I Was Dropped from My Class: Am I Overreacting? Should I Fight This?
This semester, I’ve been enrolled in a critical thinking class, and it’s been an absolute struggle. The workload is significantly heavier than any of my other classes—I’m not exaggerating when I say that nearly all but three of my 21 assignments this week are for this one class. Despite the overwhelming demands, I’ve managed to keep up and maintain an A so far. All of my courses are online, and not via Zoom, but strictly on Canvas. While discussion posts usually challenge me, I’ve been pushing through.
This particular class requires two weekly discussion posts on Padlet, which involve not only a video response but also a personal video addressing a classmate’s post. I’m genuinely not trying to be dramatic, but this has been incredibly stressful for me. I’m a few years older than most students and deal with severe social anxiety. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I chose an online-only class for a reason. Given the grading structure, these discussion posts account for only about 5% of the weekly grade. Since I’ve been doing well with all the other assignments, I thought it would be less stressful to just skip the posts and accept the zeroes.
Recently, my professor recorded a personal video calling me out for not participating in the class and posted it on the latest Padlet. I’m unsure whether this was warranted or unprofessional on her part, but it left me feeling shocked. From what I’ve read in some Rate My Professors comments, this isn’t the first time such an incident has occurred. The day after the video was posted, I logged in to find the class missing from my Canvas dashboard. When I checked my university’s online portal, I discovered that I had been dropped from the course for “Withdrawn by instructor – stopped attending.” This is entirely untrue, as I have consistently submitted all other assignments.
This is my final semester, and I need this class to graduate on time. Unfortunately, my academic advisor isn’t available for another week, and I doubt I’ll be able to switch to another class in time. I feel incredibly cheated, especially since I was still passing based on all other criteria. What should I do? Am I overreacting?
It sounds like you’re going through a really frustrating situation, and it’s completely understandable to feel upset. You’re not overreacting—it’s valid to be concerned about being dropped from a class, especially when you’re maintaining good grades overall.
It’s important to advocate for yourself in this situation. Here are a few steps you could consider taking:
Document Everything: Keep a record of all your communications with the professor and any assignment submissions. This will be helpful if you need to explain your situation to someone else.
Reach Out to the Professor: If you haven’t already, try to communicate directly with your instructor. Explain your situation clearly, including your attendance and participation in other assignments. You could express your willingness to find a way to catch up or improve participation if that’s feasible for you.
Contact a Higher Authority: If you don’t get a satisfactory response from the instructor, consider reaching out to the department head or the academic advising office. Explain what happened and emphasize that you are still passing the class despite the participation issues.
Explore University Policies: Look into your university’s policies on course drops and withdrawals. There might be formal procedures you can follow to contest the drop if you believe it was unwarranted.
Consider an Appeal: If you feel your situation warrants it and you’re still facing an issue, consider formally appealing the decision to drop you from the class.
You definitely deserve to have your voice heard, especially since you are actively trying to complete your degree. Take care of yourself, and good luck navigating this!