Consider this scenario: you have just started winter break after a lengthy fall semester. You check your Blackburn email account and discover a message from the registrar. As you read, you discover that you have been academically suspended from the spring semester. This was the reality for many students earlier this year. Provost John McClusky said, “10 percent more students were suspended for academic issues this past semester compared to the previous year.”
Former junior communications major Denzel Smith was one of the students that faced this situation. He said, “The email told me that I had the opportunity to appeal the semester-long suspension.” He clarified that he was asked to write a letter that stated what happened this semester to get him academically suspended and how – if he were to be accepted back – he would change for this not to happen again. He added that he would not know if the letter was accepted until Jan. 10.
Smith acknowledged that failing one class this past semester contributed to the suspension. “If I had been informed that failing the class would cost me my Blackburn education, then I would’ve dropped the class,” he said. He felt like there should have been more of an intervention process prior to the suspension. Smith said he will be attending a different college in March and will not return to campus.
According to the Blackburn faculty and staff handbook, students can become academically suspended if their grade point average (GPA) drops below a 2.0 in a given semester and if their cumulative GPA drops below a certain point. Students of junior and senior standing must maintain a 2.0, while sophomores and freshmen have more leeway. A freshman must maintain a 1.0 in the first semester and a 1.4 in the second. A sophomore must maintain a 1.6 in the first semester and a 1.8 in the second.
McClusky outlined the process of academic suspension. He said that students who decide to appeal due to extenuating circumstances can either be granted approval or denied. If they are denied, then they are recommended to take community college courses during their suspension to rebuild their GPA. They can then petition for readmission.
The committee on academic standing (CAS) considers petitions of appeals; however, their impact on campus is not commonly known among students who have not gone through the process of academic suspension. Chair of CAS Dr. Edward Zalisko discussed the purpose of the committee and their overall goal.
Zalisko cited Registrar and Advising Services Coordinator Dianna Ruyle as doing the majority of the legwork when it comes to notices of suspension and giving general advice on petitioning. CAS makes recommendations to the Provost after reviewing student appeals in addition to making sure the Provost follows campus policy when making final decisions on approving or denying them. “At the college level, you can be suspended from attending an institution, which is different in comparison to high school,” he said. “But all we want is for students to be successful.” He believed that giving voting power to the three faculty members (one from each division: humanities, natural sciences and social sciences) that are a part of CAS allows for the committee to make the most informed decisions about the students who apply for an appeal.
If students are looking to find out more about academic suspension and support, they can refer to the course catalog on pages 52 to 54.