Schools chart student progress in effort to avoid academic catastrophe
In April, spring is starting and college semesters are drawing to a close. While temperatures climb, some college students' grade point averages are dropping.
To keep students from flunking out, Butler County institutions of higher learning have adopted several practices.
“Our approach is one of prevention first and foremost,” said Amanda Yale, associate provost for enrollment management at Slippery Rock University.
“There are a number of strategies that the university takes from the beginning, whether it is a first-year student or a transfer,” Yale said.
Midterm tests provide a sort of early warning system of academic danger, according to John Inman, vice president for enrollment at Grove City College.
Inman said, “We still have midterms. We use midterms as a midpoint evaluation of students. That occurs two weeks before the last day to withdraw from a class. So it lets students know where they stand.”
“We use 2.00 grade point average (GPA) as a minimum to be qualified as a student in good academic standing,” Inman said.
When that's not met, a student will go on academic probation, and his academic adviser and the academic resources center on campus will be alerted that additional support may be needed.Butler County Community College also views a low GPA as a trigger to provide a struggling student with more aid, said Josh Novak, dean of student development.“We have a couple of different tiers,” Novak said. “If it (GPA) falls below 2.0, that's an academic alert status, and we essentially send them communications that their status is in jeopardy.”He added a GPA dropping below 1.5 results in academic probation or suspension. A suspension means a student has to sit out at least one semester before he can apply. for readmissionBut, Novak said, the college doesn't want anyone to fall so far into the academic red zone.“We have a tutoring program with over 50 tutors,” said Novak. “Some are peer tutors, some are associate tutors, others professional tutors. Students are eligible for one hour of tutoring per week.”Slippery Rock also offers tutoring to its at-risk students, said Yale.“We tutor some 2,000 students annually. Our entire student body is 7,600.” she said.“The key is we don't want the student to fail,” said Yale.
Yale said one of the pitfalls that nearly all freshmen face is time management.“In high school, they had their time managed for them. Here, they may have two classes two days a week and three classes on other days. They have to learn to use their time effectively,” she said.Other hurdles incoming students face include not knowing how to read texts, take notes and complete essays instead of objective exams.Novak said, the biggest mistake incoming students make, although it's hard to pinpoint, is “a lot more work is expected to be done outside of class.”“They don't devote an appropriate amount of time to their classes. They take a full-time job. The class gets harder as the semester progresses,” Novak said. “They don't adjust, they don't adapt. The classroom is just a small portion of what is going on. They are expected to do a lot more outside of class.”And Novak said, Butler County Community College students face hurdles not encountered by typical incoming freshmen.“A lot of them are working,” he said. “They've been out of school for quite some time. Getting back into formalized education can be difficult. Some students don't make the transition.”
“Being 35 or 50 and a full-time student, they have to juggle children, a full- or part-time job. Balance becomes an issue for those coming back for an education,” Novak said.Yale said Slippery Rock tries to give all its students the tools to cope.Yale said Slippery Rock offers a class that educates the students about the different resources available to them.Yale said Slippery Rock also groups students in “learning community clusters,” where half the classes incoming students attend are also attended by student sharing a major or liberal arts courses.These clusters, Yale said, make it easy for students to form study groups and even friendships.“These are very simple designs that work,” Yale said. “It has allowed the retention rate from first to second-year students to go from 78 percent at the turn of the century to 83.3 percent now, well above the national average of 73-74 percent.”If all else fails, students in academic trouble have the chance to do makeup work to get their GPA into an acceptable range.Novak said Butler County Community College offers an online course academically endangered students must complete with a passing grade. Academic counselors work with the students to build a plan to get the student back in good academic standing.
Yale said courses can be taken by computer during winter and summer breaks, allowing those in academic trouble to make up course work while still being able to work seasonal or summer jobs.Summer break offers two 5-week courses and one 13-day class.Inman said Grove City offers summer school and two-week intercession classes in May.Inman said, “It's not that bleak, we always tell families, it's not that bleak. We don't enroll anyone at the college that we don't want to see succeed.”
