If you're aiming for college success, there's just no substitute for hard work and perseverance. You have to get to class. You have to study. It helps if you occasionally visit your professors during office hours and join study groups.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, though, academic success isn't always just about academics. Academic success can also be about how good you are at navigating the “system.” Colleges and universities are bureaucracies, and if you don't know your way around them, you can get hopelessly lost. If you don't know how to explain to your professors that you're dealing with a family emergency, that can potentially affect your grade as much as tanking an exam. If you don't know how to find out if you have a learning disability, that can have a serious impact on your GPA.
The good news is that the Lento Law Firm can help. That may also seem a little counterintuitive. After all, we can't take your tests for you or write your papers. It's a lawyer's job to deal with bureaucracy, though, and the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team works exclusively on issues related to educational bureaucracy. We know who to talk to when you have a problem, and we know what to say. We've also been at this long enough to know plenty of tips and tricks for keeping your GPA in the safe zone.
The moment you see your grades sliding, even a little, don't wait. Give the Lento Law Firm a call, at 888-535-3686, or use our automated online form.
Academic Progression at CUNY Hunter College
There are lots of ways to define college success. You can define it in terms of what you've learned. You can define it in terms of what kind of job you get after graduation. If you want a concrete measure of how well you're doing, though, you can find that in your school's academic standing policy.
Hunter College defines Good standing—satisfactory progress—as maintaining a cumulative grade point average above 2.0. Anything below that number, and you can find yourself facing academic sanctions.
- Academic Probation: If at any point your cumulative GPA should fall below 2.0, Hunter College places you on Probation. The good news is that there are no extra requirements while on probation—no special courses to take or webinars to complete. Your sole job while on Probation is to return to Good standing. And if your grades don't fall any further, you can take as long as you need to do that. The bad news is that you have to meet certain term GPA requirements while you're on probation. If you can't meet those, you face more serious consequences.
- Academic Dismissal: While on Probation, you must meet term GPA requirements based on the number of hours you've completed.
- If you've completed fewer than 12 hours, you need a 1.50 to remain on Probation.
- If you've completed between 12 and 24 hours, you need a 1.75 to remain on Probation.
- If you've completed 25 hours or more, you need a 2.0 to remain on Probation.
If you don't meet these requirements, you are then subject to dismissal. A first dismissal lasts for at least one spring or fall semester. In addition, you must apply for readmission, and reinstatement is not automatic.
Dealing With Academic Standing Decisions
Hunter College grants readmission on a case-by-case basis. In other words, your application needs to be as strong as possible. It helps to have evidence that demonstrates your academic abilities and a clear plan for how you will improve. The Lento Law Firm can help you gather and organize this evidence. We'll also work with you to draft your application so you can be sure you look as good as you possibly can on paper.
Hunter College also offers an appeals process for immediate reinstatement any time you've been dismissed for academic cause. In this case, you must be able to show that your deficiencies were caused by clear extenuating circumstances. Were you dealing with a family emergency while on Probation? Were you suffering from depression? Did you have a serious illness? Here again, the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm are highly experienced at filing these kinds of appeals. We know all the most effective arguments and what sorts of evidence have the most impact on review committees.
Finally, the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team also knows a number of less formal options for avoiding academic sanctions. Often, these can help salvage your GPA before you reach the point of Dismissal. For instance,
- Consistently low grades can be a sign of a learning disability. These are far more common than most students realize. Disability Services offers testing and can work with your instructors to get course accommodations in place if you need them. You can also petition Hunter College to drop low grades from your transcript and allow you to retake those courses once your accommodations are in place.
- You have the right to fair treatment in the classroom. If you are a member of a protected class of individuals, you may be entitled to special consideration, but you should never suffer mistreatment from an instructor for any reason. Report all such mistreatment to your instructor's department head or, failing that, the dean of the college.
- Instructors have broad authority to accuse students of academic misconduct like cheating and plagiarism and to assign penalties as they see fit. They can lower your grade on an assignment, lower your grade in the course, or even fail you outright. However, you're protected by due process. You always have the right to appeal your instructor's decisions to the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee.
- Makeup work and extra credit assignments can often be an easy way to improve your GPA. Not every instructor is open to making such assignments, but if they are, an extra lab assignment or a paper rewrite could be all you need to get your course grade up and thus raise your GPA.
- You can also try negotiating with your instructors for better grades. Again, not every faculty member will be receptive, but, for example, you might try arguing that your improvement over a semester warrants a higher course grade.
No matter what your situation, you can count on the attorneys at the Lento Law Firm to work with you to come up with a solution. We recognize that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to improving your GPA, so we start by sitting down with you and getting a clear understanding of why you're struggling. We craft a plan that's tailor-made for you. And we'll help you put that plan into action, whether that means drafting documents, making phone calls on your behalf, or coaching you on how to negotiate with professors.
What Can the Lento Law Firm Do for You?
Your CUNY Hunter College diploma is more than just a piece of paper. It's your avenue to a successful career, and if it's under threat, you can't afford to try and handle the problem by yourself. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team knows the law. We also know how Hunter College's system works. And we've helped hundreds of other students protect their academic careers. Before you reach the point of probation or dismissal, call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form.
