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FSEC approves revised probation policy
By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor
An academic standards policy designed to make the probation process more accurately reflect students' academic standing was approved yesterday by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and will be presented to the full Faculty Senate at its meeting on Tuesday.
One of the main goals of the new policy, according to William Baumer, professor of philosophy and chair of the senate's Grading Committee, is to create two different sets of repercussions: one for students who are failing and another for students who are in good academic standing but are put on academic probation because they have accumulated 60 or more credits without declaring or being accepted into a major.
The new proposal seeks to remove the latter from the more severe consequences allowed by current standards. But those students still would face the possibility of losing financial aid because they are not making "good academic progress" toward obtaining a degree, Baumer said.
"If you get over 60 credits and you're not in a major, we will shut off financial aid until you meet with an advisor," he explained.
The earliest a freshman who is struggling academically can be dismissed under the proposed policy is the beginning of the third semester. Regardless of a student's most recent grade-point average, he or she could be dismissed if the prior two semesters' cumulative grade point average is less than 0.5.
"A freshman or transfer student will be granted at least two semesters of study at UB before dismissal on these grounds," the policy states.
"Many students undergo an adjustment period when beginning their studies at the university. Therefore, any student—freshman or transfer—whose first-semester GPA is less than 2.0 will be on academic warning in the student's second semester of study at the university.
"Although a student on academic warning will be considered in good standing for purposes of participation in university activities, the student will be subject to an advisement checkstop: a discussion with an academic advisor will be mandatory before the student may complete any further registration activity," the policy says. "This intervention is to help build an effective academic strategy early in the academic career of the student."
Baumer noted that the projected dismissal rate is about 400 students annually, "a rate in effect over the past two or three years."
Dismissing students at the beginning of the spring semester gets "really messy," he said, leaving little time to notify students before they have committed to housing, registered for classes and began their purchase of books. "It does not seem feasible to dismiss students at the beginning of spring semester," Baumer said.
If, at the end of the fourth semester, a student's cumulative grade-point average and most current semester average is still hovering below 2.0 and he/she has a grade-point deficit of more than 20 points, then according to Baumer, "things get really serious."
The proposed policy allows for freshmen or transfer students whose first-semester grades are less than 2.0 to be placed on academic warning in the students' second semester of study.
Further, "If a student's cumulative grade-point average is less than 2.0 but not less than 0.5 after two or more semesters of study, or if the student's cumulative grade-point average is 2.0 or greater but the student's most recent two consecutive semesters grade-point averages are each below 2.0, the student is on probation and is not in academic good standing," the proposal states.
"You have to be making at least a 0.5 to be on probation," Baumer said.
The policy establishes satisfactory academic progress for full and part-time students for purposes of establishing eligibility for financial aid, continued enrollment and participation in university activities. The hope is that it will improve graduation rates, said Kerry Grant, vice provost for academic affairs. "It's much simpler than what students have been dealing with before," he added.