I agree that our situation is unlikely to change. I would be satisfied with a simple admission of wrongdoing, apology, and promise to improve the process for future applicants. Is that so much to ask?
For those who want to contact the media:
Nick Anderson at the Washington Post appears to be quite involved with its reporting on college issues. (He is also a former Post education editor and soon to be a parent of college-aged children himself.) He can be reached by email here: nick.anderson@washpost.com.
He also works on the new 2015 Washington Post blog about current higher education issues, Grade Point, which can be found here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/.
The reporter leading the blog is Susan Svrluga, who can be reached by email here: svrlugas@washpost.com
The current education editor at the Post is Josh White. He can be reached by email here: whitejs@washpost.com.
I intend to contact these individuals and urge others to do the same.
Well I’m most upset that I anxiously was checking my email all day and not being notified until after 8PM!!!
What does Larry Thomas have to say about that???
Very poor reflection on American U.
We called and left a message for Larry Thomas. Then called the Office of the President. The secretary said they are still closed for weather but we can launch a formal complaint by emailing the President directly and detailing what happened.
@KaikiD that is a good. We planned on calling today as well. We will send an email to the Pres. of AU. Policy has to change.
The real issue as I see it is that the FDDS Round 2 application instructions specifically state: “Once received, your video WILL be considered…” In fact the videos WERE NOT considered. The whole process was misleading and deceptive, and that’s what Mr. Thomas needs to acknowledge, and what President Kerwin should be aware of, in my opinion.
@AUFDDS Are you going to respond to these messages? Are you going to address the fact that you told these applicants that their videos “WILL BE considered” and did not consider them? Are you going to apologize in writing to ALL who submitted videos to FDDS that were not viewed? Please be professional enough to reply.
Does anyone have any feedback on phone calls or emails that have been answered by FDDS? Or has anyone reported this to the press contacts which were provided?
We are waiting until today to see is the Pres. Of AU contacts us. I’m giving him a fair opportunity to address the situation.
Did you hear anything back?
I emailed the FDDS email to find out what happened
I’m still waiting to hear back.
I messaged all from this thread that had not previously responded. Many were surprised to hear what was going on. Only 1 had their video viewed and that person did not move on.
I received a response from FDDS committee:
Thank you for respectfully sharing your concerns.
Your video was reviewed and considered. While you were not advanced, please know that you remain under consideration for admission to AU as well as other merit awards and/or other rich academic opportunities. Moreover, your feedback is important to us and will be taken into consideration during our annual review of the selection process.
We wish you the very best in your application to AU!
@goodmom15 The reply sent to @courte131 is why all should contact the president of American, as you did. FDDS is just going to insist they viewed everyone’s videos when it’s not true. Interestingly, when I called the president’s office late today I was told I was the first one to contact them about this issue (?!)
@c151515 that’s interesting too. We sent a terse email to the pres. Kerwin today and have not heard anything. We are hoping he calls. Did you speak to anyone other than a secretary? Also our email to Mr. Thomas that we sent last week had the president CC’d so I’m surprised.
@courte131 did you include in your email that you can see that your video was viewed for only 22 seconds? I hardly believe that constitutes are real look at who you are. I cannot understand his they can underestimate our ability to figure this out. Truly amazing.
My parents called and spoke with the secretary of the President’s office last week. They also called the FDDS office and left a message. The President’s secretary told them she would have Mr. Thomas return their call. Mr. Thomas did indeed return their phone call. My parents have asked me not to discuss the details of the conversation on the public forum. They are like that. You can message me for details, which they are okay with me discussing. Bottom line - no resolution for us but will consult the committee about making changes in the future.
@goodmom15 Have you received a response from President Kerwin? I believe the staff in the president’s office is obstructionist at best. I just want to know that the president himself - not his secretary, not Larry Thomas - is aware of our concerns. His “assistant” told me yesterday that Leslie Wong, Special Projects, decides whether the president sees the emails addressed to him. What?! I just get the impression that he’s been left in the dark on this issue and that, if he knew about it, he would find it very, very troubling.
@c151515 no we haven’t heard anything. My husband is the type to do business through email but I’m asking him to call tomorrow. This is so ridiculous