Yes!  Grades absolutely matter.  ECA students are fully-enrolled students at Aims Community College and are held to the same academic (grade) standards as students on the main Aims campus.  In order to remain in good academic standing at Aims Community College, students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 ("C" average) in their college classes.  [Note: college classes at ECA are indicated by the "AIMS" prefix on their class schedule and transcript.  Ex: AIMS HIS 1220 US History Since 1870.]  Good academic standing is required in order to receive a degree.  

If a student's cumulative GPA at Aims falls below 2.0, they are placed on academic probation as a warning that they are not making satisfactory academic progress.  While on academic probation, a student must earn a minimum 2.0 GPA ("C" average) in their college classes each semester in order to remain eligible to continue taking college classes.  If that requirement is not met, the student is placed on academic suspension and is not allowed to continue taking college classes.  Academic suspension may impact a student's ability to remain at Early College Academy.  The best way for students to avoid academic probation or academic suspension, is to earn grades of "C" or better in all classes.

In addition, it's important to note that students must earn a final grade of "C" or better in college classes in order for those classes to transfer to another college or university.  Students have the potential to graduate from ECA with both their high school diploma and 60 credits (roughly half) of a four year degree complete, but must earn grades of "C" or better in order to do so.

Questions about any of this?  Feel free to contact Mrs. Marshall, Aims Academic Advisor, at mindy.marshall@aims.edu or 970-348-5812.  

Here at ECA, Earth Club is a very interactive and fun club for students who care about our environment and want to problem solve about how to make the best environment for our school, for our state, and our planet. In the most recent meeting during lunch on Wednesday March 22, the Earth Club members met to plan for our Climate Leadership Summit field trip to CSU, an interactive experience organized by high school students, for high school students in the Northern Colorado region. As a unique collaboration between Colorado State University's School of Global Environmental Sustainability and the Poudre School District's Career & Innovation Department, this event will engage students to learn from each other and from the foremost leaders of climate science.

This field trip will be a capstone to a highly productive year for the club with several significant accomplishments, including:

• Running a can drive to make donations to local organizations

• Bringing paper recycling to ECA.

• Bringing plastic recycling to ECA.

• Planning fundraising campaigns to support local and national non-profit organizations supporting wildlife and the environment.

The members of Earth club have had an impactful year so far and hope to continue building momentum for future projects to bring positive change to our school and our planet. For additional information about Earth Club, please contact Mr. Joel Shires at jshires@greeleyschools.org.