At LUMS, students are placed on academic probation when their CGPA falls below 2.0 on a 4.0 Scale. Probation is a serious academic condition, and if the student fails to show improvement in their academic performance in the semester after being placed on probation, they are in danger to being separated from the undergraduate program.
If you are in Academic trouble or Academic Probation, seek the support of your faculty advisor or advising staff at the LUMS OSA as soon as possible. The sooner you alert others that you need help, the more chances you'll have to getting the support you need in time for you to recover academically.
What factors contribute to a student's slump to academic probation?
"Embarrassment, disappointment and desolation can be felt by a student who has failed to meet the academic requirements of his or her institution. Imagine experiencing all of these emotions and not knowing how to get back on track....probationary students desperately need help and support"
Christie A. Cruise, Advising Students on Academic Probation, The Mentor; October 28th, 2002
- Academic failure is sometimes linked to a student facing difficulty in understanding and applying the material taught to them in classes. The reasons behind this might be poor academic preparation for college, or an inability to effectively manage time for thorough review and study of material.
- A general lack of interest in the courses they are taking might sap them of the necessary motivation to do well.
- The student might be pursuing a major that they do not find interesting, and had to do so because of lack of options.
- Research has shown that outside factors such as financial stress, troubled family lives, poor social and academic adjustment to college, lack of significant support and advising, mental and physical health concerns and other personal factors also contribute to poor academic performance (Dunwoody and Frank, 1995; Lemoncelli and Leonard, 1990).
Research into advising has shown that students in academic trouble who seek help are not only able to come out of academic trouble, but also improve their performance significantly. The opposite also stands true: students who do not seek help where it is available sink into deeper academic problems. The key is to diagnose factors that led to a fall in your performance, and then to discuss strategies with an advisor to overcome these factors. Students admitted to LUMS, without exception, are intelligent enough to thrive here. In our experience-advising students in academic probation here, we have, without exception, found them all to be intelligent, thoughtful individuals. We all face challenges at certain points in our lives, and those challenges do not make us less capable as people. Learning to overcome these challenges is a key component of a successful university experience.
Following is an excerpt from the book, "Making the Most of College", written by Harvard University Professor, Dr. Richard Light. Dr. Light interviewed 1600 Harvard undergraduates over 10 years, and the book is a revealing compilation of his findings. Amazingly, what Dr. Light found true also generalizes to other college settings. In our experience-advising students at LUMS, I see how these findings also hold true for undergraduate students at LUMS:
“Many students show little hesitancy in seeking help from a professor, a departmental advisor; a teaching fellow, or a residence hall advisor. Most universities and colleges have their own organizations designed to provide help. Yet more than a few students are hesitant to ask for help. And if a student who is having trouble does not seek help and avoids sharing problems with an advisor or professor or teaching fellow, its hard to give help. Our interviews with forty sophomores who were struggling drove home sharply. Of the twenty students who were struggling yet were unable to share their problem help from, one of these many sources, all, without exception, were able to work at developing improve their academic performance.
But most of the twenty who were unable to share their problems remained distressingly isolated: became caught in a downward spiral of poor grades and lack of engagement with other people at the college. It was far harder for them, struggling alone, to turn their situation around."
Many of the most academically accomplished students at colleges all over the world sometimes end up on probation.
This is particularly true of freshmen, who have to go through challenge process of adjusting academically and socially to a new and demanding university environment, and also keep up performance during this adjustment process. The fact that students are on probation certainly does not mean that they are "dumb", "lazy" or incapable in any way. It means they are not doing some things right. Research has shown that once these factors are identified and addressed, many will improve their academic performance.
"It has been my experience as an advisor that probation students come from a variety of Socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, i Even students with stellar standardized test scores and high school ranks sometimes end up on academic probation
-Cruise, 2002
