手把手教你抓好挂科后的救命稻草——申诉信 (Appeal Letter)
申诉信是许多国外大学给予那些被学校开除或者警告学生的一个申诉机会。如果是因为成绩过低被学校开除,学生可以透过申诉信告诉学校自己成绩过低的原因和改正的决心。如果是因为违反纪律(打架斗殴、未成年饮酒或接触毒品等)被学校处分,学生可以通过申诉信告诉学校自己意识到错误的严重性并且要求学校减轻处分。如果被开除的背后尚有隐情或你认为处罚不公正,学生亦可以透过申诉信申诉自己的想法。因为申诉的机会只有一次,一定要审慎撰写。
申诉信的内容涵盖以下几点(具体内容还根据申诉人的情况有所更动调整):
1/表明写信目的
2/说明被开除的原因
3/阐述背后主因
4/提出未来规划
5/感谢并恳请学校
什么时候递交呢?
如果想要延期考试/递交论文 或者 考试出来感觉大概率会挂的这种情况,请在考前或者考后一周内递交,这时候你递交的申诉不叫appeal,而叫mitigating circumstances(MC)或者叫extenuating circumstances(EC), 这阶段递交的申请也是最容易成功的,不然你拖到后面,申诉appeal会让你补充说明为什么不提前递交这部分的申请。如果你由于作弊或者抄袭率过高,学术不端情况被调查中,学校会具体发邮件通知,也会在邮件中写明交材料或者听证会的时间点。其余挂科情况都可以在成绩出来后,10-20天内递交,每个学校有自己规定的时间期限。
然而,面对眼前的救命稻草,学生往往因操之过急而犯下致命错误,与来之不易的申诉机会擦身而过。面对被学校开除这种紧急的情况,学生容易过于焦虑慌张,急于透过申诉信向学校表达自己的想法,反而弄巧成拙,最终申诉失败。另外,写申诉信时,学生容易钻牛角尖,忽视问题的症结,因而写不出一封强而有力的申诉信。这个时候,如果有经验丰富的顾问的帮助,聆听学生的想法,并给予最专业的建议,最后一同完成申诉信的撰写,这将大大提高申诉成功的可能。
举个例子:
yours sincerely,
While I agree that this is a policy of the school.Given the change to retake the unit, you can be assured that I shall make good use of the opportunity and putting all my effort to pass the unit next time. The sudden appreciation of the Australian Dollars have caught me and my family by surprise.your kind consideration of my appeal will be greatly appreciated.
Dear XXX (the person who is responsible)I am writing appeal against the termination of my enrolment. I have been very concerned of his health and I have spent a lot of time over the phone checking out the situation, my study has been distracted and leading to the unsatisfactory results.I have been under a lot stress lately due to the financial situation. As such, I am utterly ashamed and surprised of the outcomes. This is compounded by the fact that my father has been sick since mid-semester. I admit that my results have not been satisfactory, I am begging for your consideration against this decisio.