Getting on Academic Probation and Suspension
What Caused it, and What You Can Do to Fix it
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Features
By Jordan Maynard
Rotunda Reporter
Over the past three semesters, the number of students receiving their first academic suspension has dropped by 17 percent, and the number of students receiving their first academic probation has dropped by 30 percent. However, students are still receiving academic warnings. What causes students to receive lower GPAs, and what can they do to fix it?
One major factor is the difference between high school and college work loads. Wayne McWee, provost and vice president for academic affairs said, "I don't think many kids that come here as freshmen have been in high school programs in the last five or six years that require a lot of daily nightly homework." McWee believes block scheduling is to blame, as students have a lighter load of homework. Also, many teachers don't use the entire class period and will allow students to do their homework in class.
Ashlee Colley, a freshman currently on academic probation, said, "I guess I really didn't know what to expect when I got here, because in high school, everything was so easy for me. Like I didn't study for my tests, I would [rush] papers and get a good enough grade to pass. I had good grades in high school, like they weren't awesome, but I graduated with a 3.2, never bringing a book home in my life." Colley said she was just naturally smart at the things she needed to learn in high school and never read her textbooks.
Kelly Holcomb, a super-senior, was on academic probation during her freshman year. She feels students are just not ready for the demands of college classes at times. "It's a completely different writing style, teachers and professors expected different things, and I just tried to get into the groove of what they wanted. Just different ways of citing stuff, I had never heard of the Chicago or the APA style before, and I had to figure out what they were and how to use them."
"I think Longwood has a fairly rigorous general education program, which is where freshmen reside for the first year. The first three semesters are normally General Education. Even though they have good GPAs and good SAT scores - the rigor, all five classes are hard classes - that's what makes a difference," McWee said.
Rotunda Reporter
Over the past three semesters, the number of students receiving their first academic suspension has dropped by 17 percent, and the number of students receiving their first academic probation has dropped by 30 percent. However, students are still receiving academic warnings. What causes students to receive lower GPAs, and what can they do to fix it?
One major factor is the difference between high school and college work loads. Wayne McWee, provost and vice president for academic affairs said, "I don't think many kids that come here as freshmen have been in high school programs in the last five or six years that require a lot of daily nightly homework." McWee believes block scheduling is to blame, as students have a lighter load of homework. Also, many teachers don't use the entire class period and will allow students to do their homework in class.
Ashlee Colley, a freshman currently on academic probation, said, "I guess I really didn't know what to expect when I got here, because in high school, everything was so easy for me. Like I didn't study for my tests, I would [rush] papers and get a good enough grade to pass. I had good grades in high school, like they weren't awesome, but I graduated with a 3.2, never bringing a book home in my life." Colley said she was just naturally smart at the things she needed to learn in high school and never read her textbooks.
Kelly Holcomb, a super-senior, was on academic probation during her freshman year. She feels students are just not ready for the demands of college classes at times. "It's a completely different writing style, teachers and professors expected different things, and I just tried to get into the groove of what they wanted. Just different ways of citing stuff, I had never heard of the Chicago or the APA style before, and I had to figure out what they were and how to use them."
"I think Longwood has a fairly rigorous general education program, which is where freshmen reside for the first year. The first three semesters are normally General Education. Even though they have good GPAs and good SAT scores - the rigor, all five classes are hard classes - that's what makes a difference," McWee said.
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