Just getting into college is no small accomplishment. You have to do well in your classes; there's all that studying for the SATs; then there are applications, personal statements, and FAFSA forms. So much work. If the world was fair, you could take it easy now that you're in. After all, you've proven your ability. You should be able to learn at your own pace in a stress-free environment before going on to begin a successful career.
Life doesn't work that way, though. Your reward for all that hard work is even more hard work. UC, Davis expects you to continue to study, research and write, to sacrifice. In fact, you can even lose your spot at the university if you don't continue to perform academically.
If you're struggling to meet academic progress standards, you should know there's help available. National Student Conduct attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento knows what you're up against.
How can an attorney help you with coursework? He can't. What he can do, though, is guide you through the often maddening bureaucracy of higher education. He can tell you all your options for forestalling academic probation and dismissal; he can suggest techniques for negotiating with faculty and administrators; he can show you how to gather evidence and put together a successful appeals package. You've worked hard to get to this point, and you deserve a good education. Joseph D. Lento wants to make sure you get one.
Academic Progression Requirements at UC, Davis.
Your college's dean evaluates your work at the end of every semester and determines your “academic standing.” “Good” academic standing means you're moving along fine, doing what you need to do to progress from quarter to quarter. However, should you fail to meet academic standards, you can find yourself on “academic probation” or even dismissed from the university entirely.
What standards do you have to meet? At UC, Davis, there are four.
- First, you must earn a minimum 2.0 grade point average each term.
- In addition, you must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
- You must successfully complete at least a 12 hour term. Obviously, failures and withdrawals don't count towards this number.
- Finally, you must accumulate no more than 16 hours of Incomplete credits.
If your college places you on probation, you have up to two quarters to improve. If you can meet all four requirements in that period of time, you are once again in good academic standing.
However, if you continue to struggle, UC, Davis will dismiss you at the end of those two quarters. In addition, you can be dismissed immediately should your term GPA fall below 1.5 or you accumulate more than 16 hours of Incompletes.
UC, Davis does provide a process for readmission to the university after at least one-quarter of suspension. However, that process can be complex, and returning to the school is never guaranteed.
Fighting Dismissal
Most students assume that decisions about probation and dismissal are strictly a matter of numbers. Either they have a high enough GPA and enough credits, or they don't. That's true to a certain extent. There's no hearing process for proving you're a good student. You can't argue your way out of a poor transcript.
You do have options, though. You don't just have to accept the worst.
- While they don't have wide latitude, your college's dean does have some discretion to make exceptions in extraordinary cases. If you have mitigating circumstances that have led to your poor performance, you may be able to convince them that you deserve an extra term of probation.
- Your instructors have the right to hold you to high standards but not unreasonable standards. If you feel you've been mistreated in any way, or that your rights may have been violated, you may be able to convince a department head or a dean to intervene on your behalf.
- You can also try negotiating with faculty directly. Sometimes a higher grade is as simple as getting an instructor to re-calculate your term scores. In other cases, you may be able to convince them to reconsider your work. For instance, maybe you can demonstrate you improved significantly over the course of the term. Some instructors are even willing to assign extra credit or makeup work to help you raise your grade.
UC, Davis probably won't tell you about these options. Joseph D. Lento will. More importantly, he'll tell you which one is best for your particular situation and he'll help you pursue it. Joseph D. Lento knows how to put together a portfolio of your best work to prove you're a good student. He can suggest negotiation techniques for talking with professors and administrators. And, if worse comes to worst and you are dismissed, he can help you put together a strong readmission package to get you back on track.
SAP Standards
If you receive federal financial aid at UC, Davis—a Pell Grant, for example—there's another set of academic standards that will be important to you. These are known as Standard Academic Progress (SAP) standards.
The federal government requires every school to develop and maintain an SAP policy to prevent anyone from abusing the financial aid system. The UC, Davis policy includes three specific criteria.
- First, you must maintain a cumulative GPA above 2.0.
- Second, you must successfully complete at least 67 percent of all the courses you attempt.
- Finally, you must complete your degree within 270 units, 150 percent of the number of credits required for an undergraduate degree.
The UC, Davis Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships reviews student records each year in July and makes decisions about aid for the next year. Should you fail to meet any one of these three criteria, and you become immediately ineligible for aid. Note, that this means you can lose aid even if you are still eligible to continue as a student. For example, if your GPA should fall below 2.0, you can still enroll in classes, but without federal funding.
There is an appeals process, for those students who have extenuating circumstances that have interfered with their academic progress. Should you win your appeal, you then have a semester of probation to meet the criteria. As with issues of academic standing, though, the appeals process can be difficult, and your best chances of success involve hiring a seasoned student defense attorney like Joseph D. Lento.
Premier Education Attorney-Advisor
Many students mistakenly believe that they have to handle all their own problems once they enroll in college, that if they find themselves in trouble—especially academic trouble—it's up to them to find a way out of it. That's just not true. There are many ways to deal with academic issues, and Joseph D. Lento can guide you through the entire process.
Joseph D. Lento has represented hundreds of students just like you in academic progress cases. He knows the processes, and he can offer suggestions for how to use them to your advantage. If you or your child is facing dismissal, or even if you have already been dismissed, you owe it to yourself to learn about what options might be available to you. To find out more, contact the Lento Law Firm Team today, at 888-555-3686, or use our automated online form.
