I am writing to seek advice regarding a recent development in my academic journey. I have been dismissed from the PhD program after 6 years of work at a public university due to three C’s I received during my first semester of study. After the first semester, I was put on probation, and I retook one of the courses and got an A. Given 3C’s, I am not eligible for graduation. I was never informed about this, and I continued to take courses for the next 5 years, completed all coursework, passed qualifying exams, completed research proposal. When I applied for graduation during oral defense, I was told I cannot graduate due to the impact of first semester grades. Keeping the first semester aside, I am quite accomplished in my career and contributed to the program substantially. Given these circumstances, I am seeking your legal advice on the appropriate course of action to address this matter and potentially appeal my dismissal from the program.
I submitted my appeal to the dean, but it was rejected as well. The issue is that had I known I am not eligible for graduating, I would have stopped working towards a PhD in 2017. I cleared up qualifying exams and it was realized that the course auditor overlooked it. The reason I got 3C’s is completely out of my control and my PhD advisor supported me during that phase (I was an international student acclimating to the US at the time and had to go through a crisis). Moreover, during Covid lockdown, I had to take a break due to financial reasons- I lost my job as I was stuck in my home country due to visa issues. When I came back and tried to continue, they are using the first-semester 3C’s and dismissed me. The problem is none of the faculty members in the current department knows my contributions and unsupportive. Any advice is appreciated.
1 Like
If you are seeking legal advice…contact a lawyer with experience in these things.
7 Likes
My best advice is to gather documentation for everything that happened and to ask the adviser who had supported you (even if they are now at a different university – that’s what I’m gathering from what you wrote) to write you a letter of support to verify your story. Who is your adviser now? Who is on your committee? Who taught you in those three classes?
You should be able to make a case based on the fact that you were allowed to go through the program – that’s on the university, not on you. Also - if you were allowed to retake one of the courses in which you earned a C, shouldn’t you just have two Cs on your transcript, not three? Can you negotiate a deal in which you retake the other two courses?
Exactly where are you in the program right now? It sounds like you’ve just taken comps, so you haven’t written your dissertation yet? Absolute worst case scenario, would it be possible to apply to a different program, perhaps with the support of your original adviser, and continue there? You might have to take some course to establish residency and retake comps, so it would cost you a couple of years of progress, but at least it would enable you to finish a Ph.D.
I agree with @thumper1 that it would probably be best to contact a lawyer. But if you end up staying in this program, you don’t want to burn so many bridges that it would be difficult to get support from faculty mentors when it comes time to apply for fellowships, grants, and jobs.
5 Likes
A lot of overhauling happened during the lockdown in our department, and some of the courses that I have taken are missing. For example: I was made to take qualifying exams, submit research proposal, defend this proposal assuming my coursework is finished. This is exactly when my PhD adviser who was also department chair retired, and I take it that the current chair does not like her.
As to the progress, I formed a dissertation committee and worked with a temporary adviser to write my thesis, it just needs to go through revisions now. And when I applied for graduation, I was told about the missing coursework and the 3C’s. When I received the dismissal letter from the graduate school, they must have used an old one, so they addressed it someone else (Dear Aaron instead of my name).
I am thinking to raise a complaint with the IHL.
1 Like
So when did you receive this dismissal letter?
One week ago. After which I submitted an appeal mentioning my contributions to the department and my works as a PhD student that was highlighted in numerous articles, seeking an opportunity to complete my PhD. But they rejected it.
I have also mentioned the fact that I am currently a faculty member at another public university, and unfortunately about to exhaust my allowable years of employment visa. My department is planning to file for my permanent residency which would allow me to continue to be in the US. But it requires my PhD as they are planning to file under EB-2 NIW quota. Without the PhD, I have to leave the US after 10 years of teaching in the US. I begged for one opportunity to complete my PhD but they are not sympathetic.
1 Like
I’m a bit confused on the timeline.
You said you were recently dismissed after 6 years (recently being now) but later you say, when I came back from my home country after covid (where you took a break), you were dismissed.
Did you come back here, continue to work after covid and were recently dismissed?
Or all the work you are mentioning you did was pre-covid and now you are just coming back and you were dismissed?
The question I would have is (and I suppose you do is) - why weren’t you dismissed, blocked from continuing, after the first semester?
I imagine they have a litany of disclaimers and a handbook that they’ll use against you and I’m sure the advice above is very sound, especially since @Shelby_Balik is a professor but just trying to understand the timeline.
Also, is there any way to transition your educational status (if they offer) to the school you are teaching at now?
Thanks
1 Like
After COVID, I came back and continued to work in my full-time teaching job while requesting the faculty advisors to revisit my coursework. But they were adamant that I take the missing coursework. They realized about the missing coursework when I applied for graduation when I am ready for defending the thesis. Like I mentioned, I was stuck in my home country without pay for 7 months, I came back to the US with a debt and I do not have the means to pay for the extra coursework they assigned. So, I requested them for reconsideration or financial assistance. It was unsuccessful. After several unsuccessful attempts, I reached out to the dean mentioning my situation recently, and asked for an opportunity to complete oral defense. And last week I received a dismissal letter.
OK - I’ll let others respond to that - perhaps it provides more color - as I’m unfamiliar.
I’m sorry for you - and hope you are able to get your situation worked out - and with a few professors regularly posting on here, @sdprof and I forget his name to tag - but the gentleman from Alaska if he’s out there or if anyone knows to tag…hopefully you get some relevant guidance in addition to the above.
Best of luck.
If the department put you on probation and did not dismiss you outright after getting three C’s in your first semester, it’s on them. It’s their administrative error. It’s one thing to have three C’s spread across years which can easily go undetected, but you got them all at once. And they said you could continue, albeit on probation. I believe you have a strong legal case here.
Are you currently a research assistant for your advisor, and does your advisor have the funds and plan to continue supporting you until graduation? If ‘yes’ to both, your advisor could fight to keep you, all the way up to the VP for Research/Provost level. Your advisor can cite the administrative error and say how critical you are in helping to deliver on an externally funded research grant. Assuming that they have a good impression of you and your work, your committee members could also go bat for you. (Departmental politics can be complex so they may not want to stick their neck out for you.)
If your relationships with your advisor and/or committee members are deteriorating, or if your advisor’s money is running out, then you might be in a precarious position, in which your three C’s is merely an excuse for them to get rid of you now that you guys are not in good terms or the project is ending or the money is drying up. It’s very bad for you if that’s the case (I hope not) and you may have little choice but to seek a legal alternative which will be expensive and unproductive. Or go away quietly which will be hard to swallow.
The timeline is still unclear.
It almost sounds like you left the PhD program (were you in good standing at that point?), got a teaching job, then realized you need to finish your PhD to get the visa you now need after 10 years, and are trying to go back.
At that point they reviewed your transcript/file and found that you were not eligible for funding and needed to do additional coursework. Since you have not met the requirements they set out for your return after an extended absence, they are dismissing you from the program.
If this is not accurate, laying out the timeline year by year may help people understand better.
Thank you. My advisor is now retired. She is supportive of the situation, and she did help me through the first semester crisis. She is aware of my works and contributions; in fact she took my help in several of her projects. But after my appeal is rejected, I sensed she gave up too. None of the people who took this decision knows about me or supportive of my situation. The current department chair is not ready to stick their neck out to help me. I am currently a full-time teaching professor at another public university. I see at least three administrative errors:
- Letting me to continue to take courses after first year.
- Missing coursework from pre-covid times.
- Course auditor allowed me to form dissertation committee after passing the qualifying exams.
2 Likes
forget the errors.
Reach out to an experienced immigration attorney IMMEDIATELY. DHS works very slowly, so you need to jump on this ASAP. Find out exactly what your alternatives are for staying in the US legally. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. If you cannot afford a lawyer, reach out to law schools (starting with the university you are teaching at, if they have one, or the closest one to you). Law schools have clinics which sound dicey but they are not. Law students work as volunteers- closely supervised by professors and outside lawyers-- and you will likely get timely help and advice from them since they know the student population. You are not the only international student who runs into a buzz saw regarding their status.
You can figure out who did what to whom and when once you’ve identified your legal options. You do not want to get deported. Identifying your options for staying and working in the US legally is much more important (right now) then starting the blame game with your advisor, department chair, provost, etc. You can do ALL those things once your status is clarified.
3 Likes
I see. Here is the timeline.
I never left the program and I have been trying to complete my PhD without the visa process- this is a recent development. I kept in touch with the department for reconsideration about the missing coursework due to their overlooking. Here is a timeline:
Fall 2016- I started the PhD program and this is the semester I received 3C’s due to external reasons. So, my PhD advisor supported me and made me retook a course to clear up my probation- which I did.
After this I continued to take courses with good grades, contributed to the events, workshops, until Fall 2021 as a teaching assistant. This is when I received a full-time teaching position so I converted my student visa to employment visa while being on a part-time PhD program. By this time, I completed coursework, and passed qualifying exams. This is also when my PhD advisor retired.
During the lockdown, I have to take care of my parents, so I flew to my homecountry. Due to travel restrictions, US embassy did not allow me to travel for 7 months but I am enrolled into research seminar(1 credit hour) to ensure enrollment. So, I am without pay for 7 months, and when I came back 2022, I was given a temporary advisor and she helped me defend my research proposal and form dissertation committee.
The next semester, I applied for graduation so that I can defend my thesis, I was told about the missing coursework. This is when I was asked to keep everything aside, and take two extra courses. This is not possible as I am on a teacher’s pay and my wife is on dependent visa meaning she cannot work too. So, I could not pay for the coursework and I requested for reconsideration or financial assistance, which was rejected.
Beginning of this year, I reached out to the dean explaining my situation and requested for a completion of my PhD with oral defense as the after-covid debt is still affecting me. Last week, I received dismissal.
So the main issue I’m seeing is that you did not do the two courses when asked to do so. Is that correct? What support did you get when you were in this situation?
I do not think I received any support. Moreover, these two courses are not related to the courses from my first-year of study. They are not citing this in the dismissal letter.
You didn’t do this, right? I’m concerned that this is playing into your dismissal.
But I’m equally flummoxed that you were paying tuition for years when there was an issue very early on. Were you paying them?
2 Likes
There’s a lot to unpack here and I totally sympathize with your frustration and situation.
But you must, must must clarify your immigration options before you go down the rabbit hole of academia. Unless you have viable work options in your home country (or somewhere else where you can legally work) the clock is ticking on you here (and your wife).
4 Likes
So you returned in Fall(?) of 2022, and applied for graduation Spring 2023(?), at which point they wanted you to take 2 courses (probably to replace the 2 of 3 C/not passing courses from the first year that were not retaken). You did not do this, appealed to not have to take the courses, denied. January(?) 2024 you asked again to be able to complete your PhD, without having taken those 2 courses, and were dismissed March 2024.
My guess is that when they reviewed your file for graduation requirements, they saw that you did not have enough credits that met academic standards for grad students (B or higher?) They gave you a year or so to replace the C classes, saw that you hadn’t done it and had already appealed once, so at that point decided to dismiss for failure to meet academic standards. Allowing you the opportunity to make up the credits was probably already viewed as an accommodation due to the disruption caused by your advisor leaving and COVID. The second time you asked to NOT have to do what they had already told you was needed, they dismissed you.
If you really want to get that PhD, feel like you haven’t burned your bridges, and are willing/able to do what they asked (take the classes with no further financial assistance?), you could try talking with your advisor/trusted professor/dean and see if they would help you get a second chance (and then do exactly what they need from you for you to progress). It may already be too late for that, I don’t know. What exactly did they say in the dismissal letter?
If getting back to the PhD is not an option, is there any chance of getting another job that will sponsor you with your current credentials? How long do you have to get this taken care of?
I know someone on a work visa who was unexpectedly fired from their job when they got on the wrong side of the wrong person (they were in STEM not academia). The timer on that was fast and real. They ended up finding another job that would sponsor them almost immediately (not their ideal job, but it would allow them to stay). However, the process is SO SLOW they still ended up back in their home country for several weeks dealing with the administrative stuff before they could return, expensive and annoying. I think they were using an immigration lawyer to help make sure they were doing things the best/fastest way legally possible (it was a confusing mess from my perspective).
Good luck with this.
1 Like