When a Good Student Faces Academic Probation

Adjusting to life as a new college student can be hard.  You're living away at home, meeting new people, figuring out how to manage your time, and this year (2020-21) doing it in the middle of a pandemic.  Good students who have never had academic difficulties sometimes discover the hard way that there's something different needed to keep things together in college.  And you figure it out when you get your grades during Winter break and see grades that don't belong on YOUR report card.

You might have gotten your first C (or D or F).  If enough of your grades are unsatisfactory, you might even be put on academic probation. 

​What does this mean to your future?

You might think, "whose report card is this?"

One one end, you can be on the Dean's List... on the other is being put on Academic Probation

As a student, you are always "rated" in terms of how you are doing in relation to being on track to earn a degree.  People like to brag about being on the Dean's List or the Honor Roll; these are statuses that designate students who are doing exceptionally well in terms of their grades.  Normally, most students are in something called "good standing," which simply means that you are doing pretty well and there are no clear warning signs that you will not succeed in earning your degree.  But there's another status that some of us discover: the scary sounding standing called "academic probation." 

First, take a deep breath.  You're probably not going to get kicked out and you're probably not going to lose all your scholarships.  At least not right away.  But you do really need to take this seriously to keep everything together.

The academic probation status exists to help the college and the student recognize that something needs to change if the student is going to successfully progress toward graduation.  It's an opportunity for the student to evaluate how this term's grades happened: extenuating circumstances?  unexpected difficulty of class material?  inability to focus?  never went to class?  never got a good night sleep?  roommate problems?  There will typically be a number of things that can be identified as contributors to the situation.

Why this is happening.

What you're going to do to make things better

Next, you want to identify realistic changes that you can personally make as a student to create a different outcome next term.  Things like setting up a study schedule, using the academic tutoring available on campus, and even getting regular exercise could be helpful.  If you are an athlete, you might have to "sit out" a season to give you a chance to get your grades up.  Many colleges have an academic support services department to help you establish and keep habits that contribute to academic success.  Finally, consider whether additional accommodations through the college's disability support services department would help make academic success more likely.  You should be having discussions with your advisors, your academic dean, and representatives from the various support services department to craft a reasonable plan for better results next term.

Always remember that you want to succeed and your college wants to see you succeed.  There are lots of things to consider and a lot of administrative work that needs to get done to keep you organized as you find was to become a better student.  If you would like help on your journey, please contact me.

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