Too often have we heard stories about universities taking advantage of thriving students. Check out the situation for American University student Oscar Jacob; sign his petition if you believe the established university should make right on an unfortunate institutional mistake:
“In April I received an offer for a full-time position at the Department of State for Fall 2013. This was a goal that I have worked hard to reach over my four years at AU, and so I immediately accepted the offer and began my security clearance process. In the meantime I contacted my academic advisor with the intention of applying for a leave-of-absence this semester, but she suggested that I sign up for classes just in case my clearance was denied. My background check took longer than anticipated and I was cleared right after the add/drop date. Under the guidance of my advisor, I immediately withdrew from my classes and petitioned the Vice Provost for an academic exception and a refund for this semester’s tuition. I recently was informed that the petition was denied, with no possibility of appeal. They gave me the option of ‘Ws’ for all my classes and a 25% refund or 12 internship credits (credits which are useless since I only have four more required classes to graduate with my double-major). You can imagine how upset I was by the ruling. AU is always pushing their students to take advantage of DC and brag about the amount of graduates who go into public service. I feel screwed over by a process that seems to be subjective for the sole reason of allowing flexibility for students in my position or those with serious medical issues.
Anyway, I have now been charged $20,733 for this semester with nothing to show for it. What the Provost’s decision has accomplished is sour my opinion of AU and persuaded me never to refer prospective students or participate in alumni activities. I feel “nickle and dimed” by this school…
Signing this position will help gather support to right this injustice and raise awarness on the unfair practices that universities are carrying out during these rough financial times!”
Follow me on Twitter: @ZackHuhn @SINevents
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