How Do You Get Off Probation Early?

How to get off Academic Probation at a Community College?

• I am a freshman at Grand Rapids Community College. At the beginning of the school year, I went to class and did all my homework, essays, etc. I lived on my own so I had no one telling me what I can or can't do. In the middle of the semester, I stopped going to class because I thought I had a severe STD. I went to the doctor and everything and he said it could've been herpes but I would have to wait for test results. I was so depressed and in pain. I did not leave the house once... So then after that, I just didn't go to school. ****** up my first semester, failed all my classes and didn't get any credits. I was then placed on Academic probation. So then the doctor told me it wasn't herpes. I was relieved but at the same time angry because I ****** up school. 2nd semester came by, I told myself that I'm gonna get my **** back together and finish school otherwise I'd be placed on academic suspension.. I went to a few of my classes, some of em were too early so I was lazy and couldn't wake up. I lived about 20 minutes from the CC so I didn't feel motivated to drive or go... I dropped some of my classes down to 4 and then recently found out that I am pregnant. So I dropped another class. And now I'm down to 2 classes. One of my class just started a week ago so I could be able to do good in em. But what I was wondering was, if I was placed on academic probation here or suspension.. Could I still be able to enroll at a different community college? Can someone help me get out of this situation? I'm seriously stressed out! I read some info and it said I will be placed on GRCC's academic probation/suspension so I'm not sure if I can go to another school because I might be moving..

• Answer:

  I work at Grand Rapids Community College both as an administrator and as an adjunct faculty member so I have some unique insight into the situation. Given increasing enrollment and decreasing funding, colleges like GRCC are becoming much more focused on improving student success. As a result, the college has implemented some new measures to help intervene to help students before they fail out of school. When students fail out of school, it costs taxpayers, the college and it uses up an opportunity that another prospective student could have had to enroll at the college. GRCC now has an early warning system to help track and connect with students when they begin missing a number of assignments or stop attending a majority of their classes and that's what Academic Probation is about. The college wants you to use its counseling department to get the help you need - which includes personal counseling to help with the issue you experienced related to your health situation. The good thing is that it's relatively easy to be taken off Academic Probation, you just need to meet these requirements: * To meet with an academic counselor/advisor prior to the fourth week of the semester/session following placement on Academic Probation. A registration hold will be placed on his/her account until he/she has met with a counselor/advisor. * In collaboration with the counselor/advisor, the student will develop a written Success Plan. The plan may include limitations on enrollment and other forms of academic assistance. * To obtain a minimum semester GPA of 2.0 for every semester/session. You could enroll at another community college, because they all have open enrollment standards and accept everyone that meets the basic requirements of a high school diploma or equivalent. However, the courses you didn't complete won't transfer so you'll essentially be starting over and if you continue to fail to meet the minimum GPA - you may also be placed on academic probation at another institution as well. I would recommend, as the other poster did, that you contact the counseling department and seek out some personal counseling resources to help you deal with all of the stress you have been experiencing. It may be that some theraputic counseling (or even medication) could help you overcome the barriers you've run into and help you be much more successful. The counseling department can help you connect with resources for the pregnancy and help you design a plan to be more successful (it may be that taking a full course load isn't a good way to go and you should instead attend part-time).