2008 Woodie Awards
Academic Probation Cases on the Rise
LaGina Phillips
Issue date: 9/28/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
With more than 15 percent of Valley College's students on probation, campus officials are trying to figure out why so many students have strayed from their goals.
"When having academic difficulty, students have to reach out and use the resources available," said Student Services Vice President Yasmin Delahoussaye.
Of the more-than-16,000 students at Valley 1,949 are on academic probation, with an additional 533 on progress probation. Academic probation is received when a student attempts at least 12 units and receives a GPA of less than 2.0, which is a C. Progress probation is received when a student enrolls in at least 12 units and receives Withdrawls, Incompletes and/or No Credits in at least half of the units.
Laurie Nalepa, dean of vocational education, thinks that many students reach the point of probation because of their failure to take advantage of the free campus tutoring.
"As soon as you have a problem in a class, talk to an instructor and see what kind of tutoring is available," said Nalepa.
Delahoussaye said one of the key reasons students fall into academic probation is because of poor study skills.
"[Students] don't balance work, school and studying," Delahoussaye said. "They put work and school in their schedules but don't schedule time for studying."
It is recommended that students set aside two to three hours per week, per unit to study. For a five-unit course, that's 10-to-15 hours of study time per week for one class.
Performing and Media Arts Dean Dennis Reed agrees with Delahoussaye, adding that students overwhelm themselves by trying to balance everything. Reed reminds students of the programs on campus that can help perfect that balancing act.
"Personal development classes are specifically set up to prevent students from getting on academic probation," said Reed, who is one of the volunteer instructors of the personal development classes.
Students who experience a bumpy semester have a chance to redeem their GPAs. After receiving a bad grade and retaking the course for a better grade, a student may petition for the old grade to be removed from his or her record. Students have the option to remove up to 15 units from their records.
"When having academic difficulty, students have to reach out and use the resources available," said Student Services Vice President Yasmin Delahoussaye.
Of the more-than-16,000 students at Valley 1,949 are on academic probation, with an additional 533 on progress probation. Academic probation is received when a student attempts at least 12 units and receives a GPA of less than 2.0, which is a C. Progress probation is received when a student enrolls in at least 12 units and receives Withdrawls, Incompletes and/or No Credits in at least half of the units.
Laurie Nalepa, dean of vocational education, thinks that many students reach the point of probation because of their failure to take advantage of the free campus tutoring.
"As soon as you have a problem in a class, talk to an instructor and see what kind of tutoring is available," said Nalepa.
Delahoussaye said one of the key reasons students fall into academic probation is because of poor study skills.
"[Students] don't balance work, school and studying," Delahoussaye said. "They put work and school in their schedules but don't schedule time for studying."
It is recommended that students set aside two to three hours per week, per unit to study. For a five-unit course, that's 10-to-15 hours of study time per week for one class.
Performing and Media Arts Dean Dennis Reed agrees with Delahoussaye, adding that students overwhelm themselves by trying to balance everything. Reed reminds students of the programs on campus that can help perfect that balancing act.
"Personal development classes are specifically set up to prevent students from getting on academic probation," said Reed, who is one of the volunteer instructors of the personal development classes.
Students who experience a bumpy semester have a chance to redeem their GPAs. After receiving a bad grade and retaking the course for a better grade, a student may petition for the old grade to be removed from his or her record. Students have the option to remove up to 15 units from their records.
