Urgent help APC hearing

[power4]

hello. I am in the verge of having to attend an APC hearing and another meeting with a panel of members. long story short, I've had a history depression/personal issues/anxiety/financial issues etc over the past year or so which led me to this situation I am in. I am in a financial crisis at the moment which I am struggling bigtime to get over with. and now on top of that I have to attend to these meetings. I do not have lot of supporting documents or reports since I wasn't diagnosed for anything like that and all I have is medical certificates from GP and my counsellor and few other docs. nor do I have anyone to take along with me for these meetings. The students rights hasn't been helpful at all unfortunately.

I have explained everything I could in writing but I am sure I am going to struggle to explain to that level in front a panel with the mental state I am in. My questions are, what would be those meeting/hearing will be like since I have to talk in front of panel of members? will I be generally okay by myself without anyone else?  how likely they are to exclude a student even with legitimate case? 

[enwiabe]

I have been in your exact situation, and although this feels like it's the end of the world and you're a dead man walking - you aren't. You are likely to be more fine with respect to your academic standing than you realise (unless my experience of the APC was the exception and not the rule).

Firstly, I hope you feel better about yourself. You are important and deserve to love yourself. I know what a kick in the guts this is. When I first received the letter, I know I thought to myself "oh great, confirmation that I'm a fucking failure".

Thankfully, my experience was that the APC is very compassionate and understanding.

My situation was that I went from being on a scholarship and maintaining a 90 average in my first 2 years to failing out of the course by 4th year.

I actually fronted the panel twice. Once when I was undiagnosed, and thought it was simply stress and taking on too many things at once.

At my first hearing, they asked me what my plan was to alleviate my stress. I explained that I was going to try to organise my time better, and drop to a lighter study load in order to give myself the best possible chance to succeed. They agreed this was a good course of action, and specifically noted in light of my past results that I should be allowed a second chance.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as that for me. I continued to fail subjects after the first hearing, and finally had a huge breakdown after which I sought help and was diagnosed with clinical depression.

At my 2nd hearing two years later, with the appropriate documentation to support my diagnosis, the panel allowed me to continue my studies and were extremely kind and understanding.

Don't be afraid to be open or vulnerable. They're not there to yell at you - they genuinely are trying to ascertain if you should still be studying. If you simply want to remain in the course, they are very likely to give you another chance.

They will ask you to develop a plan detailing how you intend to overcome the obstacles you are facing, potentially including academic counselling and a written statement of your plan.

I had no documentation for the first hearing other than my own written explanation of stress. For my 2nd hearing I had a letter from my Psychiatrist detailing my diagnosis and treatment. I would definitely advise that you bring any relevant medical certificates detailing your history with mental illness as it is a very important factor.

If I recall correctly, medical documentation would have to have been submitted a few weeks ago. It's very important that you contact the administrative contact on the warning letter immediately to get an extension on that submission date if this is the case. If their policy/procedure has changed since then, please disregard this advice. The student rights officer will have the most helpful advice on this matter.

The student rights officer will explain what they can and help you to build your case, but ultimately I found that they don't exactly need to kick goals for you in order for the APC to look favourably on your case. In my case, I barely consulted the service. I will say it is nice to see a friendly, supportive face on the day, and I still remember that feeling even now.

Mental illness is a hell I would not wish on anybody. Please take care of yourself and continue to seek professional help. I am unsure if they are allowed to do it, but the APC may ask you to seek counselling and I would certainly advise that you do it. Best of luck, and please feel better about yourself.

Regarding your financial issues, you should use this website to locate free services that can help you get your debt under control.  https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/managing-debts/financial-counselling

[power4]

I have been in your exact situation, and although this feels like it's the end of the world and you're a dead man walking - you aren't. You are likely to be more fine with respect to your academic standing than you realise (unless my experience of the APC was the exception and not the rule).

Firstly, I hope you feel better about yourself. You are important and deserve to love yourself. I know what a kick in the guts this is. When I first received the letter, I know I thought to myself "oh great, confirmation that I'm a fucking failure".

Thankfully, my experience was that the APC is very compassionate and understanding.

My situation was that I went from being on a scholarship and maintaining a 90 average in my first 2 years to failing out of the course by 4th year.

I actually fronted the panel twice. Once when I was undiagnosed, and thought it was simply stress and taking on too many things at once.

At my first hearing, they asked me what my plan was to alleviate my stress. I explained that I was going to try to organise my time better, and drop to a lighter study load in order to give myself the best possible chance to succeed. They agreed this was a good course of action, and specifically noted in light of my past results that I should be allowed a second chance.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as that for me. I continued to fail subjects after the first hearing, and finally had a huge breakdown after which I sought help and was diagnosed with clinical depression.

At my 2nd hearing two years later, with the appropriate documentation to support my diagnosis, the panel allowed me to continue my studies and were extremely kind and understanding.

Don't be afraid to be open or vulnerable. They're not there to yell at you - they genuinely are trying to ascertain if you should still be studying. If you simply want to remain in the course, they are very likely to give you another chance.

They will ask you to develop a plan detailing how you intend to overcome the obstacles you are facing, potentially including academic counselling and a written statement of your plan.

I had no documentation for the first hearing other than my own written explanation of stress. For my 2nd hearing I had a letter from my Psychiatrist detailing my diagnosis and treatment. I would definitely advise that you bring any relevant medical certificates detailing your history with mental illness as it is a very important factor.

If I recall correctly, medical documentation would have to have been submitted a few weeks ago. It's very important that you contact the administrative contact on the warning letter immediately to get an extension on that submission date if this is the case. If their policy/procedure has changed since then, please disregard this advice. The student rights officer will have the most helpful advice on this matter.

The student rights officer will explain what they can and help you to build your case, but ultimately I found that they don't exactly need to kick goals for you in order for the APC to look favourably on your case. In my case, I barely consulted the service. I will say it is nice to see a friendly, supportive face on the day, and I still remember that feeling even now.

Mental illness is a hell I would not wish on anybody. Please take care of yourself and continue to seek professional help. I am unsure if they are allowed to do it, but the APC may ask you to seek counselling and I would certainly advise that you do it. Best of luck, and please feel better about yourself.

Regarding your financial issues, you should use this website to locate free services that can help you get your debt under control.  https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/managing-debts/financial-counselling

Thank you so much!!!! didn't expect such a kind-hearted response. really appreciate that. sorry to hear that you had to go through all this and I hope everything is better for you now! I feel extremely helpless aIl the time since I do not have people around me, so it was nice to see this.  thanks again for your response, it was definitely helpful. I now have a little hope for this hearing. I will most definitely continue seeking counselling. good luck to you too!  

[enwiabe]

Thank you so much!!!! didn't expect such a kind-hearted response. really appreciate that. sorry to hear that you had to go through all this and I hope everything is better for you now! I feel extremely helpless aIl the time since I do not have people around me, so it was nice to see this.  thanks again for your response, it was definitely helpful. I now have a little hope for this hearing. I will most definitely continue seeking counselling. good luck to you too!  

No problem! It was very cathartic to write all of this down and to give help to someone in the same situation.

It has taken a long time (with a solid relapse along the way), and I'm still not 100%, but I am in a much better place now.

The most important thing is to define your support network. Reach out to any friends and family you can trust - a major regret I have is trying to internalise all of my struggle and not ask for help until it all just completely boiled over. If you don't have people around you that can perform this role, you need to get them around you. Join an amateur sporting team, take up a hobby etc. There are lots of nice people who will share your interests and want to be close to you/help you if you seek them out and befriend them. But if you have anxiety I know what a daunting task this is - a pretty unfortunate catch-22.

[power4]

No problem! It was very cathartic to write all of this down and to give help to someone in the same situation.

It has taken a long time (with a solid relapse along the way), and I'm still not 100%, but I am in a much better place now.

The most important thing is to define your support network. Reach out to any friends and family you can trust - a major regret I have is trying to internalise all of my struggle and not ask for help until it all just completely boiled over. If you don't have people around you that can perform this role, you need to get them around you. Join an amateur sporting team, take up a hobby etc. There are lots of nice people who will share your interests and want to be close to you/help you if you seek them out and befriend them. But if you have anxiety I know what a daunting task this is - a pretty unfortunate catch-22.

Glad to hear that you are in a better place now!

Yeah that's so true. there was a time where I literally did not reach anyone at all and it was so bloody overwhelming so I definitely get what you mean. then I decided to reach out for people on online forums/chats for sometime which was helpful. but I felt the need of  talking to someone in person or someone I actually know. so then I reached out to some of my friends I thought I could trust. That definitely did help.

edit : but I felt people don't ' actually ' care. I sometimes feels like there is no ' real ' friend for me. I hope that makes sense.

[enwiabe]

Glad to hear that you are in a better place now!

Yeah that's so true. there was a time where I literally did not reach anyone at all and it was so bloody overwhelming so I definitely get what you mean. then I decided to reach out for people on online forums/chats for sometime which was helpful. but I felt the need of  talking to someone in person or someone I actually know. so then I reached out to some of my friends I thought I could trust. That definitely did help.

edit : but I felt people don't ' actually ' care. I sometimes feels like there is no ' real ' friend for me. I hope that makes sense.

Gonna take this to PM, but just in general for anybody reading who might be interested: Depression is a huge drain not just on you but also on the people around you. It is often the case that your friends just won't know what to do and feel equally as powerless to help you. And because you feel miserable, they're not going to feel fantastic either, and it really causes a lot of relationships to drift. The silver lining to this is that you will absolutely find out at this stage of your life who your best friends are. But don't dismiss the people who aren't proactive as not being good friends; they're generally just not in a place where they can help you the way others can for whatever reason. Don't mistake that for their not caring, it's just another shitty isolating effect of the condition.

[power4]

Gonna take this to PM, but just in general for anybody reading who might be interested: Depression is a huge drain not just on you but also on the people around you. It is often the case that your friends just won't know what to do and feel equally as powerless to help you. And because you feel miserable, they're not going to feel fantastic either, and it really causes a lot of relationships to drift. The silver lining to this is that you will absolutely find out at this stage of your life who your best friends are. But don't dismiss the people who aren't proactive as not being good friends; they're generally just not in a place where they can help you the way others can for whatever reason. Don't mistake that for their not caring, it's just another shitty isolating effect of the condition.

Thanks heaps, that makes a lot of sense now!!

[irradiata]

Not sure if you've already been to your APC hearing, but thought I'd post this in case it helps you or someone else looking for more info on this.

The committee is made up of a chairperson, some faculty academics, and a student representative.

I have sat in on a couple of APC hearings as the student representative.

 The people on the committee with me were all kind and compassionate, and genuinely tried to understand why the students had failed, and how it could be stopped from happening again. In my experience, the committee is looking for a justification to let you stay, not looking for a reason to get you kicked out of uni.

They'll ask you why you failed, and also ask what your plan is to turn the situation around (eg study harder, start counselling, drop down to part time studying for a better work-study balance).

I won't go into individual case details, but can say that there are a huge variety of reasons students can have an 'off' semester, and the committee members know this. They're human too, and almost certainly have all gone through rough patches of their own. 

The more evidence you have to support your case the better, but not having any doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get excluded from the university. For some cases I sat in on, the people didn't have any evidence, but consideration was given to their grades history and they got to stay.

Good luck. I know it's scary, but the reality is probably less terrifying than what you're picturing in your head. My experience was that APC hearings are a compassionate and respectful process.

[power4]

Not sure if you've already been to your APC hearing, but thought I'd post this in case it helps you or someone else looking for more info on this.

The committee is made up of a chairperson, some faculty academics, and a student representative.

I have sat in on a couple of APC hearings as the student representative.

 The people on the committee with me were all kind and compassionate, and genuinely tried to understand why the students had failed, and how it could be stopped from happening again. In my experience, the committee is looking for a justification to let you stay, not looking for a reason to get you kicked out of uni.

They'll ask you why you failed, and also ask what your plan is to turn the situation around (eg study harder, start counselling, drop down to part time studying for a better work-study balance).

I won't go into individual case details, but can say that there are a huge variety of reasons students can have an 'off' semester, and the committee members know this. They're human too, and almost certainly have all gone through rough patches of their own. 

The more evidence you have to support your case the better, but not having any doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get excluded from the university. For some cases I sat in on, the people didn't have any evidence, but consideration was given to their grades history and they got to stay.

Good luck. I know it's scary, but the reality is probably less terrifying than what you're picturing in your head. My experience was that APC hearings are a compassionate and respectful process.

Thank you soo much for your response!!!  No I haven't been to it yet, so this really helps me to keep my head up. thanks again!!

[irradiata]

Thank you soo much for your response!!!  No I haven't been to it yet, so this really helps me to keep my head up. thanks again!!

You're welcome. I hope 2017 turns out to be a better year for you.

[power4]

You're welcome. I hope 2017 turns out to be a better year for you.

Thank you, I just hope whatever the outcome of the hearing is, that'll not be the end of me. you too have a good year