Eastern Michigan University Dismisses Entire Student Population

Eastern Michigan University President Susan Martin was forced to write what could be considered the biggest apology letter a university president has ever written.

The apology letter was written after most of the student population, including some recent graduates, received a letter of dismissal by mistake. Walter Kraft, the vice president of communication for EMU told AnnArbor.com that:

“An outside company that we contract with for this notification process, GradesFirst, sent the dismissal message to the entire student body instead of the file of 100 or so students who were supposed to receive it. GradesFirst has offered an apology for its role in this matter.”

The letter was only supposed to be sent to about 100 students as the state university, however it caused a significant amount of alarm for students who did get good grades this last semester.

President Martin’s statement, which was emailed to faculty, staff, and students, read:

“I deeply apologize for the incorrect email many of our students received this evening indicating they were dismissed from the University. This message was a terrible mistake and I regret the undue alarm and concern it caused. I care deeply about student success and for Eastern to send an alarming message to you indicating you were dismissed is an inexcusable mistake that I personally regret. We will investigate and determine why this happened and make sure it never happens again. Please disregard the message or any letter you may receive. Again, my heartfelt apology for this error.”

The rather large operational error was probably not the best start to EMU students’ summer vacation. After all, who would want to get an email dismissing you, after working hard for months to make good grades? An excerpt of the email reads:

“As a result of your Winter 2012 academic performance, you have been dismissed from Eastern Michigan University. This dismissal action is in accordance with policies described in the University’s undergraduate catalog (available online at EMU’s Homepage, which is www.emich.edu, under the Student link). Any enrollment for upcoming terms will be cancelled and you will be ineligible to register for classes.”