Lennie Jackson

Address
City, State zip
Student Number
Email Address
Springfield College
Assistant Dean / Campus Director Name
Address
City, State Zip

Appeal for Senior Seminar Class

Instructor Name

June 2, 2018

I am writing this letter with the expectations of receiving an appeal for the receipt of my degree
which I earned. I have worked very hard for the past year and a half to complete my educational
goals. I that my goals have been stagnated, and I am not able to pursue my career goals because I
was forced to attend an online class, which was not offered in the classroom. I am not
accustomed to taking classes online, and this was my first time taking an online class. I did not
fully comprehend the online class structure; however, I thought I was doing everything that I was
supposed to do.
I have had a positive experience with the classroom setting instructors, however my online
instructor was new, and I was new to online instruction. From the beginning of the class there
were many glitches in the school’s computer system, which I had no control over.
I receive financial aid, and I feel that I did everything that I was supposed to do, and turned in
my assignments. I completed my assignments and my instructor never informed me of anything
that I supposedly failed. I completed the class and received a final grade of a B. I was not
informed that there was any kind of problem. I attended my commencement which is what
happens when a student successfully completes their curriculum.
I do not feel that I am in error, and I have turned in my assignments. My instructor never
communicated to me when there was a problem. Therefore, I cannot fix a problem that I don’t
know exists. The communication from my instructor were as follows:
January 19, the instructor informed us of a glitch in the system with getting her on board as new
faculty member.
Feb 7, the instructor sent an email saying the school was experiencing some IT login issues for
the week, another glitch.
Feb 9, the instructor sent an email informing that she was having technical difficulties for two
weeks, and she also said she was sick with pneumonia.
Feb 11, the instructor sent another email saying there were hiccups in the technical system
Feb 15, I emailed her concerning my absence, and the instructor informed me that she was taking
care of it. I was not absent, there was a glitch in the system, and it was something that she did not
do as a new instructor. I informed the instructor that I received a call from the Tampa Campus
concerning my attendance. I told her that the phone call from the Tampa Campus stated that I
had not started classes and received four absences. This is an error; I was not absent.
I asked the instructor if she could please correct this error. Kelly De Freitas said to tell my
instructor to contact her if she needed any assistance with correcting the error. Kelly De Freitas
realized that my instructor was new, and offered her assistance with helping to clear the errors.
I informed the instructor that Tampa Campus said that this was a time sensitive matter that
needed to be corrected in order for my financial aid to be disbursed.
Feb 15, the instructor responded to me letting me know the issues was resolved. So, at this time,
I am thinking that all is well, and there are no issues with absences or any missing assignments.
March 3, I received an email regarding computer glitches because of the storm’s impact.
Mar 10 – Mar 16 I successfully logged in twice for the week, and was unable to log in a 3rd time
because I was out of town with no computer access. According to my records this is my first
absence, and from my understanding, this would equal one absence because I only logged in 2
out of the required 3 times.
April 23, I contacted my instructor concerning my final grade; At that time, a few assignments
were not graded or calculated. We had dialog as to how she calculated grades and my grade point
average. She sent the syllabus, and informed me that she is following the syllabus guidelines.
My final grade that was submitted and posted on my “report card” was around April 20 no later
than April 23.
From April 23 to May 2 there was no correspondence of any kind, from my teacher, regarding
my grade being changed from a B to an F. This was completely unexpected.
May 3, I was having another issue concerning a grade not submitted because it was lost in
submission. I received a sincere apology from the professor and my grade was put in manually.
When I checked to see if my grade was posted this is when I noticed the grade of B was changed
to an F on my report card. I was devastated and clueless upon seeing this. I was not informed that
there was ever a problem, nor that the grade was changed.
May 6, I emailed my instructor, and spoke with her about the grades and I learned that she had
me absent for January 6-12, January 13-19, January 20-26, February 24-March 2, March 3 - 9,
March 24-30, April 7-13, April 14-20, April 21-27.
In addition, the instructor, told me that since I was a senior, and I should have been aware of the
log in. I feel there is inconsistency in treatment from her to me because I have never taken an
online class, and this is my very first one with Springfield College. I did not have an option to
take my course in the classroom and was forced to take an online class. I was also unfamiliar
with the policies.
May 14, after I returned from Springfield, MA commencement I emailed the professor, and
informed her that I would like to appeal my grade due to discrepancy and some inconsistency
with my attendance. Moreover, informing her I am starting the appeal process.
May 14, the instructor replied to me and stated that she entered the grade B on my final report
card, and the system changed the grade to an F.
The school email the dates of Attendance warning Jan 24, 29, Feb 3, feb10, Feb 17 mar 3, mar
10 I have not received any attendance warning after mar 10, but she have me absence thereafter
My final understanding, after speaking with my instructor prior to my grade being changed was
that the attendance issues were resolve and I was absent only two days. With that being
communicated to me, there should not have been any problems concerning my attendance.
Since I did not receive any notification from the professor nor the school about the sudden
change, I was prompted to email the professor and ask her if there was another computer glitch
because my grade went from a B to an F. I received a response that the instructor was in a
conference. I spoke with the Delaware dean, who said that he was going to call her cellphone and
ask for her to reply to email. She replied and informed me that it was because of attendance. My
instructor was very dry and showing absolutely no concern.
After speaking with the instructor, I learned that the instructor had me absent on days that I was
actually present, and furthermore, I could not understand how she could have a record of all of
the absences, yet not once say anything to me about it, and how it could possibly affect my grade
and graduation. I asked the instructor to provide me with the details she had for the absent
weeks. She gave only my log in details, which was not accurate.
January: 9, 16, 17, 20, 23, 27, 30, 31
February: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,11, 12, 14, 16,17, 18, 19, 22, 26
March: 2, 6, 11, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 28, 31
April: 7, 9, 17, 20, 23

After this, I was dumbfounded because all I could think about now was that I am supposed to be
graduating in a couple of days. My family and I spent thousands of dollars preparing to attend
my graduation. We purchased plane tickets, hotel rooms, and rental cars, all which was non-
refundable. I was completely in the dark about what was happening, I was completely stressed to
physical exhaustion. I did not know if I was going to be able to participate in the
commencement.
My records show that I have submitted assignments and on the days of submission, I was marked
absent. I know I submitted an assignment on the 6th of April, and she clearly states I was not
logged in. There is an obvious discrepancy with the school’s computer system or some other
human error that we are unaware of. Furthermore, on May 4th I asked for my absent weeks
because the only time I was absent was during the 1st week of class. This was because this is my
first online class and I was unaware of the log in criteria.
 I could no longer access the online class to review my attendance dates. The instructor removed
the class from Moodle, and I was not able to access the classroom. I could only rely on what I
was being told by the instructor. I had no way of verifying any of the information that she gave
me. It was very disturbing to me because I could not review the information myself.
I am very concerned about how the instructor has handled my records in this situation. I have
been completely traumatized by this situation, mentally, physically and financially. I am not sure
if my instructor was aware that she showed a great lack of concern, and reluctance to help me
understand how she came up with the dates of absence because I was not absent. This is a serious
discrepancy in the expectations that Springfield College is maintaining accurate records for
attendance, and grading. I expressed my concerns to my instructor, and her reply was that she is
not the person who handles absences, nor create the rules.
Since the online class was January 13-April 7 why I am founding out that I failed a month after
the class was over, and I had already received a final grade of B.
My final thoughts are that I have enjoyed my time at Springfield, and I did not expect my last
class to be like this. I worked hard at Springfield and eagerly anticipated my graduation. I
celebrated my accomplishments when I got my final grade. I sough job opportunities, expecting
to have a degree in hand. I have now missed a job opportunity where I could become a change
agent in my community because I could not present a degree in a timely manner. This situation
feels like a dream, and it is hard to believe. I am emotionally distraught, and have consulted with
my doctor for anxiety medication. I cannot understand what has happened. I expect that the
situation will be resolved in my favor because I trust that there is someone who can understand
my position, and allow me to receive the grade B that I earned.

Respectfully,
Lennie Jackson