You got into UConn, and that's a significant accomplishment. You cannot take it for granted, though, that you'll graduate from UConn. Yes, you're bright and hard-working. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been admitted in the first place. Courses in college are significantly tougher than your high school courses were, though, and most professors have high expectations. Plus, now you have the additional complication of learning how to adult at the same time you're supposed to be going to class and studying. Have you mastered laundry yet?
College isn't easy, but you've made it this far. You don't want all of your hard work to this point to go to waste. How do you make sure it doesn't? What do you do when you're facing a serious academic issue?
You contact attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and his Education Law Team. What can they do? They can make sure your school treats you fairly. They can help you identify who to talk to when you have a problem and coach you on what to say. They can work with you to draft formal appeals if you need to. Joseph D. Lento and his Team can't take your classes for you. If you're struggling to make sense of UConn's bureaucracy, though, you won't find anyone in a better position to help.
Academic Progression at the University of Connecticut
Making it to graduation at UConn or any other school means making steady progress in one course, one semester, and one year at a time. The school's Scholastic Standing Rules are designed to help you do just that. They set specific goals for you to reach and offer gentle, and sometimes not so gentle, nudges when you're struggling to reach them.
UConn's Rules are actually relatively straightforward. There's only one requirement for staying in “good” standing: maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. As long as you do this, you're golden.
What happens if you don't? Well, the consequences are still fairly simple to understand, though they can certainly complicate your life.
First up, you'll be put on Academic Probation. What does that mean? In practical terms, not a whole lot. The school doesn't place any registration restrictions on you when you're on probation, and there are no special hoops to jump through.
However, the consequences can get more serious if you continue to struggle. You have two semesters to return to “good” status. Or, you can continue on probation as long as you earn a minimum of 2.3 GPA each term. Otherwise, however, you are then dismissed from the university.
You can apply for readmission to the university after dismissal, but only after having been away for at least two terms. Not every application is approved, and if you are approved, you return to the school on probation. If you're not approved, or if you should wind up dismissed a second time, dismissal is permanent.
Dealing With Academic Standing Decisions
Fortunately, UConn does offer a process for appealing academic dismissals before they actually take effect. This process is not a simple one, though. It involves submitting materials that explain the reason for your academic deficiencies, a record of efforts you made to improve, and a full plan of how you intend to correct your past problems moving forward.
Joseph D. Lento and his Education Law Team have extensive experience with student appeals. They know what committees are looking for, and they're well-practiced at creating compelling arguments on paper.
What do you do, though, if your appeal is rejected? Or, for that matter, what do you do if you're trying to avoid the threat of dismissal in the first place—if you're just looking to forestall probation?
It turns out Joseph D. Lento and his Team also know a number of valuable informal approaches for handling academic standing issues. For instance,
- If your deficiencies are the result of extenuating circumstances, like a family emergency or a serious illness, you can try petitioning your dean for additional time to improve.
- You have the right to fair treatment in the classroom. Any time you feel an instructor has mistreated you, you should report it to the instructor's department head or, failing that, the dean. You may be entitled to grade forgiveness.
- If you're a student with a disability, you have additional rights to any necessary classroom modifications. If an instructor refuses to make those modifications, you can again raise the issue with their department head or the dean. In fact, even if you don't discover you have a disability until after you finish a course, you may be entitled to remove the grade from your transcript and retake the course.
- Low grades are sometimes the result of academic misconduct allegations. If your instructor thinks you've plagiarized or cheated, they may assign a classroom sanction, such as a lower grade on the assignment or a lower grade in the course. You can always challenge these decisions through an Academic Integrity Hearing.
- Some faculty are open to the possibility of grade negotiation. For instance, maybe your final exam grade demonstrates you mastered the material, even if your coursework doesn't reflect that. With the right argument, you might be able to convince them that you deserve to pass anyway.
- Faculty can also sometimes be open to the possibility of assigning makeup or extra credit work. You may have to accept an Incomplete while you finish that work, but that won't count against your GPA until you've had sufficient time to get it done.
Finally, if worse comes to worst and you are dismissed, Joseph D. Lento and his Team also have experience putting together readmission packets. They can help you collect evidence and work with you to come up with the best arguments for why you deserve another chance.
No matter what type of academic sanction you're facing, Joseph D. Lento and his Team can help you come up with a plan and work with you to put it into action.
Premier Education Attorney-Advisor, Joseph D. Lento
Students sometimes ask: how exactly is an attorney-advisor supposed to help me with academic issues? It's a fair question. It's not like you're on trial for shoplifting. You need help with your grades. That's normally a matter of studying harder or finding a tutor.
As the information on this page suggests, though, succeeding in college is often as much about navigating bureaucracy as it is about writing papers and taking exams. No one knows more about dealing with bureaucracy than attorneys, and no one knows more about dealing with educational bureaucracy than Joseph D. Lento and his Educational Law Team. That team was assembled specifically to handle student conduct and academic progress issues.
Joseph D. Lento and his Team are on your side. They understand that no one is perfect, and they're committed to the idea that a few mistakes shouldn't keep you from earning your degree and going on to a successful career. They'll fight to make sure you're treated fairly and that you get all the rights you deserve. You've worked hard to get to this point. Don't let that hard work go to waste. To find out more about how you can fight dismissal, contact the Lento Law Firm today at 888-555-3686, or use our automated online form.
