<p>What does “expelled” mean, BTW? That he can’t take classes any more on that campus? Can he be allowed to graduate some how? Can he come back? I know that many state schools have online courses. Depending on his major, that <em>could</em> be an option.</p>
<p>I think that the student should try to operate from a position of strength. If he does not appeal he will automatically get expelled. Regardless to what the transcript states, if he gets expelled, he will always have to report and explain the incident if asked by; employers, as part of a background check, applying to graduate programs or for some licenses (applying to the bar).</p>
<p>SInce the school wants him gone and perhaps son could benefit from removing himself from the situation for a minute; Op needs to see his dean (or the person who will be in a position to say yes without a lot of red tape) and either negotiate or hammer out an agreement which has the following:</p>
<p>Son will voluntarily take a leave of absence for a term where there will be no incident of the expulsion or disciplinary action as part of his record, including the deans certification (would want to be able to say that he needed a leave for personal reasons). </p>
<p>If he leaves for a term; can he take classes locally to work toward his degree. </p>
<p>Perhaps while he is on leave; he goes to counseling (if it is an anger management issue or if alcohol was involved).</p>
<p>After the leave, if he will be able to come back to campus and finish his degree. </p>
<p>It may also include living off campus, not being part of his frat. </p>
<p>Right now it seems as if your son is on the down side of the power dynamic. He needs to negotiate his deal that will best benefit him in the long run.</p>
<p>OP you really need to get details of how this works at S school. My D went to a school that allowed for withdrawal instead of expulsion for many offenses. However, if the student took it to “trial” and a guilty finding was upheld, withdrawal was no longer an option - student was expelled. So be sure an appeal won’t take away any options.</p>
<p>Withdrawal will look better at other schools however this late in his college career he will probably be asked why he left - if he was freshman or sophomore new schools might even ask.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if quickly applying to other schools within the twenty day period would make much of a difference to be honest. Unless it’s an open-enrollment schools, chances are the admissions process won’t be completed over night and there would be time for them to see the transcript with the bad mark on it. I agree with the people who say that appealing is likely a better option. If he really wasn’t involved in the fight, he might be able to find a witness to the incident to confirm that. If he was involved in the fight, but this was a one-time error in judgment or something, he may be able to find character witnesses or people who can speak to his general good character as a person and as a student.</p>
<p>Honestly, I am shocked that a school would expel someone immediately after a single fist fight, especially since no one was apparently injured or killed.</p>
<p>We always hear about students who are charged or even found responsible for incidents such as plagiarism (academic dishonesty) or even criminal activity such as drug selling or sexual abuse/rape and they seem to get second chances a lot. I wonder if the expulsion is really the end of the story or if an appeal to either the disciplinary committee at the school or perhaps some kind of University Ombudsman (an official that handles disputes between the school and a student) might be enough to trigger some kind of reconsideration of the punishment. Since he is so close to finishing his degree it seems reasonable that they would allow him to work out some kind of arrangement where he might be on probation, be required to undergo counseling of some form, community service, etc. while still being allowed to matriculate and graduate on time. </p>
<p>That might be your best bet because a community college doesn’t seem like a reasonable option and I’m not 100% sure that you can really conceal this incident from every other school just by applying for colleges before the 20th day deadline.</p>
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<p>My son’s school has a zero tolerance policy for sexual assault, fighting, theft, and drug dealing, and it’s made very clear to the students early and often that it results in expulsion. Summarized in the easy-to-remember (and frequently repeated) phrase “Pinch, punch, steal, deal…gone.”</p>
<p>Expulsion is a strong penalty. It would mean the college doesn’t want to see him around, period. Yes, appeal it. But they may not want to award him with a degree in future. So minimizing the impact of that decision ought to be the focus. I don’t think a quick transfer will work.</p>
<p>I think the young man, and his parents, need to reflect on how he got into this situation. Right now it appears he is in denial – that is, denying responsibility. Of course his parents should support him. But perhaps it’s important also for him to have some other form of representation – a lawyer and perhaps a personal counselor – to work from the current situation to one that can be progressive. This would likely require him to come to terms with what he did, but also it would be an effort to minimize longer term external consequences of having this bad mark on his record.</p>
<p>I would consult an attorney pronto</p>
<p>Attorneys can’t always do much, within the college context. But if there were one who had experience with college dealings, he/she might be able to advise. Colleges can operate separate from our usual ideas about our civil options. </p>
<p>There’s a lot we don’t know here. Seems to me that applying fast to other schools doesn’t solve much, if those schools ask for a closing report of some kind, verifying this semester and that he is leaving “in good standing.” If he does leave for whatever reason, another option is to immediately pick up the best, most responsible gap possible. No fooling around. In the future, he could then say, I left, but here’s my productive record in the interim. Or maybe his present school would consider that his penance and proof of growth.</p>
<p>He should appeal, consult an attorney and maybe in the end he could negotiate to move off campus, end his association with the fraternity and finish out his final year. Was the problem related to his fraternity? If it was alcohol related he could begin counseling and agree to continue treatment. In my opinion he has to give them some reason to want to take a chance on letting him continue his studies. They don’t want to risk a repeat offense. </p>
<p>Get involved - get details from the school (don’t count on your son for correct info) - while remaining calm, polite and non-confrontational (being nice pays off.) Strongly consider appealing to emphasize your son’s evident lack of previous infractions, his good grades, a promise to never fight again, etc. Consult a lawyer as a last result, and only hire one who has experience dealing with academic issues and expulsion at that school. My husband was in university administration for many years, and witnessed plenty of people losing cases because they got bad advice from their attorneys who were unfamiliar with the very particular nature of each university and academic processes in general. </p>
<p>“Has anybody’s child been expelled from a large university and then been accepted to another school? I just need some hope to go on that this situation is not ruining the chances for my son to receive his degree.”</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve worked with many such students. If you can arrange a withdrawal instead of an expulsion, great, but either way, don’t try to hide the facts from other schools.</p>
<p>I would recommend doing each of the following:</p>
<p>Go on to the university website and try to find the relevant information about the process.</p>
<p>Talk to your S. Was there a hearing? All too often, kids who get into trouble don’t want to tell their parents and they go through a hearing for which they are completely unprepared with little it any guidance. You need to know whether there was a hearing here, what your S said, whether he signed any written statements, if he knows who else testified, etc.
If there has already been a real hearing, you’re in a very different position than if the “appeal” is the first time there is a hearing.</p>
<p>Does he have the right to have an attorney during the appeal? What role can the attorney play? </p>
<p>Go on to the website of the campus paper. Check the archives. Look for reports of disciplinary actions. See if any attorneys are mentioned. If so, this gives you an idea of who would have experience in this area. Also note what sort of punishments were handed out. Is your S’s expulsion the same sanction others got for similar offenses? Are there news articles which indicate that sanctions like expulsion are sometimes reduced to things like withdrawal for a year or two? </p>
<p>I’m an attorney and I would heartily recommend you hire one, even if (s)he can only play a limited role. But before you talk to one, do some preliminary work as indicated above. You may want to have your S make the calls to possible attorneys himself. </p>
<p>Hang in there! </p>
<p>Does the school have distance learning/online classes? If so, find out if he can finish this semester and then do his last semester online/distance.</p>