Faculty & Staff

Advising Students with Academic Difficulty

Students in good academic standing have at least a 2.0 GPA. Students with a GPA that is less than 2.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students who do not improve after their second semester on probation will be placed on restricted status. Please see catalog for details about academic probation, restricted status, and academic dismissal.

Students who wish to petition for waivers regarding policies must contact the Asst. V.P. for Academic Affairs, 240 Holloway Hall, 410-543-6330 for approval.

Students who want to improve their academic standing are advised to do the following:

Option 1.

Repeating a course: A student could repeat a course(s) in which the student earned a D or F grade. If the repeated attempt yields a better grade (C, B, or A), the D or F grade can be replaced by the better grade. Remember that the university will only count the most recent grade earned in a course. The course may not be taken at another institution. Repeating a course and earning a better grade is an effective way to achieve good academic standing.

Note: Students who repeat a course will not receive additional credit for the course. For example, if a student received an F in HIST 101 for 3 credits and repeated HIST 101 for 3 credits successfully during another semester, the student will yield 3 credits for HIST 101, not 6 credits.

Option 2.

Taking a new course and receiving a high grade (B or A): A student who takes a new course and earns a B or A grade may improve his/her GPA. However, it would take approximately 9 credits of B grades to balance out a 3 credit F grade.

Some Factors Leading to Academic Problems:

• Course material was too difficult
• Did not have the pre-requisite
• Lack of time management
• Taking too many credits
• Overall schedule too rigorous (school, athletics, work, etc.)
• Procrastinating
• Poor study behavior (1-2 hours of study time/week for each credit of classes)
• Too much socializing
• Poor class attendance
• Personal problems

Some Suggestions:

• Take a reasonable course load each semester
• Balance out your overall schedule reasonably
• Allot enough study time
• Attend all class sessions
• Seek help from the professor
• Hire a peer tutor
• Seek help from counseling services, university health center, or the V.P. for Student Affairs Office for personal problems

Hypothetical situation of a student who is having academic difficulties:

Semester A

Status = Academic probation

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Semester B

Status = Good academic standing

Author: Dr. Bryan Horikami