ENG 314-001

1)
Renee,
I have decided to accept your request for a late drop from your English class. I have made this decision because I can tell you are serious about your request and you have taken the necessary steps to prevent this same mistake from happening in future semesters. Enrolling in the Learning Center workshops will help you to better manage your time. Transitioning from high school to college can be a challenge and the learning center will really help you grow as a college student. The study course from the Learning Center will also prove beneficial when preparing for classes and test. Both of the courses combined will definately help you to be better prepared for next semester. I have already spoken with professor Davidson and we both fully support you decision for a late drop. Good luck with the rest of you semester and exams.

2)
Renee,
I am glad that you have taken the time to send me a letter concerning your English course. However, I am going to have to deny your request for a late drop. Transitioning from high school to college is not easy but creating a schedule and following campus procedures (such as add/drop) is all part of the learning process. I am glad to see that you have enrolled in the Learning Center workshops: time management and study skills. These will help you to better transition and prepare for next semester. I would like to keep our scheduled meeting so I can further discuss my decision with you and so I may hear how the Learning Center workshops are benefiting you. I look forward to meeting with you.

3)
In high school when I had to do the physical part of my senior project I was trying to get other students to join me for a Bible study once a week. I first started by presenting the information to my classmates in order to make them aware of my purpose for the study. I did this by proving my classmates with information such as when the study would be, where is would be and the specifics on what we would be studying. I arranged the information so that I gave the basics of the study then when certain students showed interest I then went into an in depth look at what the study was going to cover. I managed my project by setting goals for each time the study met to try and cover a certain amount of material. As well as trying to have a certain number of students attend each session. I formalized my plans by setting realistic goals that could easily be met within each session. To effectively communicate with each student I provided the needed materials as well as outlines to what each study would cover.

1. Renee, I have decided to accept your request to late drop your English class. I understand that as a first-year student it is sometimes hard transitioning from high school to college and that the course work is a lot different from what you are used to. I am glad to hear that you are dedicated to your chemistry class and that you have talked to your English professor first about what you should do before coming to me. The time management workshop is a great thing to take and I am glad that you have decided to take it and hope that you benefit from it. I wish you the best of luck on the rest of your semester and the ones to follow.
2. Renee, I have decided to deny your request for a late drop in your English course. I understand that the work is different from what you are used to, but you should have known that coming into college. If you still feel like the course is too hard, you may withdraw from the class taking a W and then retake the course again in a following semester. We have an add/drop period for a reason and you are a grown-up now and should have assessed your situation sooner. There is no room for mistakes in medical school so I would take this as preparation for the real thing and know that you are going to have to work a lot harder. I wish you the best of luck.
3. In high school I joined a club and ended up Co-vice president along with one of my best friends. The club was a fairly decent size and we had to show what we did at a county convention thing in front of the county board members. They left the job up to me. I was put in charge of making something interesting for the county members to see. I set my goal to have a decent power point with pictures of what students did at the club, along with the different competitions available through the club. I had to design a power point showing all of that and then had to later put it on a pamphlet about the club to get new members for when we all graduated. Having the goal of what I wanted my power point to show really helped in presenting it to the board members. They were all really impressed and therefore my teacher was pretty happy about it as well.

1.) Dear Renee,
Thank you for taking the time to write a letter explaining your distressing academic situation. I can tell that you are very committed to your studies, and that you are taking measures to prevent situations like your current one from happening again. Therefore, I am granting you a late class drop. I know how difficult college can be for first-year students, and I know you have learned a great deal from this experience. I urge you to pay close attention in the time management and study skills workshops you are enrolled in. These are great workshops, and I only wish that more students would take advantage of the valuable lessons that they teach. I hope that you enjoy the rest of your semester. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever have concerns in the future.
Sincerely,
Gloria Meldrum
Dean

2.) Dear Renee,
I have read the letter you recently wrote to me, and I am sorry to hear that you are struggling at this point in the semester.
As you know, the University is trying to decrease late class drops. Unfortunately, since we want our dropping policy to be the same for every student, I cannot grant you the ability to drop your English class. I do apologize for being unable to grant your request. Please know that I am very sympathetic of your situation. I know that first-year students often struggle in the beginning.
From what I gathered in your letter, you are a bright and committed student, and students with those qualities are destined for success. I urge you to pay close attention in the time management and study skills workshops you are enrolled in; these courses will prevent situations like this from happening in the future. If you have any questions or concerns in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. The happiness and well-being of students is very important to me.

Sincerely,
Gloria Meldrum
Dean

3.) Over the summer, I took UNCW’s Business Writing Course. My final project was to write a white paper that described an original product or service that students would want to buy. I also had to give a presentation about my product to the class. After I thought of my product (an electronic textbook reading device), I had to figure out how to present it to students in a way that would show them how the product would benefit them. I decided that the best way to present my product to students was through Power Point, since that is the presentation tool that most students are accustomed to. When making the presentation, I knew that the class would be listening to presentations all day, so I kept the presentation short so they would be less likely to lose focus. My goal was to “sell” them my product, so my next step was to think about everything a student looks for when they are contemplating buying a product, and I found that these questions are probably what most would ask when buying an electronic device: How much does it cost? How will it benefit me? Is it difficult to use? Will it last a long time? Therefore, in my Power Point, I dedicated one slide to each question and verbally elaborated on their answers. I also knew that a concept design was needed, and since image is usually important among students, I included it on my first slide. At the end, I offered to answer any questions that students had so that they wouldn’t leave not knowing everything they wanted to know about my product. I also decided to provide handouts that outlined the features and benefits of my product so that they could look it over again later on. It was a really successful presentation.

1. Dear Renee,

After careful consideration, I have decided to grant you the late drop in your Eng 1000 course. I understand that the switch to a university can be difficult. However, I expect more focus from you next semester. Professor Davidson spoke highly of your work ethic and assured me that it would be beneficial to grant your request. Please note that this response is very rare, and try your very best in the future.

Sincerely,

Dean Meldrum

2. Dear Renee,

I am sorry to inform you that I have decided to decline your request for a late drop in your Eng 1000 course. It will do you more good to stay with the class and learn from your mistakes. You must learn that getting totally involved in one course is no excuse for neglecting another. I believe you will do very well in the coming semesters, especially if you see this class til the end. Best of luck in the future.

Sincerely,

Dean Meldrum

3. This past summer, I took a class that required me to do a "student learning" project. It was a group project, and we decided to make a brochure for companies to see what student learning was all about. We had no idea where to begin, so our group just wrote out the things we needed to get done (cost analysis, survey questions, ect.). After we illustrated what needed to be done in order to finish the project things just fell into place, and we finished the design for the brochure in no time.

_

(1)
Dear Renee,

I have decided to grant your request for a late-drop of ENG 1000, section 22. I came to this conclusion based on the hope that you do understand where you went wrong and won’t make the same mistakes twice. I understand the pressures of college in your freshmen year can be overwhelming. Enrolling in the Learning Centers workshops is an excellent idea and will aid in your future success here at Calumet University. I have contacted Professor Davidson, and together, we fully support your decision to retake the class. I wish you the best of luck in life and the rest of collegiate career.

Sincerely,

Gloria Meldrum
Dean of Students

(2)
Dear Renee,

I appreciate the time and thought that you put into your request letter. Unfortunately, due to University guidelines, I Cannot approve your request for a late drop of ENG 1000, section 22. The reasoning being that, late drops are reserved abnormal or emergency situations. Here at Calumet University, we encourage success, which is why there are resources such as the Learning Center available to students. I think learning time management and study skills will aid you immensely. If you would still like to meet with me, I would be more than happy to discuss this issue in further detail. If so, please confirm your appointment with my secretary.

Sincerely,

Gloria Meldrum
Dean of Students

(3)
Last semester, I had a Directed Individual Study course that allowed studying a specified area in the field of Computer Graphics. The only requirement of the course was that I present my findings at the end of semester. For my presentation, I included pictures and models that I created for the project I was working on. The project was a 3-D Train Station. The pictures showed the Train Station before, and after, Contrasting the difference. A separate aspect of the course was to develop live, active, graphic scripts. For example, rain in an animation movie. To formalize my project, I created a power-point presentation and I had real-time examples of the graphic scripts I made as well as the coding behind the scripts. The purpose of the presentation was to convince the department heads of the Computer Science Department that I had done sufficient work in order to receive an exemplary grade. Thankfully, I did.

1.

Renee,
I understand that handling multiple college courses can be tough, especially when some require more attention than others. I am glad that you decided to write to me about the issue rather than failing a course without trying to improve the situation. Although it is technically too late to drop this course, I will put in an override so that it may be removed from your schedule since you took the time to discuss it with me. However, I will only do this if you do follow through with guidance in English so that you may receive the practice necessary for your next semester. Balancing school may prove to be difficult, but for the future, I would suggest planning a schedule that may accomodate your tougher classes. Best of luck.

2.

Renee,
I am sorry to hear that you are having a rough time with keeping your grade up in your english course. Although I would love to assist you in removing the course from your schedule, I am very busy and also unable to do so at this point. If you had approached me earlier about the issue, we could have dropped the class at an appropriate time, or we could have assigned you to a tutor so that you may receive extra help and guidance in the course that you were struggling in. I know that chemistry is important for your future, but your other course are also important. I would suggest creating a proper balance next semester so that you may do well in all courses. Also, I would definitely suggest that you do go get extra help from the english department. Best of luck.

3.

In one of my english courses, we had to create an array of documents (memos, letters, etc) and I had much experience with writing towards a particular audience in a particular way. For instance, I had to write a memo as the "manager of a corporation" who was trying to convince people to take some sort of "team" program during a few work days. Therefore, I considered the best way to convince a group of hard workers to combine their hard work ethic in a more efficient manner. This "team day" workshop would not only help each individual worker grow, but also as a group. Making the workshop seem like a win-win for everyone involved would sway the workers into agreeance, especially by factoring in that they would all be paid to do so.

1.
Dear Renee,
I am writing in regards to your request to have your English course dropped. I have decided to grant you your request under the conditions that you complete the workshops at the Learning Center. I understand that it is important for you to keep your grades up, especially when you are planning to apply for medical school. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you can get a good hold on your time management.

Sincerly,
Dean of Students

2.
Dear Renee,
After great considereation I have unfortunately decided to reject you the request of a late drop for your English course. I see that you are willing to work towards your problems in time management and study skills though the Learning Center, and I think that is an excellent idea. I am not dropping the course because you are now in college and you must learn to get through the hard times. I hope that the Learning Center will offer you assistance in getting your feet back on the ground. Best of luck to you and your future studies.

Sincerly,
Dean of Students

3.
The hardest project I ever had to complete was to be turned in in a week. It was creating a webpage that consisted of 5 links to 5 seperate pages. Never having done this before the task was quite difficult. I managed my time wisely and used my time outside of the classroom to complete the project. When confused on what to do I used the professor for guidance as well as other resources, mainly through the internet.

1.
Dear Renee,

After reading your request, I have decided to allow you to drop your English class late. I recognize the fact that you desire to enter medical school and your priorities have forced you to filter your focus on related subjects. However, I hope you realize the importance of putting effort into each and every course you enter. By entering to two Learning Center’s workshops, I believe that this is the case. I appreciate your recognition of my busy schedule and I hope that such a situation never arises again. By the way, I thought your letter was very clear and concise and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your college career.

2.
Dear Renee,

After reading your request, I have decided not to allow you to drop your English class. College by and large is a juggling game in which everyone must be able to focus on several areas of study in order to be successful. Even though you are making attempts to better your standing by entering Learning Center workshops, this does not prompt me to favor you over any other student by bending to rules. I am unconvinced that a teacher would want a failing student to retake his class, but due to my busy schedule, I am unable to confirm this with your teacher. I hope my disapproval of your request emphasizes the importance of commitment to your studies. I wish you the best during the remainder of your college career.

3.
When I applied to various schools, I tried to adjust my applications based on the audience. I knew that university officials were highly educated, but interested in well-rounded students. Therefore, I tried to make the tone of my essays academic, but without letting intellectual diction overshadow the essence and subject. I was also aware that the formality of college applications required my papers to be neat and well-organized. Because of this, I was careful in taking care of the aesthetic state of submitted documents. Even though my process of design didn’t involve any research into my audience, I used logic to come up with ideas that I believed would increase my chances of making an impression on application analysts. This logic was shaped by high school teachers constantly discussing what looks good and what looks bad on college applications. I never had to formalize my goals since I knew that I wanted to be accepted to the university. I also never had to formalize my plans since the applications guided me step-by-step through what needed to be completed.

1. Renee:
To see such perseverance and determination in one's school work is impressive and I will gladly grant your request for late drop. I understand how pressing the work load can be on new students here at the university and I always like to see students striving to do their best. The time management and study skills classes will be very beneficial for you and will help ease the transition into a heavier work load every semester. I am happy to hear that you are staying on your feet and keep up the good work.

Dean Meldrum

2. Renee:
I am sorry to inform you that your request for late drop has been denied. Every student admitted into this university is expected to maintain their own personal schedule with their academic schedule. It's a tricky balance, but it can be done. Other students have been in your same predicament and have come out on top. The classes at the Learning Center you have signed up for will help you immensely in the future so you will not make the same mistake. Luckily, our university offers students up to four class retakes, which allows you to completely replace the grade. You only have four so use them wisely. Have a good rest of the semester and all the best.

Dean Meldrum

3. Four years ago, my father ran for Town Commissioner in my hometown of Wake Forest, NC. This was my first time being involved with any type of election and I learned a lot from the experience. Although all the pressure was on my father's shoulders, I was able to stand close by and see this process. Like any politician, small or big, the first thing to do when running for an official position is to get your name out to the public. We made pins, stickers and signs, all with FRANK DRAKE for TOWN COMMISSIONER printed in big white letters. My mother would sit down and create a design plan for where we would place the signs and when we would hand out the buttons. We also looked at a demographic of the area and my father would walk in sections of the town where he felt he needed the support. Along with good planning and good publicity, my father won the election and is currently planning to run for re-election in the upcoming months. Although this wasn't a personal experience, it was a lesson in properly and successfully communicating an objective to an audience and receiving positive feedback.

1. Dear Renee,
After reading over your letter and considering your circumstances, I have decided to grant your request for a late drop. Freshman year can be a trying time for students to get adjusted to a busy college schedule. Chemistry is a very difficult class and I can see how it can take away from the time needed to do work for other classes. Since you do want to get into medical school, I am sure you are aware that you will have many more difficult classes to come in your future. Good time management and study skills are essential in making sure that you can succeed in multiple classes, no matter how difficult one or all of them may be. The workshops you have signed up for in both of these areas will help you in semesters to come. Taking the English class over again with Professor Davidson right away is a very good idea. I hope to see a significant improvement from you next semester. You seem to have really learned from your mistakes this semester and I wish you Good luck in the future.
Dean Gloria Meldrum

2. Dear Renee,
I have read your letter, and unfortunaley I cannot grant your request for a late drop. I know Freshman year can be a difficult time in adjusting to a busy schedule and a heavy courseload, but we cannot make any exceptions to the rules. Many students have difficult schedules, and if i granted them all late drops when they are having a difficult time, their college degree wouldn't amount to much in the end. College is about working hard for your grades, and learning which ways work best for you to succeed in your classes. I am happy to see that you are taking the time management and study skills workshops in the learning center. They will teach very valuable strategies for focusing on multiple classes. I would like to keep our scheduled meeting so we can talk about this further. Thank you.
Dean Gloria Meldrum

3. I worked on a door to door campaign for a company called Progressive Future. I had a very clear statement of purpose that I would state when the person answered the door. Then I would say what we were trying to prevent from happening. At the end I would say that the person could be very valuable in helping the cause. Before I left I would ask them to sign a petition to help us out. We planned it so we only went to people that we knew were affiliated with the political party that we were affiliated with so that we wouldn't run into any confrontation. We also planned it so that it was a very quick, straightforward process, and we could get to as many people as possible in a short period of time. We also made sure that everyone on the team was saying the same thing to each person so that our statement of purpose was very clear.

1) Dear Renee,
After thorough consideration, I have decided to grant your request for a late drop from your English class. Usually I would not give students permission to do this, but after considering your letter I believe that dropping the class is the best option for you. I see that you are on the right track and urge you to continue to visit the Learning Center in order to develop your time management skills. Professor Davidson spoke highly of your work ethic and we agreed that you will do much better in the course if you allot the appropriate amount of time. I understand that the transition from high school to college can prove to be difficult and I encourage you to continue to seek help from the various programs offered on campus. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Gloria Meldrum
Dean of Students

2) Dear Renee,
Thank you for taking the time to explain your academic situation. While I agree that you have a multitude of difficult courses, I am afraid that I cannot grant you permission for a late drop from your English class. Please know that I am sympathetic to your predicament but I believe there are other more beneficial options for you to consider. My advice is that you meet with Professor Davidson to devise a plan for the remainder of the semester. Also, continue to utilize the Learning Center; the time management skills you are currently learning will be advantageous throughout your life. If you still feel that the course is too difficult, you may withdraw and retake it at a more convenient time. I would still like to meet with you to confirm that you are on the right track. Although medical school is quite an ambitious goal, the feeling of satisfaction once you have attained it is worth every hurdle you may encounter along the way. I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,
Gloria Meldrum
Dean of Students

3) For a project in high school, I organized a tennis tournament in which the proceeds went towards cancer research. In order to recruit players for the tournament, I prepared a presentation which I presented to various classes. There were many questions to address. Where will the tournament take place? What is the entry fee? Will there be singles and doubles? In order to answer the multitude of questions effectively, I made a PowerPoint presentation which included the details supplemented by facts about how the money would be useful for cancer research. I also made flyers to distribute so that the audience could leave with the core details I wanted to project in the presentation. All in all, the presentation proved to be very successful and the tournament was a success.

1) Renee,

After thoroughly reviewing your letter, I have decided to grant your request to drop Professor Davidson's ENG 1000 class. I came to my decision because it is clear that you have carefully considered this action and have taken the necessary steps to prepare yourself better for this course next semester and also have gained Professor Davidson's support in your decision. I do not wish to get you in the habit of dropping courses so late in the semester, but I am aware that you made an error in choosing this class and I only wish to see you succeed at Calumet University, and it seems that you have a clear vision and the drive to do so. I wish you the best in your other courses in this semester and feel free to contact me if you run into anymore problems.

Sincerely,
Dean Meldrum

2) Renee,

After thoroughly reviewing your letter, I have decided to decline your request to drop Professor Davidson's ENG 1000 class. Although I entirely understand your dilemma, Calumet University has a strict policy on adding or dropping courses after the allotted time to do so. I hope that you will take this situation and use it to bring out the best of your abilities, maybe some that you were not aware that you possessed. When you first stepped foot on this campus, you agreed to accept a great deal of responsibility and I believe this semester will be a great example of that. I've spoken to Professor Davidson and although he supported your decision to drop this class, he also believes that you have the potential to succeed if you took advantage of the Learning Center's workshops and help from him outside of class. I would be very interested to hear how you are doing later on this semester, so feel free to contact me any time if you feel that you need to.

Sincerely,
Dean Meldrum

3) Last semester, in a Professional Writing course, several small groups were assigned to come up with ways to promote Service Learning to different audiences. My group decided to gear Service Learning towards a client-based audience and developed a manual that thoroughly gave information of: what is service learning, how will I benefit, history, how can I get involved, interviews with prior clients, etc. We eventually turned the manual into .PDF form to make it more easily accessible. We managed the project by continuously creating/updating proposals for ourselves to make sure we were consistent in our work and would finish the project on time. First we outlined what the manual wold consist of, then we wrote out the information, gathered said interviews, edited, and then stylized the manual to make it look professional and appealing.

1) Dear Renee,

Thank you for your letter and visit. After careful consideration, I have decided to grant your request to drop Professor Davidson’s English 1000 after the regular deadline. Although I rarely approve these requests, and the university is additionally requesting that we approve grant still fewer of them, your thorough documentation of your circumstances and apparently sincere efforts to improve your time management have persuaded me to make an exception to standard protocol. I understand that time management can be difficult, particularly for incoming students, and that college curricula can be surprisingly challenging when compared to high school. Please make optimum use of this opportunity, as late drops are unlikely to be granted in the future.

Sincerely,
Dean Meldrum.

2) Dear Renee,

Thank you for your letter and visit. After careful consideration, I have decided not to grant your request for a late drop to Dr. Davidson’s English 1000. While I am impressed by the lessons that you have learned and the renewed commitment to time management that you have demonstrated, I am confident that, with appropriate effort, that you can apply these lessons to your current courses this semester, including English. While Dr. Davidson has endorsed your request for a drop, he has also made it clear that you are still eligible to pass the course with the necessary grade to avoid retaking it next term. While grades are certainly important, lessons learned from struggling in a course can also be valuable additions to your educational experience. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

Dean Meldrum.

3) Over the course of the summer, I encountered a freelance editing opportunity for a local documentary filmmaker. My strategy for getting the job was to look carefully at the specifics of the position and match up my own experiences and skills to what I thought the demands of a film project (as opposed to a print or audio project) might be. Because one of the company’s projects was a historical period piece, I pointed out my background in 16th through 18th century literature. Because the company also produces television commercials, I pointed out my experience with nonfiction rhetorical analysis (the focus of my MA thesis, in fact). Rather than approaching the task as a one-size-fits-all editing category, I tried to envision how I could demonstrate my understanding of the medium (film) while simultaneously extolling my qualifications through addressing print work (which is, after all, what a script still is before the film is produced).