Return to Question

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear XXXXX,

I just received the results of the XXXX comprehensive exam in XXXX. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

Some additional information:

1. I contacted other students in the program which had failed during this same period of time and none of them received a letter that looked like mine.
2. I have a psychologically diagnosed reading disability. I requested additional time to prepare for the retake exam. The request was not honored.
3. The retake exam was required to be taken physically in front of the other professor who had jeered at me when I requested insight into why I had failed the first exam.
4. I am frustrated with the situation and would like some kind of "pay-back" or at least an apology.

So here are my questions:

1. Is there any legal recourse available at this time?
2. I have a fairly popular blog (30k hits per month). Is a violation of a moral or academic code to publish this official email from the professor?

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear XXXXX,

I just received the results of the XXXX comprehensive exam in XXXX. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

So here is my question:

1. Is there anything to be done about this? Or is it better to keep my head down and not complain?

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear Francis,

I just received the results of the summer 2011 PhD comprehensive exam in Markets and Price Analysis. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

Some additional information:

1. I contacted other students in the program which had failed during this same period of time and none of them received a letter that looked like mine.
2. I have a psychologically diagnosed reading disability. I requested additional time to prepare for the retake exam. The request was not honored.
3. The retake exam was required to be taken physically in front of the other professor who had jeered at me when I requested insight into why I had failed the first exam.
4. I am frustrated with the situation and would like some kind of "pay-back" or at least an apology.

So here are my questions:

1. Is there any legal recourse available at this time?
2. I have a fairly popular blog (30k hits per month). Is a violation of a moral or academic code to publish this official email from the professor?

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear XXXXX,

I just received the results of the XXXX comprehensive exam in XXXX. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

Some additional information:

1. I contacted other students in the program which had failed during this same period of time and none of them received a letter that looked like mine.
2. I have a psychologically diagnosed reading disability. I requested additional time to prepare for the retake exam. The request was not honored.
3. The retake exam was required to be taken physically in front of the other professor who had jeered at me when I requested insight into why I had failed the first exam.
4. I am frustrated with the situation and would like some kind of "pay-back" or at least an apology.

So here are my questions:

1. Is there any legal recourse available at this time?
2. I have a fairly popular blog (30k hits per month). Is a violation of a moral or academic code to publish this official email from the professor?

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear Francis,

I just received the results of the summer 2011 PhD comprehensive exam in Markets and Price Analysis. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

Some additional information:

1. I have a psychologically diagnosed reading disability. I requested additional time to prepare for the retake exam. The request was not honored.
2. The retake exam was required to be taken physically in front of the other professor who had jeered at me when I requested insight into why I had failed the first exam.
3. I am frustrated with the situation and would like some kind of "pay-back" or at least an apology.

So here are my questions:

1. Is there any legal recourse available at this time?
2. I have a fairly popular blog (30k hits per month). Is a violation of a moral or academic code to publish this official email from the professor?

This was a few years ago now. My PhD program had two exams. The first I passed with high marks the second I failed.

I did not really know who to talk with about this. It is common in my program for people taking their exams to fail on the first attempt. However, the nature of the way this news was conveyed by the graduate program director and other passive aggressive tenancies by another closely related senior member, really shook my confidence.

Unfortunately, I did not recover and ended up switching departments and programs, which has cost me time and money. I won't blame my failures on this professor, though I believe he seems to have abused his power in order to act out a personal vendetta.

Here is the email:

Dear Francis,

I just received the results of the summer 2011 PhD comprehensive exam in Markets and Price Analysis. I will follow up with a more formal letter shortly, but I wanted you to know the basic results as soon as possible.

I'm pleased to relay that you received a Fail.

This is disappointing news. With my formal memo, I will be sending feedback on individual questions to assist you with further study.

Best regards,

Some additional information:

1. I contacted other students in the program which had failed during this same period of time and none of them received a letter that looked like mine.
2. I have a psychologically diagnosed reading disability. I requested additional time to prepare for the retake exam. The request was not honored.
3. The retake exam was required to be taken physically in front of the other professor who had jeered at me when I requested insight into why I had failed the first exam.
4. I am frustrated with the situation and would like some kind of "pay-back" or at least an apology.

So here are my questions:

1. Is there any legal recourse available at this time?
2. I have a fairly popular blog (30k hits per month). Is a violation of a moral or academic code to publish this official email from the professor?