Hi there,

This past week, my life took a turn for the worst. I came back from a 1 year suspension, and really studied hard, and looked to get things back on track, finishing a whole academic year with good grades, and not being kicked out (being that I am already on academic probation). In the following summer term, I took a politics class, and was later caught for plagiarism. I had a meeting with the Academic Integrity Office, regarding an essay I wrote for the politics class. In the end, the decision was made that I was to receive a 0 on the essay, and a further reduction of 25% from my final grade. This decision, dropped my final grade significantly. I was unable to meet the 1.7 SGPA at utsg, and was effectively put on a 3 year suspension.
I am at a loss for words, and I am constantly running circles at UofT, trying to get someone to help me in my situation.
I spoke to my registrar, which told me to either petition, or to simply find another school.
My registrar also said that the success rate of petition regarding suspension/plagiarism is not so great.
My question for you is, what does someone in my position need to do in order to get the suspension lifted, so I can resume my education?
I am looking for any and all options, and in the mean time I am looking into petition to the Vice Provost in regards to the suspension.
Looking forward to hearing from you, and I hope there is a chance that you can guide me in the right direction and get this whole situation sorted out.
Thanks in advance!

———————————————

hey there,

firstly, i’m so sorry that you’re in this situation. i understand how difficult it is to go through something like this with OSAI.

however, i can’t give you any more or better advice than what you’ve already received from your registrar’s office. if they are advising you against filing a petition, then it’s probably with good reason. they anticipate that it won’t go through, and they don’t want you to waste your time.

i don’t know the context under which they told you to look for another school, but as far as i know, you’re not allowed to study at another university while on suspension. i mean, obviously no one’s gonna stop you, but if you try to transfer those credits over to your uoft degree after your suspension ends, you won’t be able to.

i would try and open your ears a little to what the registrar’s office is telling you. if you’re not jiving with the advisor you’ve been speaking with, maybe you can try speaking with someone else.

however, they have the experience to know how this is likely going to play out, and the wisest thing for you to do at this point is to listen to them. if you’d like to read up a bit more to understand where they’re coming from, i’d recommend this page from the faculty of arts & science.

have a candid conversation with your advisor about what it is you want. if you’re not sure what you want, try and figure it out together with them. try and come up with things you can do outside of school for these three years that will better prepare you for your return from school. maybe you can get some work experience related to your degree, pursue a college certificate, travel, or earn some money to pay for school.

if you’re really adamant about the petition, then you certainly shouldn’t go it alone. you’ll need the help of your registrar’s office to increase your odds of writing a persuasive, successful petition.

either way, staying in contact is paramount.

i know this may not be exactly what you wanted to hear, but i think it’s important that you do hear it. don’t tune out your registrar’s office. stay with them. listen to them. and listen to yourself, and be honest with yourself.

best of luck,

aska

Hi! I got suspended for a year at UofT, but I know it will be a good opportunity to help me discover my passion. Can I still attend all of my courses and purchase like textbooks? My goal this year is to discover my learning skill, and improve my habits. I’m very positive and optimistic, I am going to still get involved. I’m going to boost my GPA next september, and study my passion.

———————————————

hey there,

this is an amazing attitude to have, and i admire it. you have absolutely focused in on the two most important things coming off suspension:

1. learning study skills and developing habits that will help you become a better student
2. doing some self-reflection about what you want at university, so that if you decide to come back, it will be doing something you enjoy and can be successful in.

some of this stuff you can do in discussion with the school, but you do need to understand that you can’t be in school while you’re on suspension.

technically, you can purchase textbooks from the uoft bookstore (or bob miller, etc.) regardless of whether you’re a student. attending classes, not so much. in fact, you are not allowed to enrol in courses – at uoft or elsewhere – while you are on suspension.

however, that doesn’t mean that you should or have to check out entirely. i do recommend that you make an appointment with your faculty/college registrar’s office to figure out a game plan. they can help you figure out what you should be doing in your year off, and which opportunities you should pursue.

best of luck with it, and hope to see you back soon!

aska

Hey Aska,
I got suspended last year (winter semester) for four months. After trying again this summer by taking 4 courses, I just checked my rosi and it it showed that I just barely passed all four of them to end up with a cumulative GPA of 1.50 flat. I worked so hard from the start of the semester and even got great midterm marks. After midterm, it all just went downhill. And I very well know that I have nobody else to blame but me. I’m suspended again right, for 12 months this time?

So if I am indeed suspended, do you have any tips as to what to do for these 12 months? See, I’ve been pretending to my parents that I have been going to school last winter semester. I did it for four months but 12 months is another story. Should I go to school, attend lectures and pretend I’m just any other student? As much as I wanna tell them that I got suspended, I simply can’t for the sake of my emotionally, physically and psychologically fragile mother. Is there any hope at all? Am I even supposed to be in university?

Thanks.

———————————————

hey there,

guhhhh. see, this is why i harp on y’all about telling me which campus you’re on. i know you’re not in the faculty of arts & science, because we don’t suspend people for four months. but depending on where you go to school (faculty of applied science & engineering, utsc, etc.), the rules about suspension are different.

check your utoronto e-mail address and your physical mailbox for any communication that may have come through about your suspension. if you didn’t get anything, talk to your registrar’s office and ask them whether you’re now on suspension for one year.

if you have been suspended again, i would take the time you’re on suspension to use some of the resources at your disposal.

if you’re a utsc student, get in touch with an academic and learning strategist and a study skills peer coach. the faculty of applied science & engineering also has a learning skills strategist, academic advising and academic success resources which i would strongly recommend.

all these things are much better and more constructive ways to spend your suspension than by pretending to go to class, which probably wouldn’t be much fun for you anyways.

obviously, you have to decide how to speak/act with your own parents, but i can tell you from experience that if you have unpleasant news to tell a parent, it goes down much better if you can follow it up with a plan on moving forward. get in touch with these academic success resources and make a plan to meet with them regularly through the year. then you can tell your mom, “i’m on suspension, but i’ve done these things to get back on track.”

that’s a lot more comforting than, “i’ve been suspended for a year, i’m panicking, i don’t know what i’m gonna do, may as well sell myself to the circus and see where the wind takes me.” parents don’t like that. though if that is what you decide to do, make sure to write to us about what happens.

finally: are you supposed to be in university? man, i don’t know. that’s something only you can decide. while you’re down at the registrar’s office, they’ll hopefully ask you to reflect a little bit on that question. but i think that if you’re put on suspension for a year, that’s something you’ll have to think about yourself.

just remember that university is one very specific path, but it is by no means a necessary one. you do yourself a disservice by falling for the trap that university is objectively the best way to spend your young adulthood. maybe it is for you, and maybe it’s not – but you’ve gotta figure that out for yourself.

best of luck with it,

aska

Hi,

So… I’ve been put on suspension after my first year here at utsc. Its safe to say I screwed up. I screwed up reaaal bad. I didn’t even recognize the probation warning until it was too late and I couldn’t do anything about it. and the course i took during my semester at probation was one that I had been struggling with throughout the summer semester. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know what to do during these four months. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? I’m completely freaking out and my parents lost hope in me and lost all trust as well. I’ve been lying to them and myself. I can say that I don’t “know” how to study, but at the end of the day, now that i look back at it, i was lazy. I was so incredibly and stupidly lazy. this is the first time that i’m coming clean. I kept telling myself during all these classes. “Oh, I can do this. it’s no big deal. I can deal with this work load. I won’t fail at all.” I did pretty well throughout the semester, maintaining a B+ or A- for course work, but in the final exam, especially the study period.. I had no motivation at all. I think there’s something wrong with me. like, i don’t think while you’re reading this, will be able to relate to this at all. I bet you’re thinking, “wow, she’s so lazy. how could she do this to herself.” Well, you’re right. i don’t know WHY i did this to myself. I guess at the time, I was just convincing myself that it would all be fine and not let the fear of possibly failing if i didn’t study get to me. I thought I knew the stuff. I was paying attention throughout the semester, how could i not know my stuff? I’m such an idiot. Please, don’t sugar coat it. I AM SUCH AN IDIOT. A FOOL. And currently writing a self-pity letter it seems. I’m sorry. most people on this forum say, they’ve been suspended bc of depression/anxiety. I can’t even say that about myself. This is nobody’s fault but entirely my own.

tl;dr… i’ve been suspended and now i don’t know what to do with my life. i don’t even know if they’ll take me back in the winter bc my gpa is so damaged and SO horrible. Its damaged beyond repair. Its going to take forever to get back to the program of my choice and complete my degree. my program of choice is limited and needs a certain gpa to get in. a 2.5+ to be exact. I can’t achieve that gpa now unless i get straight 4.0s in like, 10 courses. Do i just spend 3 sessions taking electives to boost up my gpa after i comeback until i finally get a chance to choose the subject post of my choice and complete my degree? I don’t even know if i’ll get a job after I graduate. I completely ruined my future.

Please, what do i do? I’m so lost right now. Also, I wanted to know. Can i still work on campus even though i’m temporarily not a student? Thanks.

———————————————

hey there,

let me make this very clear: if you’re on suspension, or probation, or you messed up at school in any way, you are not an idiot. that is not me sugar-coating – it’s a fact. besides, i’m not in the business of judging. mild teasing sometimes, but not judging.

everyone makes mistakes. frankly, very few people at university have got it right. either they’re sacrificing things they shouldn’t be to do well in school, or they’re not doing well, or they’re doing well but they’re not doing what they really want to be. this time of your life is not about doing well – you’ll have time for that when you’re forty and trying to outdo your neighbours’ lawns and incomes and choices of spouse.

the point is, you or me or anyone judging you is counter-productive. if you want to be helpful to yourself, you need to start thinking about some possible next steps.

these questions you have about whether you should take electives when you come back, how to boost your GPA, and how to go about enrolling in a subject POSt, are very particular to your situation and not questions i can answer (though they’re not UNANSWERABLE by any means – so don’t think that you’ve ruined your future or career, because that’s not just not true).

i’d recommend you meet with an academic and learning strategist and a study skills peer coach to prepare for your next term of school, should you decide to come back for one. you can also speak with your registrar’s office to get advice about which courses to take after your suspension, and that kind of thing. they’ll be much more helpful than i can be, trust me.

generally speaking, all i can say is that if you return to your studies after a suspension, you will be returning on academic probation, meaning you’ll want to do everything you can to try and get off probation.

overloading on very difficult courses is not a good idea (there’s a course load limit for a reason). overcommitting to things is not a great idea. anything you can do to make sure your GPA improves when you come back, is a good idea. but like i said, the registrar/learning strategist/peer coach are the killer combo who can give you specific tips about how to do that.

finally, you can work on campus, but you won’t be eligible for any work-study jobs because you won’t be enrolled in classes.

cheers,

aska