Academic Suspension: Are More Students Getting On It?
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
By Jordan Maynard
Rotunda Reporter
Over the course of time students spend at Longwood University, they most likely have met a student who is or has been in academic difficulty. Here at Longwood, students go through a process where if their GPA drops below a 2.0 they are placed on academic probation, and if their GPA drops below a 1.5 or they have been on probation for two consecutive semesters they are placed on academic suspension.
Rebecca Sturgill, director of the Learning Center said, "When students are academically suspended, they are politely requested to separate themselves from the university for a semester, at any point after that they may apply for readmission." Probation is when a student's grades have deemed them in academic trouble, and they must raise their GPA or risk suspension.
These students in academic difficulty are more common than the average student realizes. However, the number of students being placed in this category is going down. Over the past three semesters, the number of students on their first academic probation has dropped by 17 percent. The number of students on their first academic suspension has dropped by 30 percent.
Of the students earning their first academic suspension, 46 were first semester students, two were continuing freshmen, 13 were sophomores, nine were juniors, and eight were seniors. 138 first semester students also earned academic probation, with one continuing freshmen, 20 sophomores, 14 juniors, and three seniors earning probation as well. Even though these numbers seem high, most of the 961 first semester students did well.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Wayne McWee, said, "This year's numbers are a little lower for last year's fall. We have really good retention of freshmen between first and second semester. We have a good retention from last year's freshmen to this year's sophomores. About 83 percent of last year's freshmen are now sophomores, that is about four to five percent better than last years. We've worked really hard and are glad to see some success."
Rotunda Reporter
Over the course of time students spend at Longwood University, they most likely have met a student who is or has been in academic difficulty. Here at Longwood, students go through a process where if their GPA drops below a 2.0 they are placed on academic probation, and if their GPA drops below a 1.5 or they have been on probation for two consecutive semesters they are placed on academic suspension.
Rebecca Sturgill, director of the Learning Center said, "When students are academically suspended, they are politely requested to separate themselves from the university for a semester, at any point after that they may apply for readmission." Probation is when a student's grades have deemed them in academic trouble, and they must raise their GPA or risk suspension.
These students in academic difficulty are more common than the average student realizes. However, the number of students being placed in this category is going down. Over the past three semesters, the number of students on their first academic probation has dropped by 17 percent. The number of students on their first academic suspension has dropped by 30 percent.
Of the students earning their first academic suspension, 46 were first semester students, two were continuing freshmen, 13 were sophomores, nine were juniors, and eight were seniors. 138 first semester students also earned academic probation, with one continuing freshmen, 20 sophomores, 14 juniors, and three seniors earning probation as well. Even though these numbers seem high, most of the 961 first semester students did well.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Wayne McWee, said, "This year's numbers are a little lower for last year's fall. We have really good retention of freshmen between first and second semester. We have a good retention from last year's freshmen to this year's sophomores. About 83 percent of last year's freshmen are now sophomores, that is about four to five percent better than last years. We've worked really hard and are glad to see some success."
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