ERIC ED461349: Academic Workshops: A Plan To Help Students Experiencing Academic Probation and Disqualification.

7 Pages·2000·0.2 MB·English

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DOCUMENT RESUME
HE 034 630
ED 461 349
Brocato, Phil
AUTHOR
Academic Workshops: A Plan To Help Students Experiencing
TITLE
Academic Probation and Disqualification.
2000-00-00
PUB DATE
5p.; Contains very light print.
NOTE
Research (143)
Reports
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Academic Failure; *Academic Probation; College Students;
DESCRIPTORS
Higher Education; Program Effectiveness; Workshops
ABSTRACT
This mini-study evaluated efforts by the School of Health
and Human Services Advisement Center at California State University, Los
Angeles to reach and support students on probation or were disqualified.
Workshops were held to educate students on campus policies and procedures,
time and stress management skills, and factors that either contribute to or
impede academic progress. A survey of participants (83 percent of those
contacted) clearly demonstrated the desire of such students to receive help
and the benefits of the workshops.
(EV)
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Academic
Workshops: A Plan
to Help Students
Experiencing
Academic Probation
Disqualification
by Phil Brocato
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Adadeniic Workshops
Academic Workshops: A Plan to Help Students Experiencing
-Academic Probation and Disqualification
Phil Brocato, Ed.D.student, University of Southern California.
,!,niversity
advisement centers across this country are'expected..
not only td, .give proper advisement., but alsd be empathetic.to
In aneffort
students who ara either on probation-or disqualified.
to 'retain.students in academic.difficUlty, the School of Health and
Human Services Advisement Center at CSULA developed a grant7funded
position.for one graduate student 'CO help probation.and disqualified
It was my reSponsibilitas a Masters of.,Sociology student
'students..
at CSULA, to create a plan that'would assist this special pOpulation
.
and at the same time retain'students for the universit,y.' Most
advisement appointments last 30'minutes, which ie clearly not enough
time to give proper advisement and 'address issues associated'with
academic difficulty.
Students who are on probation.Or.have been,
disqualified display characteristics like ankiety, self-doubt and a
tendency to reevaluate behaviors.
The chaoS.that,emerges from'these
characteristics during a 30-minute advisement appointment is a
:teachable moment for the holistic advisor.
The holistic. advisor 'sees
each student as a unique person with hiSiher own perspectiVes;thlis,
each advisement session is treated.as such (StoWe,.1996).
The advisement process, is essential .fOr students to suCceed whether,
they are on probatioh or disqualified. -However, for the student'in
academic difficulty it is equally important that,from a holistic'
.perspective, teachable moments take placa aWay from the 30.-minute
advisement session. The knowledge. and wisdom'I attained from previous
students in academiotrouble can:have'significant.impact on probation'
and'disqualified students during a:teachable moment, which traverSe8
.
the academic advisement prOcess_This special population.of.students
must come to recogni2e "and underStand campts policies and proced6res,
time and stress managementskills and factors that either Contribute
to academic progress or caUse a lack of academic progress. What follows
is a one-ouarter study developed in-the name of retention. Data from.a
pair of workshops given in the Spring '98 quarter was evaluated and'
.
interpreted in the subsequent quarter.
Ideally, it was my. goal to have
the majority of students in academic difficulty increase their GPAand,
maintain a 2.00 or better.
The reality is that I could'not come to
the rescue of every student, but, relatively speaking, the results.for
one quarter provide evidence and create a need for universities and
colleges to pav attention to this special population-if they are,to
retain these students.
.
Methods
In conjunction with the School-of Health and Human Services AdVisement
Center at California State Univers.ity, Los Angeles,'',T. placed holds on
student records, developed a contact letter- and Constructed a survey.
List and mailing labels of probation and disqualified"StudentS are,
.
generated each quarter and sent to the individual'Schools oncampus.
After receiving a list of.147 probation and disqualified students,
holds were placed On these. students by a student,wotker.and myself.
Next, we mailed contact letters to these studentSinforming them,that
the only way to remove their hold was by attendlng a pair of Workshops.
Then, it was the student's responsibility to contact the HHS Advisement
Center to be placed on an attendance roster:
'Because the first in a
pair of workshops was in-the fourth week, -whichis:prior tothe next
.quarter's registration, holds were removed in 000d faith.
However, if
students did not attendthe second workshop facilitated in seventh week,
3
Academi Workshops,
the hold was again placed on the student's records.
.The interim.period
between workshops allowed me to construct and get approval for a survey
that was administerediat the end of the workshop requireMent.
The survey
consisted of five attitudinal questions, three yes and no questions, one
category question and,one question where students...answered:1n
Ideas for instructional materials were taken from Gardner/Jewler's, Your
College Experience, 3rd Edition..
Probation and disqualification policy'
and procedures are set by the university and were explained in the
workshops.
Results
Descriptive analysis and correlation of coefficients wete used to determine
frequencies in nine.of the- ten questions asked.
Questions one and two.
revealed. that 94,:2% of probation and diSqualified students coUld identify
factors that either cause a lack of academic progr6ss or: faCtors that
.
contribute to academic progress.
-In addition, 94:2% of the respondents
in question four showed that students .had a better understanding of stress
management.
Question three responses were-clumped together in two
descriptive categories: helpful and very helpful.
Over 90% of students
felt that the workshops were- helpful and improved their abifitY to balance
time. Like question three, the following question resultswere descriptive
..a.nd showed:
That 94.1% of students felt that the explanation of GPA and.
.
Grade Point Balance Deficiency (GPBD) was helpful and very
helpful.
That 94.2% of students felt that the explanation of resource
centers was helpful and very helpful.
That 93.2% of students felt that workshop exercises:were
helpful and very helpful.
.
That 98% of. students felt that the workshop leader was helpful
.
or very helpful.
Question seyen was separated into categories: Health and 'Human Service
Advisement Center, University Writing Center, Tutorial Center, Student
Support Program, Counseling Office, and Multiple Centers.
Student
responses and frequencies.aS to the importance of these categories are
as follows:
HHS.Advisement Center
19.4%
University Writing Center
16.5%
Tutorial Center
16.5%
Student Support-Program
2.9%
Counseling Office
3.9%
Multiple Centers.
40.8%
Additionally, a 'correlation of coefficients test was utilized as support
in showing the significance of responseS of probation and disqualified
students.
Questions 3,
8 and 9 resulted in levels of significance
5,
6,
less than .05, which is statisticallY significant.
Question ten conSisted
of text only and was summarized with.a concluding statement that suggested
need.
The responses occurring most often were the need for workshops on a
continual basis, and the concern for students to be more involved during
the workshop process.
Performance Suxnxnary after Workshops or Appointments
In table one, 83% ofStudents responded to the letter either by attending
.a pair of workshops or an individual appointment at the School of Health
and Humn Services Advisement Center.
Of 147 contact letters mailed,
only 17 students did not contact the office regarding their probation or
disqualification status.
Students who made indi-vidual appointments, in
place of attending the workshops, spoke to me by appointment only.
Materials and exercises facilitated during the workshops were briefly
discussed to satisfy the workshop requirement.
Grade Point Balance
Deficiency (GPBD) defined by California 'State University, Los Angeles is
Acaderni Workshops
the number of negative points a student acquires from grades received
below ac or 2.00.
Workshop
.Individual
Table:
Attendees
Appointments -
Total-,--Percent
Decreased GPBD
43
42%
51
8
.
Maintained. same number of GPBD
ao
28%
4
Increased GPBD
37
30
30%
'7
103
100%
122
.Total
19.
Discussion
In short, teachable moments for probation and. disqualified 'students are
best taught and comprehended away from the academic advisement session.
This mini study unequivocally establishes a need. and warrants .further
research in order to initiate or improve existing policy that deals with
students in academic difficulty.
The strong results' may not be effective
enough to influence- institutional policy, but clearly, they demonstrate
those studepts- on probation or disqualified need and want help: .The data
gathered is only representative Of the institution where it was collected,
but the basis for the idea that educators should 'share their.concerns' for
all students does not begin or end with probation and diSqualified.students
from that particular institution.
Educators from other institutions of
higher education must pay attention to data collected at public and private
campuses to reduce academic difficulty and increase retention.
My
two-Quarter study spanned enough time to accomplish the task at hand;
however, if universities and colleges are to help 'probation and
disqualified students succeed, there must be more money redirected for
retention purposes.
(-1r1)-slab
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)
National Libraty of Education (NLE)
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Educational Resources informalion Center
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