Warren J. Maxwell
wmaxwell@foghornnews.com
To Drop or Not to Drop
Often when times get too hard or life tends to get the better of them, students are presented with a difficult choice of dropping their classes.
Students who fall below a 2.0 grade point average are put on academic probation and have a student hold placed on their account. This hold is meant to motivate students to seek out assistance and to discuss their next course of action at the Student Retention Services office.
The retention service department specializes in helping students get off academic probation as well as providing a place to discuss their problems that affect their academic performances.
“We help them figure out what grades they need to get in the upcoming semester to get their GPA back into good standing,” said Danielle Neuman, retention case manager.
Some students arrive eager to get back on track.
“Often times students come into the office with a sense of urgency. They’re ready to talk and find out how to make an academic change,” said student assistant Joy Williams.
Some students have a hard time budgeting there time or taking a full load of classes every semester.
“Students are busy there’s a lot to manage. College classes require a lot more time and energy,” Neuman said.
When work and family become too much a student’s GPA tends to be the first thing that starts to suffer. Biology Major Chaiyre Miller has been on academic probation since spring 2015.
“There were many factors that led to my probation. I worked too much, my bills were pilling up and my family really needed help,” Miller said.
Students sometimes don’t have a motivation for learning and school often isn’t a priority in the lives of some students.
“I knew it was from a lack of effort. I wasn’t really trying so I couldn’t be mad at the results,” Miller said.
The act of putting students on probation has proven to be a successful tool to boost a student’s academic performance. One of the consequences of probation is that the student often times is in bad standing with financial aid and will have to resort to paying out of pocket for their classes.
“It made me decide to buckle down and manage my time better,” Miller, said.
No matter how hard their lives become students always have the opportunity to drop their classes instead of receiving a failing letter grade.
“Take your time to reflect to see if school is the best choice for you right now,” Miller said.
The Retention Service office provides students with one-on-one counseling on what to do when their academic and personal lives become unbalanced. By seeking these services students can have a better academic performance and an overall positive college experience.
