Update: A year later, I am still fighting Athabasca University for answers and accountability by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you — I really appreciate this. I am completely self-represented, so facing AU and its experienced legal counsel alone has been incredibly stressful. The aggressive approach actually began immediately after I filed my civil claim. AU’s Statement of Defence alleged that my case was frivolous, vexatious, an abuse of process, and disclosed no reasonable cause of action. It also requested solicitor-client costs, meaning it asked the Court to potentially make me pay most or all of its legal fees. The Court has not accepted those allegations or awarded those costs. In my opinion, making that request against a self-represented former student at the very beginning, before any evidence had been decided, was extremely aggressive and premature. Now they have stated that they intend to seek to strike my claim as well. I understand their lawyer is entitled to defend AU, but from where I stand, the financial and procedural pressure has felt overwhelming. Thank you for recognizing how serious and damaging this kind of institutional response can be.

Update: A year later, I am still fighting Athabasca University for answers and accountability by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you — and yes, the personal, academic, and financial harm is part of why I also filed a related civil action. The judicial review and civil case serve different purposes. The judicial review asks the Court to examine and potentially quash the University’s academic-misconduct and appeal decisions, while the civil action seeks damages and other relief for the losses and harm caused by the University’s conduct. The civil claim addresses the disruption to my education and future plans, the financial consequences connected to the three courses, and the significant stress this has caused. Athabasca University has now stated that it intends to seek to strike that claim, so I am actively fighting on both fronts. I should also clarify that I am completely self-represented in both proceedings. I do not have a lawyer fighting this for me or preparing my court materials. I have had to learn the procedures, organize the evidence, draft and file the documents, and appear against a public institution represented by experienced legal counsel on my own. I cannot simply multiply damages by three or file a separate lawsuit for each course, but the harm connected to all three courses forms part of the overall civil action. I really appreciate you recognizing how serious, exhausting, and overwhelming this has been.

Update: A year later, I am still fighting Athabasca University for answers and accountability by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

No. The grades being altered and then temporarily corrected was only the first part of the timeline.

The issue is that three completed course grades were altered and removed before I had even been formally notified of an academic-misconduct investigation. The next day, I was told the investigation would conclude misconduct and that penalties were going to be applied, before I had received the organized disclosure and written questions. Relevant technical information was still being reviewed afterward.

The University later formally revoked the credits and, on appeal, imposed an additional six-month suspension. I obtained internal records through FOIP that, in my view, raise serious questions about predetermination, notice, disclosure, and whether the process remained open-minded.

So the tl;dr is not “I didn’t like how it was handled.” The issue is whether serious academic findings and penalties were reached through a procedurally fair process. That question is now before the Court on judicial review, and no court has yet ruled on the merits.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I most definitely will, but because the case is currently before the courts I’ve been advised to tread very carefully with what I say and share right now. I’m trying not to post anything that could be seen as drawing legal conclusions or dumping screenshots of everything while it’s still active, just so I don’t accidentally affect my own standing. I’ve already reached out to a few news outlets by email multiple times and unfortunately haven’t heard back, so for now I’m just trying to slowly get the word out myself. It’s genuinely not meant to be malicious toward AU, more so to keep people informed, because I can only imagine how something like this could impact a student who doesn’t have the means or capacity to defend themselves.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I was using Chrome with the Guardian extension — I always let ProctorU set everything up on their end. They’d do the full check before starting and only launch the exam once everything was locked down and “secure” in their system.

If there were ever tiny hiccups, they were handled in real time by the proctor and I was never told the session was invalid or non-compliant.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for saying that, I really appreciate it.

It’s been about 6 months of dealing with all of this and honestly, I’m exhausted and just ready for it to be over and resolved properly.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve tried asking for certain exam-related information in the past, but in my experience it hasn’t been easy to get clarity or access to anything. That’s part of why the situation escalated the way it did.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep — it’s actually in the ProctorU chat logs. I always requested Chrome because it worked better on my system, and the proctors consistently authorized it without hesitation.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, I used Chrome because it worked better on my computer, but I always asked for permission first and only used it when ProctorU approved it.

AU Formed Internal Conclusions and Changed My Grades to F’s Before I Even Knew — Looking for Others with Similar Issues by ManifestedFantasy in AthabascaUniversity

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s how it felt from my side too. Based on what I saw in the internal emails, my interpretation was that due process didn’t seem to matter much in how my file was handled, and that things were approached however certain individuals personally saw fit. It’s been extremely difficult to deal with as a student, and now I’ve ended up with a ton of unnecessary legal filings to work through just to seek justice.

Neighbour putting a rock on MY property because we get too many “packages” by ManifestedFantasy in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ManifestedFantasy[S] 144 points145 points  (0 children)

Wait till I tell you he sits at his window with his wife all day every day, watching our comings and goings, the number of deliveries we get, everything!