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Probation Workshop

Welcome to the MiraCosta College Online Probation Workshop. There are a number of reasons students find themselves on probation. You will learn why you are on probation and what you can do to remedy your situation.

There are two kinds of probation, academic and progress. Academic probation means that your G.P.A. (grade point average) has gone below a 2.0 (C average). Let's figure out a hypothetical G.P.A. by using the example below.

Each grade has a certain point value: A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D =1, F = 0

You calculate the grade points by using the following formula: units earned x grade value = grade points. The formula to calculate a G.P.A. is: Grade Points divided by number of units attempted = G.P.A.

Add up the units, the grade points, and calculate the G.P.A.. What G.P.A. did you come up with?

You should have calculated a G.P.A. of 2.79 (39 total grade points divided by 14 units = 2.79) and this means the student is in good standing.

Now, let's do another example. This student got very sick during the semester and missed many of his classes. As a result, he had a hard time keeping up. Below are his final grades: Using this information figure out his G.P.A. Remember each grade has a certain value: A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0. You calculate the grade points by using the following formula: units earned x grade value = grade points. The formula to calculate a G.P.A. is: Grade Points divided by number of units attempted = G.P.A.

Did you come up with .83? If you did, you were correct. The student is on academic probation because his G.P.A. is below 2.0. To bring up his G.P.A. to 2.0 or higher, this student will have to earn A's and B's. If the student gets C's, the G.P.A. won't rise above 2.0.

Use this link to a display a tool called GPA Calculator to help you determine your grade point average.

It would have been better for this student to have withdrawn or dropped his classes instead of getting low grades. Dropping classes won't affect your G.P.A. To drop a course, students should obtain an official drop card from the Admissions and Records and Office. Complete the drop card and submit it to Admissions and Records by the drop deadline. You do not need the instructor's approval or signature to drop the course. The drop deadline can be found in the class schedule or your instructor's syllabus. They will give you a printout showing you have "officially" dropped the course.

Methods to improve your G.P.A

Other than getting grades of C or better, there are two more methods for improving your G.P.A. The first is course repetition. Any course in which a grade of "D", "F", or "NC" has been received may be repeated once in order to raise the grade and grade points. The new grade and grade points earned will be counted in computing the G.P.A. as if the repetition were another new course. Units attempted, grade, and grade points of the first grade will be subtracted from the totals of that semester and will be noted on the student's transcripts as repeated.

A second method for improving the student's G.P.A. is academic renewal. The following regulations permit students who earned bad grades to change their transcripts. Such students may petition the Admissions and Records Office for exclusion of prior substandard course work under the following conditions:

• The petition arises our of a consultation between the student and a counselor.
• A maximum of 15 units may be removed from calculations of the cumulative G.P.A.
• The units proposed for exclusion were taken at MiraCosta College.
• All proposed excluded course work was completed at least four years prior to the petition.
• The student completed a minimum of 15 units at MiraCosta with G.P.A. of 2.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) after completion of the units being petitioned for exclusion.
• The excluded units remain on the record annotated as excluded for satisfaction of requirements for a degree or certificate and for computation at MiraCosta College only.
• The students petitions for exclusion of units under these regulations only one time.
• No excluded units can be reinstated.
• Any units excluded by other institutions will be recognized as excluded by MiraCosta College but will be included in
  the maximum 15 unit allowance.
• Appeals to any portion of these regulations will be referred to the Committee on Exceptions.

Progress Probation

Progress probation means that you have enrolled in a total of 12 or more units and have completed less than 50 percent (i.e. received a "W" (withdrawal), "I" (incomplete) or "NC" (no credit).

Scholastic Dismissal

• A student who is on "academic probation" shall be subject to dismissal for the following semester if the student earned a cumulative grade point average of less than 2.0 in all units attempted at the end of spring semester.
• A student who has been placed on "progress probation" shall be subject to dismissal if the percentage of units in which the student has been enrolled for which entries of "W", "I", and "NC" are recorded in at least three consecutive semesters reaches or exceeds 50 percent at the end of spring semester. (Summer semester is NOT considered a consecutive semester).

Once a student is dismissed, the students must sit out a semester or file a petition to be reinstated that must be approved by the Committee on Exceptions (COE). COE petition forms may be obtained from the Admissions and Records Office. The petition must state extenuating or mitigating circumstances, if the student wishes to have their dismissal overturned. After a student sits out a semester they may return to the college.

Transcript Notation

If you are placed on academic or progress probation or dismissed from the college it will be noted on your transcript.

Reasons Students End up on Probation

• The number one reason that students end up on academic probation is that they quit attending class and do not officially withdraw. Instructors are required to give a grade if the student is still on their roster. If you stop attending and don't do any course work, the Instructor will still use his/her grading system for the entire course to calculate YOUR grade. You will probably receive an F.
• The student is not willing to make the commitment to study. Generally, students should plan on studying 2 hours per week for each unit they are taking. For example, if a student is taking 4 units she should plan to study 8 hours per week
• The student worked full time and took more classes than he could handle. If a student is working more than 15 hours per week he should not take more than 12 units. The more hours worked the fewer units should be taken.
• The student was absent too much (illness, working too many hours, personal problems, etc.)and therefore missed instruction and assignments.
• The classes were too difficult for the student. This doesn't mean the student wasn't smart enough, just that the student enrolled in a course in which his current skills were not at the correct level. For example, the student took Philosophy 101 although his writing skills were not at a college level yet.
• The student didn't make use of Tutorial Services. Tutoring is provided at both the Oceanside and San Elijo campus free of charge to enrolled students.
• The student's reading and/or study skills need improving. The student should investigate taking a reading course, particularly if his placement test placed him in either Reading 830 or 840. If study skills are an issue consider taking Counseling 110 (College Success Skills).
• The student became ill at the end of the semester and did not consult with the instructor about a grade of incomplete. Incomplete academic work for unforeseeable, emergency, and justifiable reasons MAY result in an "I" grade. The condition for the removal of the "I" shall be stated by the instructor in a written record.
• The student's academic goals were not clear. Student should see a counselor to discuss educational and occupational goals.
• The student did not explore receiving financial aid in lieu of full time work.

We hope that this probation workshop has been helpful to you in explaining why you are on probation and outlining different methods to help you improve your grades. Best wishes for your academic success. If you would like to make an appointment to see a counselor, please call 760-757-2121 ext. 6670.