College Rescinding Degree

[dunscaft]

Well, the school can certainly revoke a diploma based on an inadequacy on the transcript. The degree audit is a tool to determine if you've met all the requirements, but an error in the audit won't negate an inadequacy that it failed to catch. Although the audit may have been wrong, the school must have had a list of degree requirements posted, on a website or in a catalog, that is/was accessible to students. Even advisors make mistakes. The bottom line is that you are short one class and it's very doubtful that you'll be awarded a degree without it. It's unfortunate, and even unfair to a point, but I don't see any recourse.

I believe multiple other sources were in error too but have since been corrected (including the online listing). I cannot prove this, however. But I do have an e-mail from my adviser indicating there was a change with the degree audit.

http://www.usmh.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionIII/III250.html says that the university needs to develop, maintain, and publicize timely and accurate advising information to all students. http://registrar.umbc.edu/services/degree-audit/ says that the degree audit is an advisement tool (and importantly the ones students are to check for graduation). This whole situation doesn't seem timely or accurate.

I understand your point about no recourse. That is what I am exploring now. And I have a feeling you are right.

But if the degree audit had been correct, I would have taken the class and got everything squared away and not enrolled in my local community college and taken classes for the nursing program. (I probably would have endeavored for pharmacy school, though my grades might not have been good enough - then gone to accounting as a fall back if necessary).

 

[I'mTheFather]

You can also get a consult with a local attorney if you wish. Many offer free initial consultations. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck in your future education.

 

[stealth2]

OP - have you spoken to the head of the *Department* that awarded the degree?

 

[dunscaft]

OP - have you spoken to the head of the *Department* that awarded the degree?

Yes. I have sent the associate registrar and the chair of my department pretty much all of the e-mails I sent with my various advisers in the department.

One of the professors in the department (a former adviser of mine) said that I was being disingenuous and how only I could say if I was acting out of "ignorance or intention" because I submitted a help ticket to the registrar about my degree audit (and apparently the registrar's office overwrote the economics department saying I could not graduate). I also said that the University did not publicize timely and accurate advising information as it was required to do under bylaw USM III 2.50. I did everything in good faith. Yesterday he said I was lying (only to me) and making stuff up, so I asked him not to contact me again. The disingenuous comment was public though - he CC'ed it to other professors in the department and I am rather annoyed by it. I don't think I did anything untoward. He keeps saying how I am making stuff up and that I can't provide documentation. Of course, I can't provide documentation on a lot of it because advising isn't done in writing: it is done face to face.

I do have an e-mail from both a former adviser and the chair of the department saying that the degree audit not having a requirement correct was a known issue for some time. I have had four advisers in the department and every one of them told me to carefully go over the degree audit and none of them ever told me it didn't list one of the requirements correctly.

The chair of the department has expressed that he understand my frustration and disappointment about my degree and is cooperating with the registrar's office.

 

[justalayman]

The facts tend to support those saying you are being disingenuous. You are making a claim that apparently nobody but yourself believes to be valid. You have no proof you had met the requirements other than the degree awarded admittedly in error.

While it appears the error allowed this to become a landslide regarding your actions, it doesn't change the truth of the matter and there is no reversing the damage. Should they make some effort to aid you in some way? It would be grand if they did but the fact is, it appears they have no obligation to do so.


So, rather than confronting them in an adversariel position where they have shown their opposition to be impenetrable, maybe it's time for a different approach. While apparently nothing short of them simply giving in to your demands will be acceptable to you, by remaining on that course your are at stalemate. In this stalemate, they win, you lose. I don't know if there is a solution that will benefit you but it obviously is not going to be realized by continuing down the same path. This horse appears to be thoroughly dead.

 

[dunscaft]

The facts tend to support those saying you are being disingenuous. You are making a claim that apparently nobody but yourself believes to be valid. You have no proof you had met the requirements other than the degree awarded admittedly in error.

And an e-mail from a former adviser in 2012 that I only needed one more class for the degree (a class that I took in 2013). She said she thought that was the only one I needed but was going to double check everything. When we met later, she seemed under the impression I was: I just needed one more class to graduate and I was scheduled to take it in Spring of 2013. I passed it in Spring of 2013 with an A as well.

Precisely what claim is it that I made that nobody else believes to be true and where did I make it? (By the way, the earlier notion you had that I was arguing the requirements were changed isn't right.)

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Generally, when you start a degree program, absent a formal change of your entrance class to a newer set of qualifications, you take classwork according to your catalog of classes for the degree. Someone in advising, the degree dept or the library should have a the catalog of classes required for your degree when you started. If you did not meet those requirements and do meet the current ones, you would need the department head to okay your changing over to the current catalog of graduation requirements.

 

[justalayman]

And an e-mail from a former adviser in 2012 that I only needed one more class for the degree (a class that I took in 2013). She said she thought that was the only one I needed but was going to double check everything. When we met later, she seemed under the impression I was: I just needed one more class to graduate and I was scheduled to take it in Spring of 2013. I passed it in Spring of 2013 with an A as well.

Precisely what claim is it that I made that nobody else believes to be true and where did I make it? (By the way, the earlier notion you had that I was arguing the requirements were changed isn't right.)

So she said she thought THOUGHT you needed one more class. She SAID she would double check. Later she was under the IMPRESSION you needed only the one more class

So, was this person involved with the academic audit? Did she write you anything formal, he'll, anything at all that states the one class you took was all you needed?


Seriously guy, you are depending on somebody (that was not in a position of authority) said something that suggested you took all the required classes.


And especially since I misunderstood your claim the requirements were changed, you just lost all possibility of winning. If the requirements didn't change and you do not have all the classes required, well simply put; you are not due the degree.

Why you kept brining up the possibility the requirement has changed makes absolutely no sense now. It sounds like simply a ruse to distract the thread from the actual point; you do not qualify for the degree

 

[dunscaft]

Generally, when you start a degree program, absent a formal change of your entrance class to a newer set of qualifications, you take classwork according to your catalog of classes for the degree. Someone in advising, the degree dept or the library should have a the catalog of classes required for your degree when you started. If you did not meet those requirements and do meet the current ones, you would need the department head to okay your changing over to the current catalog of graduation requirements.

Yes. This seems right.

But unfortunately one of the requirements was not publicized correctly. I unambiguously do not meet the current requirements.

 

[dunscaft]

Why you kept brining up the possibility the requirement has changed makes absolutely no sense now. It sounds like simply a ruse to distract the thread from the actual point; you do not qualify for the degree

I kept bringing up what? Where did I keep bringing up he possibility that the requirement had changed?

I simply said it was not publicized correctly in the degree audit. As the degree audit was written, I met the requirements. I don't actually know what the "official source" of the requirements are. Apparently it isn't the degree audit, even though that is what the office of the registrar tells students to use to plan graduation.

Note, I specifically say in my first post: "I don't actually think that the requirements were ever different - but when I graduated I met the requirements as they were written on the degree audit." From that, how do you get to " keep bringing up the possibility that the requirements have changed."

To answer your first question: I now KNOW and have proof that the language of the degree audit was changed. Apparently my department had made several requests for the registrar to fix it but it was not fixed until recently.

 

[cbg]

What's the most likely here?

1.) You are the only one who correctly remembers that the degree requirements have been changed and everyone else's memory is faulty or,

2.) Everyone else remembers correctly that there has been no change to the degree requirements and you are the one whose memory is faulty?

 

[justalayman]

Obviously I misunderstood your statement as to what changed.

You said the audit showed you had completed the requirements needed so, either there are now different requirements or there was an error on your audit or you met the requirements listed.

or is it you don't have that audit but simply a list of the courses you have taken and passed?

I suppose this is what lead me to misunderstand your situation;

One of the problems is I can't get anybody (either in the program or registrar's office) to give me an answer about what is the official document or resource that gives the actual requirements of the program

That makes no sense what so ever. You cannot get somebody to tell you what it takes to earn a degree. How does any student attend that school and have any clue what courses to take let alone where they stand in regards to those requirements if nobody at the school knows the requirements.

 

[xylene]

University Ombudsman.

Then get a lawyer involved if there is no movement.

 

[dunscaft]

What's the most likely here?

1.) You are the only one who correctly remembers that the degree requirements have been changed and everyone else's memory is faulty or,

2.) Everyone else remembers correctly that there has been no change to the degree requirements and you are the one whose memory is faulty?

This is not at issue. I don't think anybody's memory is faulty. Why are you acting like a bunch of people are doubting what I am saying? Only one professor has said anything against me and it is just because I said the university didn't fulfill its advising obligations according to the bylaws. I stand by that statement... I don't think the university published accurate and timely information for me to use. Is there really any serious doubt of that? I mean seriously...

As far as I know, nobody has said my claim that the degree audit was faulty is inaccurate. The chair of my department said in an e-mail he made several requests to the registrar's office to get it changed in fact. But I was never informed that the degree audit didn't list the requirements correctly, yet 4 advisers I had all told me to use it.

Every adviser I have had has used the degree audit as a tool to plan students schedules and see if you meet the graduation requirements regardless of what department. The whole school uses it for their given program. The issue is, for my program, the degree audit did not list the requirements the way my department wanted it to and my claim is that I met the requirements the way the degree audit was written when I applied for graduation and received my degree.

 

[dunscaft]

That makes no sense what so ever. You cannot get somebody to tell you what it takes to earn a degree. How does any student attend that school and have any clue what courses to take let alone where they stand in regards to those requirements if nobody at the school knows the requirements.

The issue is that the registrar's office, which handles graduation and manages the degree audit did not have the requirements listed according to the way that my department wanted them.

When you graduate at my school, there is a review by both the registrar's office and your academic department to make sure you pass the requirements.

When I applied for graduation I failed the department review. Because I looked at the degree audit, I thought everything was OK. I submitted a help ticket and pointed out that one of my classes was missing on my degree audit (and it was). Apparently the registrar's office then overrode the department review (and according to my department they should not have done this and I think the associate registrar concedes the point). About two weeks after my help ticket, I was awarded the degree.