Can my uni throw me out immediately? Really upset pls help

[incrediblydistraught]

Late paying last installment for my masters degree, having some financial difficulty. I went in and spoke to them and asked if would be ok to finish paying by August followed up with call last week.

They have suspended me now and can't access any of my student accounts. I have called and am really distraught I can't fucking cope I have just spent £8000 and a whole year trying to make myself more employable AND THE WHOLE THING IS A FUCKING WASTE.

Nobody could say if they will let me finish. I don't know what to do I feel so misled as far as I knew it was ok to finsih paying by August and then suspending my email how the fuck can I communicate with anyone at the uni to even try t o resolve it????????

Shaking with fear no matter what I do how hard I try it all gets taken away from me I am a laughing stock. I have paid £8000 all for nothing, my grades are all good and its all for nothing.

If they've suspended you it doesn't mean they've thrown you out.
Worst case scenario: when you pay your fees they'll reinstate you.

It will probably help if you have someone on the academic staff fighting your corner. Have you spoken to your personal tutor? The sensible solution is for the universitity to allow you to finish as usual, but for your results to be withheld from you and for your degree not to be awarded until you're fully paid-up.

'They decide to fuck you off and suspend you or allow your payment plan and mine hasn't been approved.'

I don't know why.

So FIND OUT. 'Calm down, call them and go in and see them' is the advice everyone here is offering.

There's not 'more to this than meets the eye' either.
I did go in in person. The guy was on his lunch so I came back an hour later and met him. When I called last week I spoke to him.

How much do you owe?

They don’t want you to fail. It is not in their interests to let you fail. But you need to take some concrete steps towards engaging with them today. Make contact with your tutor and the welfare office.

This - I know how incredibly frustrating it can be dealing with a University where the left hand doesn't seem to know what the right hand is doing.

Am just experiencing this with my son's Disability Services Dept as I type 🤬

Deep breaths OP it will be fine 💐

Calm down. You will be able to set up a payment plan or defer your studies until next year when you can pay. There is a solution, you just need to calm down and wait to speak to someone.

No, I know you are angry and sacred about this but they really don't do that.

Take a deep breath and re-read the posts above. You have a few more avenues to try to get someone to get this sorted. You said that you have had no formal notification, so officially nothing has happened.

Do keep coming here to vent though. I hope it is helping and you can get this sorted quickly.

The woman I spoke to is trying to speak to someone else about this - she is going to call back when she knows. She didn't suggest coming in to meet with any of the finance team. But I could maybe try and find a student welfare person to meet with?

OK. So someone is working on it. That's good.

Do contat Styudent Welfare, they will be able to at least talk you theough the procedures, reassure you.

I can understand you’re upset but you are hugely catastrophising and jumping to the worst case scenario rather than the most likely one. If you can you need to try and take a step back from the situation. It is hugely unlikely they have decided to throw you off the course, aside from anything else it’s not in their interest to give someone a place on the course and then have them leave as it loses them money. They’d rather be paid late than kick someone of the course and not be paid at all. Problems paying fees will be quite common and the university will have protocols in place to help. The most likely explanation here is that the computer system automatically suspends accounts in response to late fees so that students can’t bury their heads in the sand and are forced to get in touch with the university to sort out a plan. You have already have a plan in place so no doubt this will be resolvable once you speak to somebody.

Take a deep breath and get in touch with the university. They will be able to sort this out for you and unsuspend your account once you’ve spoken to them.

But I could maybe try and find a student welfare person to meet with?

Of course you can. It might also make you feel better to be doing something proactive about it rather than waiting for 'someone' to call you back. Start chasing NOW.

Call student services.

Call your course tutor.

Call the finance department.

Student tuition is paid upfront by your student loan so I'm confused why this has happened. I would speak to your personal tutor and your Course tutor because a few words from them may well put things back on track.

As you’ve been told, a panel is convened before students can be de-registered for non-payment. So that outcome is some way off and very unlikely to materialise as they would rather have your August payment than not.

Student tuition is paid upfront by your student loan so I'm confused why this has happened

Not everyone has a student loan for postgraduate study.

It never occurred to me to tell any academic staff. I thought things were completely separate. I'm not a young adult so no pastoral care element etc and to be honest, thought things were in hand.

I'm just really shaky and teary because EVERY FUCKING TIME I relax and think I'm doing okay at ANYTHING - NO. I still manage to get it wrong even when I think I'm doing ok. And then it comes and kicks the legs out from under me and I JUST GET SO FUCKING PANICKED.

The woman I spoke to is trying to speak to someone else about this - she is going to call back when she knows. She didn't suggest coming in to meet with any of the finance team. But I could maybe try and find a student welfare person to meet with?

The woman you spoke with, is she in the course office or the finance office?

Does your tutor/course director know about your problem? - only answer "Yes" if you've spoken to them directly yourself, if you haven't assume they don't. Speak to them.

You should definitely speak to someone in the student welfare/services office. Today. There's no "maybe" about it.

Loss of access to Uni email is not a barrier to communication. It's possibly a benefit, because you're going to have to make direct contact (by phone or face-to-face). In this sort of situation email is only useful for reminding people what was agreed in direct communication.

But I think the panel did meet and declined my payment plan??

is tehre a difference in suspension (which sounds like it could be temporary) and de registering a student?

It’s automatic - one late or missed payment automatically shuts off access to your university accounts, until payment has been made.
However it is fixable. You need to call your course tutor and make sure you have given them the names of everyone you have spoken to.

If the panel have declined your payment plan, you will be suspended until you can/have paid the amount owed.

It never occurred to me to tell any academic staff.

Call them today.

If you're relying on finance to inform the academic team then you have no idea of the message that they're receiving. Your tutor can't support you if they don't know you're in trouble.

The woman is something to do with finance or registration? The person who declined me is on holiday so I think it's his colleague or boss.

I had already been in in person, and already spoken to somebody on phone. I was not avoiding the situation, I was trying to resolev it.

I've worked in universities for years and believe me, it would look very bad indeed if they suspended a student who was having difficulties with payment and then kept the money the student had already paid, particularly given the outrageous salaries given to Vice Chancellors and the fact that a large proportion of lecturers are on an hourly wage.

You've been given very good advice here. You will have a personal tutor or student services. Make an appointment with a named person and explain your situation calmly. I really think that it will be sorted out and you will be able to pay in installments.

If you are in financial difficulty OP is this perhaps why your requests to arrange a financing option for your delayed payment might be not yet approved? Universities are usually fairly willing to deal with a late payment or finance issue in an appropriate way.

I realise you are very upset but catastrophising won't help you in any respect; it won't reduce your stress and it certainly won't help you in getting this sorted if you are not able to control it when dealing with people that you need on board to get this matter dealt with. It is not ' all for nothing' - nothing final has even been decided, nothing final has happened- you haven't currently wasted any of the effort you have put in so far nor is this any comment on your personal bad luck. The university has suspended your accounts because you haven't made payment you owe, that is presumably temporary, and would be even more temporary if you made payment. It is not their direct fault that you cannot currently do that. Will you be able to pay the amount owing? what is the nature of your financial difficulties?

Please do seek out someone from student welfare to talk this over with , the suspended uni email really doesn't stop you at all from making phone calls or visiting the physical student welfare location on your campus and asking to speak with someone. If you are happy to wait longer just use a personal email.

It will get sorted OP, right now you need to be in the correct headspace that enables you to advocate for yourself effectively and sort the issue practically though, and this isn't it. Visit student services, make the appointments you need and do whatever you need to do to take the pressure off while the situation is sorted. Are there things you could be doing to sort out your financial problems that led to this?

I think i should wait for the woman to email me back with what is exactly the situation, before I contact my tutor. Because at the minute I don't know how bad it is, this thread is saying not to lose all hope so trying to hold on to a small bit of hope.