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College is an expensive and labor-intensive endeavor – one that seldom pays if you don’t earn a degree. Some students drop out of college due to finances, medical difficulties, or family commitments, while others are forcibly dismissed from their universities. Forced dismissal may be administrative, disciplinary, or academic, but it can affect your ability to attend another institution. Many students may have legal recourse after being kicked out of a university or college. Academic dismissals may be overturned for discrimination or disability violations, and disciplinary dismissals are often defendable in accordance with state or university policy.
If you’ve been forcibly dismissed from your college or university, speak with Wimmer Criminal Defense Law. Our academic and disciplinary advocacy team zealously defends Pennsylvania and New Jersey students both during university disciplinary proceedings and in a court of law. Schedule your free student disciplinary and criminal defense consultation with Pennsylvania and New Jersey student rights attorney Lauren A. Wimmer today by calling (215) 712-1212 or contacting her online.
Unlike academic or disciplinary dismissals, administrative dismissals are often related to attendance, documentary, or financial disputes. No student should log in to register for classes only to learn they've been administratively dismissed from school without proper warning. Students struggling with attendance due to personal or medical issues are often entitled to attend classes online, make up missed classes, or suspend a class without penalty. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires colleges and universities to make special accommodations for students struggling with qualifying medical conditions, and an experienced civil rights defense attorney at Wimmer Criminal Defense Law can discuss how these accommodations may apply.
As financial circumstances change, certain students may also qualify for specialized federal or state aid. Universities often have grants, work-study programs, and scholarships available to students who fight for them. Often, a student rights attorney can work with your university to reinstate you after a financial dismissal. Further, scholarships and aid distributed in violation of school policy or federal law may entitle you to further relief.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey are home to some of the nation’s premier universities. Academic dismissals are often meritorious in rigorous programs, but more often than not, poor academic performance is linked to external factors. Such extenuating circumstances include:
Appealing an academic dismissal immediately is essential to success. Universities often consider extenuating circumstances and may readmit students for a probationary period, change failing grades to withdrawn and/or incomplete, address illegal behaviors, or make disability accommodations for qualifying students. Factual or grading errors are also grounds to challenge academic dismissals, and institutions of higher learning are bound by their own policies and procedures for dismissal.
Colleges and universities have their own disciplinary codes that work in conjunction with and in addition to any applicable local, state, and/or federal laws. This code of conduct must be universally and not selectively applied. For example, the university cannot decline to take action against the quarterback of the football team but turn around and dismiss an accomplice for the same alleged violations. Selective use of universities' disciplinary dismissal policies occurs in almost every high-level educational institution, and claiming discrimination against certain classes of students may reinstate your admission or change a dismissal from disciplinary to administrative. An experienced Philadelphia student and civil rights defense attorney can also challenge the nature of the university’s investigation and review. A top criminal defense and student rights lawyer may submit alternative evidence, question the motivation behind the dismissal, or appeal the dismissal to a higher academic authority.
Some universities have a criminal reciprocity policy whereby the mere accusation of an outside crime is grounds for dismissal from the university. Accusations are just that - accusations. As the world learned through the false accusations levied against members of the Duke Lacrosse Team, who were suspended from Duke during the investigation, dismissing students before a conviction can have dire consequences. Even after being convicted of a crime, many courts impose rehabilitation and make alternative sentencing arrangements that can result in the expungement of charges for first-time offenders.
For Pennsylvania and New Jersey students charged with a local, state, or federal criminal offense, getting kicked out of school is often a secondary concern. Defeating the criminal charges is a defendant’s first priority, but a top-rated criminal defense attorney will also take your university’s disciplinary policy into consideration during criminal proceedings. For example, an experienced criminal defense lawyer may negotiate a plea bargain to lesser charges that excludes felony or certain violent offenses. Many universities are not required to kick students out for non-violent, misdemeanor convictions that don’t endanger other students. Further, a Philadelphia criminal defense and student rights lawyer can work with college officials before and/or after a conviction to mitigate any collateral consequences. This may include permitting you to attend online classes, transfer to another university, or attend school as a commuter while living off-campus.
Some students dismissed from a university understandably don't wish to return. However, dismissal from one institution often inhibits your ability to attend another university or receive financial aid. Challenging an academic, administrative, or disciplinary dismissal and defeating any related criminal charges may be essential to finishing your degree. If you or your child has been or is in danger of disciplinary dismissal from a Pennsylvania or New Jersey college, schedule you free student disciplinary and criminal defense consultation with student disciplinary rights attorney Lauren A. Wimmer today by calling (215) 712-1212 or contacting us online.
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