By Leonardo Schauer
Students must keep GPA above 2.0 in order to excel at College of Southern Nevada and avoid the newly-adjusted academic probation and suspension policy.
“Student success is now one of the core themes of the institution and the intent on review and development of this policy was to be more intentional in helping students be successful at CSN,” said Dr. Hyla Winters, associate vice president for academic affairs.
According to the policy’s guidelines, students with GPA of 2.0 or lower are placed into one of three categories: academic warning, academic probation or academic suspension.
The first category is for a student who fails to reach a minimum of 2.0 GPA after attempting 12 or more credits, likely in the first year at CSN. If the student does not raise his or her GPA, that student will be placed in academic probation. If the student continues to underperform, he or she will face academic suspension. Students on suspension are not allowed to enroll for at least one semester.
The goal of the new policy is to encourage students who struggle to maintain satisfactory grades and seek guidance and support.
Students may seek help from success coaches, academic counselors and even psychological counseling in order to establish and meet personal goals.
“CSN offers unlimited hours of free tutoring,” said Katheryn Brekken, director of government affairs and communications at CSN. “It also provides academic success courses, which teach students helpful academic and time-management practices.”
When struggling students are made aware of the severity of underperformance and offered tutoring and other support services, they are more likely to graduate.
According to Laura Latimer, assistant vice president of community engagement, CSN previously allowed students on academic suspension to continue their studies uninterrupted. This approach was inefficient, as a vast majority of students on academic suspension continued to underperform and eventually dropped out.
“Research on probation and suspension practices at other institutions showed that more intrusive interventions produced higher cumulative grade-point averages, and improved performance and persistence rates for struggling students,” Latimer said.
CSN continues to enhance its policies for student success. The CSN Strategic Plan highlights the importance of policy review as seen in this change.
For more information, visit: http://www.csn.edu/success/ and http://www.csn.edu/PDFFiles/Public&College%20Relations/New%20Student%20Academic%20Warning%20FAQ.pdf.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 