TRANSCRIPT: Success Strategies for Probation Students
Speaker: Amy Baldwin
Probationary Students
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Amy Baldwin
University Professor & Administrator
Hi, I'm Amy Baldwin. I'm a university professor and administrator, and I've worked for years to help students develop the skills necessary to get off probation. Probation is not a great place to be, but there are so many strategies and opportunities to make some changes. This workshop will address those.
What is Probation?
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[icon of graded paper with a D] Lack of academic achievement Institution puts you on notice [icon of exclamation point] [icon of magnifying glass] Review policies
What is probation? It usually pertains to a lack of academic achievement during a designated period of time. It is also a condition in which an institution puts you on notice that you must meet certain requirements the next term you enroll. Here is an example, let's say in the fall you earned a 1.5 GPA. You may be on academic probation the next term that you enroll in. Be sure to review your school's probation policies very carefully.
What’s Often Required?
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GPA Requirements
What do you need? Specific GPA?
Cumulative GPA?
What do you need?
Earn a specific GPA
Might need a specific cumulative GPA Your Institution’s Policies = Specific To You
What's often required for a student on probation? Well very simply, usually, you must earn a specific minimum GPA the next semester, and also you might need to meet the cumulative GPA required for the number of credit hours that you have accumulated. For example, if you have earned between 1 and 59 credit hours you may be required to earn a 1.75 GPA for those credit hours. Or if you had more than 60 credit hours, you may be required to have a 2.0 GPA. Again, your institution policies will be specific to you, and you'll want to review those.
What Needs to be Considered?
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Criteria for probation
Requirements & Process for getting off of probation
What needs to be considered when you're on probation? First of all, you need to consider your institution's criteria for probation and also your institutions requirements and process for getting off probation.
Institution’s Requirements
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[icon of balance] Course load
[icon of graded paper with an A] GPA [icon of open book] Policies
[icon of person] Advising/Counseling [icon of toolbox] Workshops
Let's now consider your institutions requirements. Your institution might require a certain course load. You may be required to limit or increase your course load the following semester. GPA: you may be required to earn a minimum GPA your next semester. Policies: you may be able to retake a class for grade replacement or change course grades to pass, fail, or audit. Advising and counseling: you may be required to meet with an advisor, a counselor, or even an academic coach throughout that next semester. And finally, there may be some workshops that you're required or encouraged to take that could help you with those academic and personal development skills that would help you be a better student.
Academic & Personal Habits
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Academic habit & skills
• Listening
• Note-‐taking
• Studying
• Test-‐taking Personal habits & skills
• Time management
• Goal setting
What else needs to be considered when you're on probation? In addition to your institutional requirements, you may also want to think about your own academic habits and skills as well as your own personal habits and skills. What do you need to develop, do more of, or do differently in terms of academic skills? You may need to develop or refine your listening, note taking, studying, and test taking skills, and as for personal skills you may need to develop your own time management strategy and goal setting skill set.
Additional Responsibilities
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Family Activities Sports Work
Social other
You also want to consider your additional responsibilities outside of class: family, work, or other things that you participate in. Are they causing you to not spend as much time in the classroom as you need to be, or on your course work? Those kinds of extra responsibilities, or duties, or even activities that you participate in outside of class need to be evaluated in terms of what you can continue to do and what you might need to do differently next semester.
Campus Resources
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Academic coaches Academic Advisors Financial Aid Counselors
[icon dart board with dart in middle] What’s required?
&
What’s optional?
There may be other considerations if you're on probation. For example, academic coaches ... You may be able to meet with somebody regularly to set realistic academic goals and track those goals to completion. Academic advisors ... You might be able to meet with somebody to make sure you are on track for your degree, and that person will help you make any adjustments necessary to stay on track. And finally, financial aid counselors, meeting with them to be sure that you're in good financial standing, and that if there are any alternative options for paying for college you've discussed those, you've addressed them, and you know what you need to do. As always, check what's required and what's optional.
Tie to Reflect
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Activity [with gear icon in upper right corner]
What do you do well and how can you use those strengths in this situation?
What do you not do well and how have those challenges caused or contributed to the situation? What changes have already occurred?
What changes still need to be made?
Response Examples
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What do you do well and how can you use those strengths in this situation?
• Set back = opportunity for come back
What did you not do well and how have those challenges caused or contributed to this situation?
• Need to manage my time better What changes have already occurred?
• Developed strategies
What changes still need to be made?
• Action produces change
Thank you for taking your time to reflect on those questions. Let's now look at some examples of answers that you could have made. What do you do well, and how can you use those strengths in this situation? You could have said, "I'm resilient and can bounce back from adversity. This will allow me to frame this experience in terms of making a setback an opportunity for a comeback." The next question, what did you not do well, and how have those challenges caused or contributed to this situation? You could have said, "I don't manage my time well or keep track of my tasks. This caused me to do poorly in my classes, because I missed deadlines." What changes have already occurred? You could have answered, "I've developed a better time management strategy, and I bought a planner." What changes do you still need to make? You could have said, "I need to check with my academic advisor about retaking classes and making changes to my schedule."
Make a Plan
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Goals – Associated Actions
Get off probation
Goal: 2.0 GPA
Action Steps
• 20 hours of study/week
• Monitor your course grades
• Speak to your professors
Goal: Attend monthly workshops Action Steps
• When are the workshops
• Set reminders
Now, it's time to make a plan to get off probation, and we're going to talk about this plan in terms of goals and associated actions. Obviously, one of your goals is to get off probation the next semester, so we're going to start with that as one of our goals. And, in this case our goal is to earn a 2.0 GPA for the next term, and how do we do that? What actions are going to be associated with earning a 2.0 GPA? They may include scheduling at least 20 hours of studying a week. It may also be monitoring your course grade every few weeks, and it also may include speaking with your professor about how to meet the course expectations. Another goal that you could set for getting off probation is attending monthly workshops on success skills. How do we translate that into actions? Write down when the workshops are on your calendar and set reminders, whether it's on your phone or on a sticky note, the day before to attend those workshops.
Make a Plan of Your Own
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Review the link provided to make a plan of your own.
Ask Yourself These Questions
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What really happened? What must I do differently
Use your college resources
• Professor
• Advisor
• Financial Aid Counselor
• Support Staff
Consider the following questions to ask when you find yourself on probation. Ask yourself, "What really happened? And, what must I do differently?" Ask your professors, "How should I approach the course to ensure that I succeed in them?" Ask your advisors, "How will my probation status affect my degree plan? What do I need to do to get on track or stay on track to graduate?" And, ask your financial aid counselors, "How will my probation statues affect my ability to pay for college? What alternatives do I need to explore?" And, ask other support staff, "What else do I need to do to ensure that I get off probation and succeed in my classes?"
Conclusion
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Make your setback a comeback! Use information & Resources
Let's be honest, probation is not the end of the world. You're going to be okay, but I want you to use the information and the resources that you learned about in this workshop to make sure that your setback becomes a comeback for next term.