Serious concerns with uni, and Ive completely run out of who to turn to. advice needed!

[mavisdavis]

Currently at uni in melbourne (no, its not the university of melb.) and had my second essay flagged and investigated for plagiarism.
this was  for a compulsory subject that every student at that uni has to do. i knew nothing about the stuff other than what I was taught in the lessons. i have also been going through various financial issues and spent a lot of time working, when the essay was due, i put some of my notes into the essay cause I know they were relevant, but little time was taken to paraphrase.
only 17% of what i wrote was matched as "copying" 
but its still being investigate, this has gone on for 3 weeks! I've spoken to teacher, student help, student "advocacy", pers, etc. I will add, when u email student help services, it can take them over 48 business hours to reply!

For me, this is an extremely serious matter because it is my last semester of my bachelors degree, and I've worked so hard to get where I am. I cannot repeat this unit! Ive also come from an interesting home life, and that's never helped with my studies. finishing this degree means I can move on to the next stuff, i cannot face the outrage that can come from parents etc as i still live at home. no one can hide a tertiary fail at the end of a course.
I've never had a plagiarism investigation before and I've got no where left for advice or guidance. idk if i wanted to vent or hear from someone that has had a similar issue. 
i know i deserve a penalty for my wrong doing, but I know its not an F.

please be respectful with your comments. i don't need more slander, I'm beating myself up enough already. 
please avoid commenting "who cares what your parents think" because that is a separate issue. 

[Croix]

Dear Mavisdavis~

Welcome here to the Forum. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with that assignment, and particularly the length of time it has taken to get the issue resolved.

If this is your final unit in a degree then you have certainly worked hard with application to get to this stage and I would imagine most universities would want there students to pass. I'd think that if you have not done so already you will get a chance to give your point of view.

I may have misunderstood what you are saying but it sounds like you simply copied in part of your lecture notes. If that is the case they will be so easily recognized that therefore there can realy be no intention to deceive, simply lack of attribution. While paraphrasing may have fooled the plagiarism software it is probably more honest to have copied it verbatim.

If you explain all the circumstances it may be you might be allowed to resubmit another essay or simply given a terminating pass. If you are unhappy with any decision there should be an appeals mechanism, and if that is needed I'd suggest guidance in how to go about it.

May I ask if you have anyone to support you during this very stressful time? Trying to cope in isolation is extra hard.

You are welcome here anytime to talk about this or any other issue such as your 'interesting home life' if you  would like.

Croix