Ella Kitchens, Asst. News Editor–
On March 13, the department of advising sent an email to students with a GPA putting them at risk for academic warning or suspension, which included information about the academic standing process and potential solutions.
“[The email] is trying to capture the student’s awareness of the possible precarious nature of their grades,” said Dr. Catherine Dollard, Senior Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. “And then it shares information about resources, academic advisors, Academic Resource Center, Writing Center, peer tutoring.”
Students with a cumulative GPA below 2.0 are placed on academic warning. Students on warning can still attend Denison; however, they cannot choose to take a leave of absence, take a directed or independent study, participate in NCAA athletics, serve on Denison’s Campus Governance Association, or serve as a tutor.
If a student’s semester GPA is below a 1.0, they are placed on academic suspension. If a student already on academic warning receives below a 2.0, they are also placed on academic suspension. Suspended students are required to take time away from Denison to “reflect on their academic situation and to improve their academic skills,” according to the email.
Various offices work together to make sure students are aware of and have resources for their learning.
“The four principal offices are the Provost, which oversees the academic division of the college; the Registrar, which manages student academic records; the Office of Advising, which supports and gives notice to students and advisors; and then the Academic Resource Center, who does all the good work of helping students think through study skills, strategies if they find themselves in trouble, and a broad range of academic resources,” said Dollard.
There were 305 cases of academic suspension and warning from 2021 to 2024. Out of these cases, 47% of students returned to good standing, 13% are still suspended or on warning, 40% do not return to Denison and 31% who do not return are suspended and 9% are on warning.
While academic standing is a serious issue, a first-year student who received the email said the tone of the email was overly intense.
“I was still studying. I would do well at homework. It was just tests that would mess me up,” said the student. “There was a pretty aggressive email for something that did not need to be aggressive.”
Dollard emphasized that the email’s tone was not meant to cause unnecessary stress.
“That’s the language that they’ve landed on in terms of success in reaching out to students. It is a balancing act, and we are not seeking to put students in a really anxious space,” said Dollard. “We want students to be aware of where things stand at a given moment. And it can be hard to get students’ attention… Our offices are certainly open to feedback of different ways to approach that language.”
“Historically, midterm grades are often lower than what the final grade will be,” said Jennifer Vestal, director of the Academic Resource Center. “So it’s not necessarily doomsday, but it is this moment to make sure as a student, it is on the radar that this is serious.”
Students who received the email were required to meet with their academic advisor to discuss the situation and decide on a solution.
“I went ahead and dropped the class,” said the first-year student. “In the email, it says it might help you to just drop the class, and my advisor said the same thing.”
According to the website, Dension’s academic grievance policy allows for students to file a grievance petition if they feel like their course grade was a result of “prejudiced, capricious, or in some other way unjust evaluation on the part of the instructor.”
“There may be circumstances that emerge in which students might feel that they have been unjustly treated in the classroom,” said Dollard. “It’s important for students to know we have a specific policy to address any experience where a student has a grievance regarding unjust engagement in the classroom. That policy is the academic grievance policy.”
In addition, if students have a concern that has to do with diversity, they can meet with the Associate Provost for DEI, Ayana Hinton. Ways to address bullying or harassment can be found in the anti-harassment policy, and the Title IX office is in place for cases of sexual harassment.
Regarding discretion in the academic standing process, a student must have above a 2.0 to remain in academic good standing with no exceptions. This is necessary because otherwise, it would allow students to attend Denison despite low chances of graduating.
“A student must have a 2.0 cumulative GPA, a 2.0 in their major, 126 credits and completed the GEs to graduate,” said Dollard. “It would be inappropriate for Denison to permit a student to continue to attend Denison if they were academically in a place where the 2.0 minimum GPA standard was unattainable.”
However, there is more discretion regarding academic suspension than academic warning. Students can petition the academic standing board to be immediately reinstated, rather than waiting a semester on suspension to come back. While this happens in the minority of suspension cases, it is possible for students who can objectively prove that the circumstances causing their low GPA are resolved and that they have reflected on the value of their Denison education.
“Certainly the board is aware of a whole range of extenuating circumstances that might face a student. And so they look at those circumstances and reinstatement petitions in terms of, how can the student best be supported? How can these factors be managed so that the student can return to good standing?” said Dollard.
Recently, the definition of academic warning was changed to give students more adjustment time to the rigors of college coursework. Rather than a 2.0 being the universal standard for academic good standing, starting in the fall of 2025, there will be a tiered system.
Entering their second semester, students will need a cumulative 1.6 GPA to remain in academic good standing. Entering the third semester, they will need a 1.8 GPA. Entering the fourth semester, they will need a 1.9, and entering fifth semester through graduation, they need a 2.0. This will allow more students to remain in academic good standing for their first two years of college.
“Looking at data over the past four years, the new policy will place approximately 13 more students a year in academic good standing,” said Dollard. “That’s not huge. But for those 13 students, it matters. This new policy reflects an institutional recognition that our students will be able to recover and thrive.”