January 2005
Probationary Students
Much of January was spent meeting with students who were placed on academic probation following fall quarter—a population I was somewhat familiar with already. The applied research that I completed for my master's degree was titled “Student perceptions of factors contributing to their removal from academic probation.” The project involved in-depth interviews with students who had been successful in removing themselves from academic probation for at least two consecutive quarters. It was my goal to gain insight into what students thought worked well for them as they turned their academic paths around. This research project was only a pilot, so the sample size of five students certainly did not give any conclusive and/or statistically significant results, but it did shed some light for me on how I would eventually approach my interactions with probationary students.
One pertinent theme that surfaced from my applied research project is the importance of connecting with students on a personal level before moving on to discussions regarding academic matters. Throughout January, I found that at times this can be difficult, since varying techniques are needed to build trusting relationships with different and unique students. Finding out a bit about students' interests outside of the classroom has been the easiest way for me to foster a relationship. (See the section on sticky notes in month three.) Conversely, some students don't like to talk about matters outside of their academic careers. They seem to prefer more of a business-like relationship, so the connection for these students happens via a building of trust as they discover that I have useful information and guidance for them. Ideally, this building of trust happens before students are faced with academic probation since already having developed rapport makes it easier to address the actual problem when it presents itself. To me, this approach means being intentional about each initial interaction with an individual student, anticipating that he or she could be on probation and back in my office for that very reason the next quarter. Ultimately, the participants in my graduate research project all said they were much more receptive to an adviser they felt a connection with. And this makes perfect sense to me as I'd be much less likely to listen to a cold stranger than someone who actually cared about me. So that's my take on a basic step for probationary students during January: getting connected with individuals using a variety of techniques according to each student's personality.
Step two for me has to do with the actual content of the academic probation discussion. The words of a particular participant in my applied research have influenced my opinion. His name was Taylor, and he spoke affectionately of his adviser, who caringly and sensitively discussed “what can be done” to improve his situation rather than dwelling on “what had already happened.” This sentiment seemed to ring true during my month of January, as most of my probationary students were already unhappy with their previous quarter's performance. They didn't want or expect to be criticized or scolded for their low marks, but instead they seemed to be looking for new and different options. I found the question “What changes will you be making this quarter?” to be helpful in getting students thinking about their situations. Such a question places responsibility in the students' hands, helping them to realize that they control much of their successes and failures. For some students, it seemed as though they were shocked to find out that I wasn't going to provide answers to their problems. I explained that I would help them identify what the true underlying issues were and guide them through discovering their own solutions. They needed to be active participants to make things better!
As seen in the above paragraphs, my first applied research project informs much of how I approach probationary students. In the future, I intend to do other projects (formal or informal) that utilize in-depth interviews and/or focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of what works for students facing academic difficulty. I truly feel that hearing the stories of individuals who have been through difficult situations is the best way to inform practice for students who, in the future, are faced with similar circumstances. The participants in my study had great stories to tell and wonderful suggestions for other students who may face academic difficulty. Several participants spoke of the need to “own” an education in order to increase academic success. Each participant had a unique way of finding this ownership, but they all shared the common theme of connecting with an adviser or faculty member along the way. One poignant paragraph from my research that I referred back to during the month of January stated the following:
Effective advisers were usually ones who chose to acknowledge students' past academic struggles. From there, the adviser would seek to understand the student's current situation and work alongside the student in creating an engaging and challenging educational path. The effective adviser also appeared to let students experience the joys and tribulations of life in and outside of the classroom. Students often stated the importance of an adviser who helped them make meaning out of life's events, as positive or negative as those events may be.
For my probationary students this month, the above paragraph often lent itself to some common foundational questions: (1) So, what happened?, (2) Why do you think that happened?, (3) What steps or goals have you formulated to improve your situation?, (4) How are you planning on achieving those goals?, and (5) How will it feel when your goals are met, and how will you reward yourself?
Of course, interjected into the above questions are other probing questions and discussion, but I found myself asking these five questions over and over again as a framework for the majority of my probationary students. It seems that such a framework can transition nicely into a number of issues like motivation, social and emotional development, time management, procrastination, and study skills. Once the underlying issues are identified, we can complete the mandatory academic performance agreement and set up our next appointment.
As January came to a close, there was one particular area that I felt I needed to improve upon when advising probationary students. In all actuality, I felt good about the content of my probationary appointments, but I had a difficult time getting several of the students to simply show up for an appointment at all. I was then faced with the question of how proactive I should be about contacting students. Should I use up extra time (as though I have any!) in my day to call or e-mail probationary students over and over again, trying to get them in for an appointment? Or should I contact them just once or twice and make it known that the help is here when they are ready to come see me? Thankfully, we place registration holds on probationary students until they meet with an adviser, but that doesn't do much good if the student refuses to show up until it is registration time for the next quarter. In this case, the student has gone through almost an entire quarter on probation without any kind of support or intervention.
The best way that I found to get students to come in is to call them personally, ask them how things are going, state that I am concerned about their academic progress, tell them that seeing me will be required to remove the registration hold, and make an appointment right there on the spot. As standard policy at the beginning of each quarter, our office sends probationary students a letter explaining academic probation and the advising requirements, but for some reason the letters don't seem to get through to all of the students. I think some of them just skim it and forget about it while many others fail to receive the letter in the first place as their addresses in the database have not been kept current. Because my numbers of probationary students are not enormous (around twenty-five per quarter), I feel that the benefits of speaking to probationary students directly on the phone outweigh the time costs.
All in all, it was a challenging but rewarding month of working with probationary students. It is exciting to see students who are willing to make changes in order to be successful in college, and it is enjoyable to see the light bulb going off, revealing to the student that he or she controls much of his or her success. When students appear indifferent to probationary status and coming in for appointments, they often simply need an adviser who is willing to reach out to them. If reaching out over and over again doesn't seem to have any effect whatsoever, then maybe it is not the right time for the student to be in college (assuming that other campus supports/interventions have been attempted along with academic advising—I don't want to sound over-simplistic here). If possible, a conversation with such students about the negative/positive consequences of leaving school for a period of time would seem the most appropriate. Again, it comes down to the individual student and to using all available advising tools to help students succeed.