You came to college to learn, and that's just what the University of Wisconsin at Madison expects you to do. Courses are challenging, professors demanding, and just to make sure you keep working hard semester in and semester out, the school maintains a strict academic standing policy. Fail to meet standards, and you can find yourself on probation, suspended, or even dismissed entirely.
Here's the thing: four years is a long time to try to keep your academic record clean. Inevitably, we all stumble at one point or another. Maybe you trip over biochemistry. Maybe calculus causes you to fall flat on your face.
Whatever your particular problem, a bad class or even a bad semester shouldn't put your academic future in jeopardy. National Student Defense attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento's Student Defense Team wants to make sure it doesn't. If you're struggling to meet academic progress standards at UW, he and his Education Law team can help. They know exactly how the university operates; they can sit down with you to develop a plan moving forward, and they can even work with you to put that plan into action. Interested? Keep reading to find out more.
Academic Progression at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ultimately, your goal at UW is to graduate with your degree. You only do that by making steady progress one course at a time. To help you do this, the university has empowered each school and college at the university to develop its own academic standing policy to keep you on track.
Most of these policies resemble that of the largest school, the College of Letters and Science (L&S). That policy is relatively straightforward. To remain in “good” standing, you must maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average and earn a 2.0 in each individual semester.
If you fail to meet either of those standards, you are placed on academic probation. Getting off probation means meeting those standards once again. In contrast, continued failure means a second semester of probation, or what is known as “Strict Probation.” You can also be given strict probation if your term GPA should fall below 1.0 at any point, even if you haven't served a term of ordinary probation.
Finally, if you continue to struggle, you'll ultimately be dropped from the university after two semesters on probation. Dismissals last for at least one full year, and additional deficiencies after that point can result in permanent dismissal.
Dealing With Academic Standing Decisions
The University of Wisconsin, Madison, does offer some important processes for dealing with the threats of suspension and dismissal. First and foremost, you are allowed to appeal your suspension immediately. The trick is that such appeals must explain to the appeals committee exactly what led to your academic problems and exactly what you plan to do to improve.
Of course, not everyone has a clear sense of why they are failing, so the university allows you to apply again once you have been away from school for an entire academic year. During this year, you are encouraged to stay in contact with your academic advisor and may even take courses at another institution to avoid falling too far behind in pursuit of your degree.
Joseph D. Lento's Student Defense Team knows additional, less formal ways of handling a threat of dismissal as well.
- If you feel you are being mistreated in a course, you always have the right to report your instructor's behavior to the dean of your school or college. You may be entitled to some form of grade relief.
- Likewise, if your low grade in a course is the result of an academic misconduct allegation, you can appeal your instructor's findings, the sanction, or both to Student Conduct and Community Standards.
- Poor grades are sometimes the result of simple miscalculations. Faculty can and do make mistakes, especially when it comes to filling in spreadsheets. You have the right to ask an instructor to re-figure your scores. Often, this process is easier if you keep up with your scores and hang on to any papers that have been returned to you.
- Some faculty are open to the possibility of grade negotiation. While such negotiations aren't simple matters, they can sometimes raise your scores enough to avoid probation, suspension, or dismissal. If your final exam grade was higher than your course grade, for instance, you might argue that it demonstrates you mastered the material by the end of the class.
- Other faculty are sometimes willing to assign extra credit or makeup work to students with borderline grades. In most cases, you will have to accept an Incomplete (I) while you finish this work, but even an I can sometimes raise your GPA enough to avoid an academic sanction.
Your academic advisor may not tell you about all these options. They might not even be aware of all of them. Joseph D. Lento will. For Joseph D. Lento's Student Defense Team, you're the priority, and he's committed to making sure you have all the information you need to salvage your future. If you're heading into a negotiation, he can coach you on what to say. If you're looking to file an appeal, he can help you gather documents and develop an argument. If you've been suspended, he can help you put together an appeals package that highlights what you've done during the year you've been away and how you plan to improve if you're readmitted.
Premier Education Attorney-Advisor, Joseph D. Lento
You might reasonably ask: how can an attorney help me with academics? After all, it's not like they can take classes for you.
The fact is, succeeding at 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's Student Defense Team. He built his practice handling student conduct and academic progress issues.
More important than anything else, Joseph D. Lento and his Student Defense 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.
