UConn's academic probation policy is unreasonable

By: Ali Mirza

Posted: 6/15/09

In a student's tenure at any university, adjusting to the demands of college life is always a challenge. From the slew of new pressures and academic work to the unique new social challenges, it definitely takes all one has to have a successful college career in the holistic sense. It is important that the institution of learning provides opportunities and resources for students seeking success. Examples of such resources are tutoring centers, mentoring programs, employment, mental health and counseling, intramural sports and social clubs. In this regard, UConn offers all of the above and much more. Equally important though, are the support and rehabilitation mechanisms, or "safety nets," that are in place for students. With that said, there is one crucial area in which our university could improve: the academic probation policy.

UConn's academic probation policy is, in my opinion, unreasonable. The policy stipulates that if a student's cumulative or semester GPA falls below 2.0 (which is a C), that student is placed on academic probation. The following semester, if the cumulative or semester GPA is again below 2.0, the student is expelled from the University.

Frankly, all universities have academic standards policies, as they should. However, it is important to examine the nature of different policies and see where they are reasonable or not.

In terms of UConn's policy, the cumulative aspect of the regulation is sensible. If a student's overall GPA, which speaks for their entire career at the university at a given point, drops below a C consistently, that is certainly grounds for concern, and two semesters in a row is clearly pushing it.

But, the per-semester aspect of the regulation is unreasonable. Perhaps a hypothetical example will help reveal its absurdity. A student from the school of engineering, who is majoring in chemical engineering, arguably one of the most difficult undergraduate degrees in existence - let's call her Jenny - has a 3.8 GPA going into her junior year. This is quite a feat, considering her major and volume of credits taken thus far. But let's say she has a bad year. The first semester of her junior year she tries her best while dealing with a lot of personal issues, but her GPA for that semester, which consists of three four-credit engineering courses is 1.9. This brings her overall GPA to a, 3.5.

Due to her performance in that one semester, she is now officially on academic probation. But the story gets worse: her second semester of her junior year is just as bad. She is still dealing with personal issues, which are the source of much distraction and disorganization. She earns a 1.9 GPA for that semester as well. This knocks her overall GPA down to a 3.3.

Now, due to two consecutive semesters of poor performance, she faces expulsion from the university, despite the fact that she has an overall GPA of 3.3, equal to a B+ at UConn.

That is simply absurd. It amounts to a slap in the face by the university. UConn's policy might as well be interpreted as "it doesn't matter to us."

It doesn't matter that you were a stellar student for two years or more. It doesn't matter what particular program you are in. It doesn't matter that you are an overall B+ average student who is involved in campus life. You screwed up for two semesters in a row….get out!

As crude as that definition sounds, is it untrue? It is easy to read a hypothetical story written for the purpose of making an argument. But this is a very real problem. There have no doubt been students in the past who have faced comparable situations to our hypothetical friend Jenny...maybe even worse.

UConn should work to change this policy; it is unfair and unreasonable. Part of what makes a higher learning institution great is how it treats its students. No amount of prestige, funding, faculty reputation or impressive statistics can override that. The academic probation regulation is meant to serve as a safety net, a chance to examine one's performance and make the necessary improvements, not a specter hanging over one's head with the threat of expulsion because of unreasonable expectations.