<p>Our son was just unceremoniously dumped by his college for having a low GPA after his first semester as a freshman. Neither he nor we received any advance warning that he was in danger of being dismissed. We simply received a certified letter on December 30 stating that our son must be moved out of his dorm by January 4. All financial aid was revoked. No academic probation period was offered, no options for part time enrollment, nothing-- except that he could request permission to reapply after one year (readmission was in no way guaranteed, however). We live in Connecticut and the school is in North Carolina (it's one of the highly recommended small "colleges that change lives" profiled in Loren Pope's two books!). Following the letter we were unable to contact teachers or administration because the school was still on break; when we finally got through to the academic dean we were given no encouragement whatsoever about appealing a final grade due to extenuating circumstance (illness at the end of the term). There was no means of even checking the clerical accuracy of his records before coming down to clean out his room. We have written to the college president and had no answer. This college came highly, highly recommended-- we were particularly responsive to their supposedly "nurturing" First Year Experience, which turned out to be a disastrous experience for our son. His life has been changed, all right: just not for the better. Anybody else out there had, or heard of, a similiar experience?</p>
<p>What was his overall gpa?</p>
<p>His gpa was .9, certainly lower than we hoped and he expected; however one of the failing grades was received in a First Year Experience class (purported to be a class to help students adjust to college life, at least in part) taught by his advisor that he tried unsuccessfully to withdraw from at midterm. The other failure was unexpected, and due to missed work that he was not allowed to make up (the visiting professor teaching the class claimed not to have the authority to accept late work, even with an excuse). He did reasonably well (Bs and Cs) in his other 4 classes.</p>
<p>Start a clean slate at a local community college for him and then let him pick an nice state university (like UConn) and he will excel. This is why I am not a proponent of small colleges for everyone. Your son sounds like he would excel in a big state college, which some people (myself included) greatly prefer.</p>
<p>Guilford makes it very clear in their academic guidelines that students who have a GPA of below 1.0 will be dismissed without academic probation for one year. This really shouldn't be a surprise, although I can understand why you are upset with the way it was handled.</p>
<p>Here's the link explaining their regulations:
<a href="http://www.guilford.edu/campus/index.cfm?ID=800000520%5B/url%5D">http://www.guilford.edu/campus/index.cfm?ID=800000520</a></p>
<p>First, I'm very sorry to hear of your son's situation. I'm also very surprised. As you noted, Guilford has had a reputation as a very supportive environment so to boot someone after one semester. . . . </p>
<p>Was there any discussion throughout the semester from his academic advisor, Dean of Student Affairs, or anybody? </p>
<p>All schools have a requirement that you maintain a certain GPA to continue, and .9 certainly falls below that, but at most schools probation comes before dismissal, with a requirement that the student reach the GPA miniimum within the next semester. </p>
<p>Very odd.</p>
<p>I don't think it is odd. I have just checked several web sites and this is fairly typical for how GPA's below 1.0 are handled at various schools: automatic suspension with no probationary period but the right to reapply for admission after a year. To be placed on academic PROBATION most schools require a GPA of at least 1.0 or above. And, as I said, Guilford makes this VERY clear in its own academic standards which are in their catalog and on their web site. They also have a very thorough moderation program for when a student disagrees with a teacher's grade - the son could have taken advantage of this before he left for Christmas break to argue over the visiting teacher's refusal to let him make up work. I don't mean to sound harsh, but this is really not the school's fault, although perhaps they could have handled it with a bit more sensitivity.</p>
<p>Here's Gulford's policy, which is in their catalog:
Academic Probation, Suspension and Dismissal
After any semester, if a student's term and cumulative grade point averages are both a 1.00 or less, the student will be dismissed by the associate academic dean for one academic year without a probationary period. A student is placed on academic probation whenever the student has less than a 2.00 cumulative grade point average. A student on academic probation will be suspended or dismissed if his/her grade point average falls below a 2.0 during any semester he/she is on probation. A student on academic probation is allowed no unexcused absences.</p>
<p>ya my daughter first had an academic warning which required her to sit down with advisor and make a plan
I don't understand why advisor didn't meet with your son, because to flunk his classes, he must not have been passing at midterm.
I am really sorry but thank you for sharing your story</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply... my son did seek help from his advisor, despite the fact that the situation was made awkward for him by this being the teacher of the very class that he was unhappy with. He also sought help from the first year center, and while the director of the center was pleasant enough, her only advise was to go to the dean for help-- with the caveat that he was not likely to be flexible, however.</p>
<p>We fully accept that he should have been on probation his second semester and even that our aid be revoked; but to dismiss him with no acknowledgement of any shared responsibility on the part of the school feels very wrong to us. Both my husband and I have worked and taught in universities our entire careers, ranging from large state schools to Yale, and have never heard of such harsh treatment to a freshman who had barely gotten out of the starting gate. </p>
<p>We have no choice to move on and learn from the experience, but I joined this board to let others know our story and be forewarned that small schools with warm and fuzzy sales pitches (and let's face it, this is an industry) don't always prove to be so kind. I feel that the schools count on the embarrassment and shame of people in this situation to stay mum; thus these aren't the kinds of stories you hear when you're doing all that careful research.</p>
<p>I'm glad you posted this story.</p>
<p>At the school I work at, we place freshmen on probation for a 1.7 or lower, and everyone else for a 2.0 or lower. No one is dismissed w/o probation first. And most schools are a little more forgiving of first semester freshmen, as some have a rough adjustment.</p>
<p>I'm sure Guildford has this in their regulations, but it definitely says something about the school to have that severe a punishment, which does not go with their "nurturing" atmosphere.</p>
<p>Also, it's notoriously difficult to dispute a grade or procedure with a visiting prof who's gone now. It sounds like the student did try to resolve this, but also did not believe he was failing.</p>
<p>There's a lack of communication coupled with the finality of the process which I find very odd considering the school's reputation.</p>
<p>Hi Carolyn, thanks for your reply. We are, of course, aware of Guilford's policy in print and on the web; however, their implementation of it still seems quite cold-hearted and one would still hope for a little leniency in regard to freshmen. To clarify: he failed 2 out of 6 classes. I know it seems hard to believe nobody (like his advisor) would have warned him that dismissal was a strong possibility in time to rectify the situation, but it's true. He met with the advisor several times and at no time was that fact mentioned. As far as seeking mediation over the teacher's policy to not accept late work: he was actually told by the visiting professor that he couldn't turn it in, but not to worry about it. I'm afraid an inexperienced freshman is likely to take a statement this quite literally as assurance that he is not in danger of failure. The final grades were not posted until well into the break, after campus was closed.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how 2 Fs and 4 Bs and Cs and you end up with a .9. As I understand what you are saying, the Fs were in high unit classes and the rest of the grades were in low unit classes. Is there any dispute on the .9 gpa?</p>
<p>I agree with dstark - 2F's and the rest B's and C's do not add up to a .9.</p>
<p>The Fs were in high unit classes and 3 of the other grades were lower unit classes. I assume their calculation is correct and that the better grades don't have the collective power to make up the difference.</p>
<p>lbr6 - I'm so sorry that your son (and you) had to go through this. It must be very upsetting. It certainly makes me want to go over the academic reg's of all the colleges my daughter is considering with a fine tooth comb!</p>
<p>thanks, Carolyn and all who have expressed sympathy: it has certainly been upsetting and discouraging, and I do advise careful scrutiny of the by-laws and fine print!</p>
<p>Remember that there are no points given for the grade of "F' . The grade is then compunded by the fact that it was in a course that carried more credits than his other class.</p>
<p>Lbr6,</p>
<p>I am sorry that this has happened to your son.</p>
<p>I guess my concern is that your son did not wake up one morning and realize that his grades was in danger (unless he had a professor that heavily weighted a final exam or paper and then your son did not do well on that project). It is my beleif that some one would have let him know (and you as the parents of a freshmen) that they are concerned with the progress you are making in the class. What happens when he attempts to transfer because now that transcript will always follow him.</p>
<p>The story is a horrible one and I'm sure your son is devastated. He needs to take a semester or two at a local college and head back after it. This is just a speed-bump. A nasty speed-bump, but a speed-bump.</p>
<p>I think you could do the rest of us a great service by discussing the nature of the "F's".Test failures, attendance failures, failures on papers, projects, labs-what got him? In what way , if any ,did his previous preparation fail him? What part, if any, did absences, or failure to turn in work (other than discussed earlier) have on the grades? Were they all excused absences? I guess I'm asking all this because I coud be where you are soon, all of us could whether we recognize it or not. Was he prepared for college? Do his best and still fail? Or did he help himself fail by getting away from home and going brain-dead? How did his statistics from high-school "stack up" against the class profile? Did he reach too high?</p>
<p>Don't worry too much about your son even if it was somewhat self-induced. I am living proof someone can (moderately) succeed in life after enduring a first year coma wholly brought on by my own lack of will power, marijuana, and the Allman Brothers Band. I'm sure he will bounce back,too.</p>
<p>And as to the idea that the transcript and grades follow him-not neccessarily. If school two does not have a similar class that class will NOT be considered by colege two, like the "First Year Experience Class". The hours wouldn't have transferred if he had passed so neither does the grade, in some instances . Additionally, if he retakes the other course at college two, under some circumstances only the new grade is considered for GPA purposes at some schools. When he transfers to college three the GPA nightmare is all but gone. At least that is the way it worked for someone near and dear to me.Wink. Wink.</p>