Graduation

My graduation ceremony is this coming thursday. and am dreading it. its gonna be shit ass boring. oh well, like my cousin Stanley said, its for the folks. and how true it is. I have no need for all the jazz and frills, just to go on 'stage', shake hands with a stranger called the Chancellor, and collect my much covetted degree printed on recycled paper. I even had to pay to attend this shit! my gawd... they should be paying me for my attendance...

I thought i might just post up the email drama i had to go through to attend this ceremony. Singaporeans, are we a complain bunch?


Dear Felix

With reference to the above mentioned, we received a payment from you on 31 August 2006 indicating that you will like to attend the graduation ceremony in Singapore. However, we noted that you have not yet been graduated. If you have completed all your requirements and want to graduate you have to contact your division to check you for graduation however, you have now missed the deadline to be included in the October 2006 ceremony in Singapore. The amount paid will be refunded to you soon.

Do feel free to contact us if you have any other queries.

Regards,

miss X

xxx

Dear Felix

With reference to the emails below (emails i have sent to my supervisor to help expedite the matter, but in vain), for students who want to attend the September/October ceremony the graduations office will need to receive a recommendation from your division to graduate you on 25th August 2006 and the list of students being graduated will go to the Academic Council today.

It is now too late to include you in the October ceremony in Singapore.

The amount paid will be refunded to you and do feel free to contact us again if you have any other queries.

Regards,
Miss X


xxx

Dear Jenny,

I understand the constraints of the situation at hand. However, I strongly feel that I should not be penalised for the issue, as it was circumstances pertaining to the conflict of grades provided by the examiners of my thesis. These issues at hand were totally out of my reach, and neither is it due to my negligence or irresponsibility of not keeping up to date with my graduation matters.

Moreover, I have been regulary recieving emails from the graduation office informing me of the impending graduation; obtaining my preference of the locality of the graduation locality, the various dates involved etc. Based on these information in the emails, my family, friends and I have made sacrifices to attend the ceremony in Singapore. If my name had not been submitted to the graduations' office, why
do I still get graduation updates regularly?

Also, the next graduation ceremony in Singapore is in October 2007, am not even sure if my work will allow me to be in Singapore. More importantly, friends which I have grown closer to and completed my University days are graduating in 2006. It is pointless for me to attend the late 2007 ceremony.

Are you the person-in-charge to make decisions on this matter? If not, please refer to me the appropriate staff who can take action on this urgent matter.

Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you soon,

Felix


xxxx



Dear Felix

I am glad you understand our constraints. We could not include you because you are not eligible to graduate yet. Your grade has not been submitted and we do not know when the grade will come in. The deadline for us to receive recommendation to graduate student closes on 25th August 2006 and that was a week ago.

You received emails and updates from the graduations office about graduation because you have a nominated completion period of MID 2006. We send the general email about graduation to all student with the nominated completion period of MID 2006.

The next ceremony will be in in Perth some time in March 2007, I am sure your grades will be in by then and you are welcome to attend the March ceremony in Perth. Your payment has now been refunded in your credit card account and it should reflect in your account by tomorrow.

Do feel free to contact us again if you have any other queries.

Regards

Miss X

xxxxxx

The above email from Miss X almost made me burst a vessel in my head. So I sent an email to the Director of INternational Affairs, Murdoch University.

xxxxxx

Dear Mr. Blacker,

I am writing to you with utmost urgency. I am an International Student from Singapore. I just recieved my Honours results (a week ago) as my dissertation was sent to a third marker due to conflicting interests of the first two examiners.

As a result of the late submission of my grades to the graduation office, I have been denied an attendance at the graduation ceremony in Singapore on the 4th of October 2006. In my email correspondance with the graduations office below, the dateline for my results to get to their office is on the 25th of August, a week ago.

I understand their work datelines but I feel strongly that I should not be penalised for this as it is totally out of my control. My parents, relatives and I have made arrangements from work to attend the ceremony; friends that I have spent my undergraduate days with at Murdoch University will also be graduating at this ceremony in October. It makes no sense and there will be no more meaning of me attending the next Singapore graduation in 2007. It is even more unthinkable of heeding the graduations office's suggestion of attending the ceremony in Perth, march 2007. Surely they are not sponsoring me and the very least, my parents too, the return air tickets to Perth? Finances are a very real issue to me and my family now after having to pay for my tuition fees for four years at Murdoch University.

The graduation ceremony in Perth is a good month away. I sincerely hope you can help me cut through the red-tape and allow me the attendance of the ceremony in Singapore, 4th October 2006.

As I was the President of 'The Singapore Link', I have been many a times a facilitator with Murdoch International for them in extending a helping hand to international students in need of assistance. I feel that this issue is very time sensitive, I am now writing to you as the Director for International Affairs, Residential Services and Alumni.

for your help in this matter.

I have copied this email to my Supervisor, Dr. Anne Surma of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities for your reference if necessary. Tania Thornton, my Divisonal Executive Officer will be processing my results with the Graduations Office today.

Thank you for your time and my parents and I will be extremely grateful for your assistance in this matter.

In Good Faith,
Felix Su

xxxxxx

next morning,

xxxxxx

ear Felix

With reference to the above mentioned, your division has just managed to send through the recommendation to graduate you. We have now graduated you in the system and will include you in the Singapore ceremony if you can send in your payment to us by mid-day tomorrow.

The online page has now closed therefore you will need to download the Attendance Confirmation and Regalia Order form from the Graduations website fill it up and fax it back to us by tomrrow to be included in the ceremony.

Do feel free to contact us if you have any other queries.

Regards,
Miss X

xxxx


followed by

xxxxx

Dear Felix,

Thank you for your email. I followed up on this matter on Monday and I believe the issues have now been resolved and you will be graduating in Singapore in October.

Please let me know if you have any further concerns,

Kind regards, Brett

xxxx

So i said thank you, etc etc. well, the morale of the story; push the right buttons, use the right language, and then sometimes, things will go your way. Never resign to fate too soon.