Article By: Denise Ray
The University of North Georgia (UNG) is seeking to make it smoother for students to return from academic suspension and find a sense of purpose in their studies. Hearing from students who have been successful in making this transition has been an integral part of the process.
One of those students is Evan Smith, a junior from Alpharetta, Georgia, pursuing a degree in strategic and security studies. At first, he treated college as an extension of high school and didn't fare well.
"I relied on my skills from high school to get me through college without having to try very hard, and I didn't have the best people around me. They were basically encouraging me to leave college, so I just didn't put forth the effort," Smith said.
After working full time, Smith realized he wanted to earn a degree and returned to UNG. Today, Smith surrounds himself with people who want him to succeed and devotes his time and focus to good grades.
"Ever since then I've just been more determined to be successful," Smith said. "Being suspended from school taught me valuable lessons. I had some growing and some maturing to do."
Returning students like Smith can take advantage of UNG's academic success tools including tutoring, supplemental instruction, writing labs, and libraries. Academic advisors help students move through their coursework in a timely manner, and academic success coaches help students stay on track academically to move toward graduation.
Students will be able to take a one-semester suspension as part of an intervention plan that includes an individualized success plan such as being paired with a faculty mentor, meetings with their academic advisor or success coach, and completing modules to help students return successfully. We are here to support each student through this transition.
Dr. Michelle Eaton, '08
UNG executive director of student retention and success
Senior Mattie Boswell, from Greensboro, Georgia, is pursuing a degree in sociology with a human services delivery and administration minor.
"I got my taste of freedom, and I ran with it. Education was not my priority," Boswell said. "I ended up going on probation and remember feeling just crushed that I had let myself get to that point. It was gut-wrenching. I had wasted that money that I could have been using toward my degree."
Boswell then focused on technical school, but felt she wasn't using her skills to their full potential. She reached back out to UNG with trepidation.
"It was a mental reset. I was in such a different place in life than everyone else around me, and it was kind of hard to relate to some of them," Boswell said. "I just kept pushing through, and that first semester back I had all As and one B. That feeling kept me pushing forward."
Boswell said she wants to become a social worker, focused on adoptions.
Academic probation happens when a student falls below a 2.0 GPA after earning 45 hours. A student on academic probation must earn a minimum semester GPA of 2.0 for each subsequent semester, until good academic standing is achieved to remain on continued probation and avoid suspension. If the student fails to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each subsequent semester while on probation, they will be suspended for two consecutive semesters.
"When we send the initial notification letter of academic suspension, we're letting students know they have options," Michelle Eaton, '08, UNG executive director of student retention and success, said. "Students will be able to take a one-semester suspension as part of an intervention plan that includes an individualized success plan such as being paired with a faculty mentor, meetings with their academic advisor or success coach, and completing modules to help students return successfully. We are here to support each student through this transition."
Meredith Higgins, associate director of retention, said students are limited in the number of hours of coursework they can take in their first semester back "so they don't over-commit themselves and can intentionally focus on one or two classes and their readiness to return to college."
A lot of the students pointed to the fact that they had challenges impacting their success outside of the classroom including the loss of a loved one, employment, adjusting to the freedom of no parental supervision, and responsibilities they deemed more important than academics.
"We are revamping the process to encourage those students to return sooner because research shows the longer they're away, the less likely they are to return," Higgins said. "We devised an option for students who want to come back or want to make a change and realize there's an issue they need help to solve."
