unavailable to be called into work during those hours.”
Think about it from another angle. You admitted that you were a “bad student with poor time management skills and definitely did not prioritize academics.” The whole point of academic suspension is to help students exactly like that - to give yourself time off to figure out your goals and your work schedule, settle things that might be interfering with school, and gear yourself up for the following semester. Extenuating circumstances are things that might have made you perform poorly but don’t reflect your normal work ethic - like an illness, a death in the family, or recent loss of your job (which could cause temporary but severe disruptions in your life).
With that said, if you are bent on doing this - no, you shouldn’t write a formal letter and leave your employer’s name on it.
What you should do is speak with your employer and explain the situation, ensuring that she is actually willing to do this. Then, have her write down what she would want to say in her own language, and you can later translate it into English. One way to do this is to enclose both the original language letter and the English language letter in an envelope to submit, with her signature on both. It would be best if you could get an outside source to translate the letter for you.
^If the original isn’t with the translated letter, it’s unlikely it’ll be accepted as proof. But I’m concerned that OP doesn’t understand the meaning of “schedule change” in that context, and will engage in a vain appeal that will prevent him/her from focusing on rectifying the situation this semester and thus, subsequently, affect his/her ability to enroll later on.