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University/COOP Problems
Freakinchair
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys - I'm in a bit of a pickle.
Overview: I'm attending university under coop requiring a maintained CGPA of 6.0 or higher to remain in said coop. During Fall 2007 I dropped to 5.9 CGPA, went to my winter coop term and then went back to study in the summer. A string of bad professors (the average of each class was from 5.5-6.5 cgpa) caused my CGPA to drop down to 5.7. So, I went to my next work term in the fall (where I'm at currently) and after a few weeks into september received an email saying I was on probation and must raise my CGPA to 6.0 by Summer 2009 in order to stay in coop. (It will be my last coop session)
Basically this means I have one semester to get my grades up. The only problem with this is that I'm going into fourth year and ill need at least B+ in every course to do this (with 5 courses). This is going to be VERY difficult as I am in computer engineering and will be with a full work load.
Why I'm angry: First, the notification should have been sent LAST winter. If I had known in advance I would have taken some night courses to boost my CGPA score and/or dealt with my professors in the summer directly instead of just "taking the hit" like everyone else was. In fact when I found the email about being under probation it was already too late to register for a night course during my work term. Now I'm stuck getting up during a single study term.
I know I'm supposed to be aware that I needed a 6.0 CGPA or higher, but since there was no notification for 8 months I thought that maybe they made some changes due to the low amount of coop enrolled students (in engineering anyways).
Help: So I guess what I want to know is if theres anything I can do about this or if anyone has been in this situation before. Im gonna post an email that I might send to my coop supervisor (which is not the person who sent me the notification email) and see if she can help me in any way.
Overview: I'm attending university under coop requiring a maintained CGPA of 6.0 or higher to remain in said coop. During Fall 2007 I dropped to 5.9 CGPA, went to my winter coop term and then went back to study in the summer. A string of bad professors (the average of each class was from 5.5-6.5 cgpa) caused my CGPA to drop down to 5.7. So, I went to my next work term in the fall (where I'm at currently) and after a few weeks into september received an email saying I was on probation and must raise my CGPA to 6.0 by Summer 2009 in order to stay in coop. (It will be my last coop session)
Basically this means I have one semester to get my grades up. The only problem with this is that I'm going into fourth year and ill need at least B+ in every course to do this (with 5 courses). This is going to be VERY difficult as I am in computer engineering and will be with a full work load.
Why I'm angry: First, the notification should have been sent LAST winter. If I had known in advance I would have taken some night courses to boost my CGPA score and/or dealt with my professors in the summer directly instead of just "taking the hit" like everyone else was. In fact when I found the email about being under probation it was already too late to register for a night course during my work term. Now I'm stuck getting up during a single study term.
I know I'm supposed to be aware that I needed a 6.0 CGPA or higher, but since there was no notification for 8 months I thought that maybe they made some changes due to the low amount of coop enrolled students (in engineering anyways).
Help: So I guess what I want to know is if theres anything I can do about this or if anyone has been in this situation before. Im gonna post an email that I might send to my coop supervisor (which is not the person who sent me the notification email) and see if she can help me in any way.
Hi xxxxxxx,
I'm writing this email because I just noticed that I have been put on probation for my last coop session. It seems as though the change was only made after I started working this coop term and takes into account my somewhat poor academic performance during the summer. During my summer study term I was not aware that I was on probation as no email was sent, or changes made, until this fall. These notifications should have been sent in Winter 2008. Had I known that I was on probation I would have done everything in my power to raise my CGPA by the one point required instead of simply taking the blow from a string of difficult and unfair professors (all of the averages were very low). I would also have taken a night course during my work term, but by the time I'd seen the email I'd have already missed a few weeks of classes. As a consequence I am forced to raise my score by three grade points during my next study term, which will be fairly difficult to do as I will be taking fourth year courses.
I realize it is ultimately up to me to maintain my CGPA to the standards set by the coop office, but I feel that it is unfair that no forewarning was given until the very last moment. This leaves me with no options other than getting very high marks in my next semester which will be very difficult considering the inherent difficulty in fourth year engineering courses.
I hope you can empathize with my situation, any help would be much appreciated.
I'd construct a situation such that everyone died at the exact same moment so that we could attack whatever afterlife there happens to be en masse and so take it over and create a perfect unending afterlife existence. Also, everyone who wanted one would have an afterlife pony.
Freakinchair on
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Posts
First, it is expected that you know what is going on with your program. This means that if something is going to negatively effect your standing, you will know about it regardless of whether or not an e-mail or letter is sent. Universities typically feel that any information they give you is a courtesy, not a requirement.
What this should tell you is that being angry is not going to get you very far. Same with claiming unfairness or indignation. What you need to do is accept full responsibility and then ask politely if there is something you can do to rectify the situation.
In other words: "I feel that it is unfair that no forewarning was given until the very last moment"
That statement is going to hurt you far more then it would help. Avoid it and other statements like it in the future.
you can email your school but it is unlikely that they will do anything, it can't hurt but don't be surprised if they come back with a 'thats too bad'.
it also sounds like you are gonna have to work hard if you want to get above the 6.0 and you don't have much of an option.
You might want to reconsider your outlook. I mean, we have:
-You blaming your professor for your grades
-Blaming the administration for not alerting you earlier, cause otherwise you would have worked harder.
- Saying you can't get B+ in all your classes because it's a full workload.
If you should be angry at someone, it's yourself. How about you take some of the blame instead of passing it around? Getting all B's in a semester isn't unheard off.
Can I lime a whole post?
You sound like a typical spoilt, entitled undergrad. You are the master of your own destiny, more so than any other time in your life previously. If you want to get As, you can do, you just have to work hard (PS. almost everyone has a "full workload" at all times. How do you think they make the Dean's list?) If you have funding issues tied directly to your grades, you better pay a lot of attention to your grades. The reason you are put in probation is to let you know that you need to pay more attention. It is not intended to be a punishment that will cause you to start seeking other people to blame. It is supposed to be a crack of the whip to let you know they expect more of you. You should expect more of yourself, and if you don't, you shouldn't be at university.
You're clutching at straws rather than taking responsibility. You need to grow a set of balls and get cracking. Excuses will cause you to fail. Facing your own responsibility will give you a shot at getting things straight.
Do you have any electives and/or minor courses you need to pick up? I'd start looking at what low-level courses you could pull into your schedule to help raise your GPA.
Of course, if that doesn't work you can try getting in their face about stuff.
All students are made aware that they are on probation when their grades dip too low - for me this was not the case. Basically, I should have assumed I was on probation and yes I guess it is my fault for not doing so.
Anyways, I'll update the thread if I get some good news but Im just assuming the bad for now.
Thanks for the help!
Am I even allowed to do that?
I honestly can't say any more than these two fine gents, but speaking as a 4th year COOP and slacker, the only thing you can do to help yourself is take responsibility and work really hard.
Most academic people aren't out to get you, if you go to them with a willingness to work on things and a plan they'll often give you some leeway if they can. For example, you could ask to meet with them to see if there's any flexibility in changing your classes at this point. You could also say that you're concerned about your ability to get your GPA up in this amount of time and you have some ideas to plan out how to do it but you'd like their advice on it. Stuff like meeting with all of your professors midway through the term to see how you're doing, meeting again with this COOP person midway through to re-evaluate how things are going and to keep you on track, etc.
Showing an acknowledgment of there being a problem and a willingness to address the problem and to work with the COOP people will probably incline them to give you some wiggle room if they have any to give.
Of course, sometimes they're just as locked into a system as you are and you'll be stuck.