Appeal of academic dismissal from master's program in communicative sciences and disorders

EDITING STUDENT'S ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE

Please consider this respectful appeal of the decision of the Department of Student Progress Committee resulting in my dismissal from the Masters program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. That decision was the result of difficulties that I experienced completing an off-campus practicum at Eger Healthcare Center during the Fall of 2010 which resulted in my receiving a grade of "F" for the course E34.2118.

Originally, I took on my four-day-per-week off-campus practicum at Eger Health Care Center in Staten Island and my second one-day-per-week off-campus practicum site at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center in Manhattan during my last scheduled semester at NYU prior to my anticipated graduation in January 2011. Unfortunately my family experienced unexpected financial difficulties after my husband's untimely loss of his employment in early October of 2010. The resulting financial hardship affected my academic performance tremendously because my husband's job had been the only financial support for the two of us and our child.

I was unable to work throughout my entire course of studies at NYU because the program required my full-time commitment. The fact that my husband was not eligible for any unemployment benefits and/or severance after the termination of his employment was extremely stressful for us. We had no other source of income and no significant savings to continue paying our mortgage, child care, and our monthly bills. In the current economic climate, the job market is more competitive than ever and my husband had no choice but to spend most of his time consulting headhunters and preparing for multiple job interviews. With our financial situation, I had no choice but to take on a part-time job to help us survive and I was fortunate enough to find an opportunity to work as an academic tutor helping children with their homework and giving Russian language lessons seven days a week. Naturally, while I was very fortunate to find it, that responsibility resulted in constant pressure and stress and it affected my energy levels, time management, and ability to concentrate on completing the practicum requirements at Eger.