Probation, Dismissal, and Readmission

Probation

Probation is a system of monitoring student progress in order to:

1.  Identify students who are experiencing difficulty in making satisfactory progress toward their college goal; and, 

2.  Assist students to re-evaluate their goals and commitment to college. Each student is entitled to be notified of their academic standing when placed on probation status. The notification will include the meaning of probation, the availability of support services to respond to the academic difficulty before the student is dismissed. 

There are two types of probation:

ACADEMIC PROBATION

Students will be notified at the end of the fall or spring semester in which the student has earned a grade point average (GPA) less than a 2.0 in all units attempted. All units attempted is defined as all units of credit for which the student is enrolled in Southwestern Community College District. A student shall be removed from academic probation when the student’s cumulative (all units attempted) grade point average (GPA) is 2.0 or higher.

PROGRESS PROBATION

Students will be notified at the end of fall or spring semester, after at least 12 units are completed, when the percentage of a student’s grades of “A”, “B”, “C”,”D”, “Cr” and “P” falls below 60%. A student shall be removed from progress probation when the percentage of units in the categories of “W,” “I,” “NC,” “NP” or “F” is less than 40 % of total attempted units.

At the end of the second semester of which a student continues on academic or progress probation, a notice of dismissal will be sent to the student.

Dismissal

Dismissal is a policy of interruption in attendance at Southwestern College intended to assist students in reevaluating their educational goals. The two types of dismissal are:

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

A student who is on academic probation shall be subject to dismissal if the earned a cumulative grade point average is less than 2.0 in all units attempted. All units attempted is defined as all units of credit for which the student is enrolled in Southwestern Community College District. A student whose semester Grade Point Average equals or exceeds 2.0, but whose overall Grade Point Average remains below 2.0, shall remain on Academic Probation.

PROGRESS DISMISSAL

A student on progress probation who does not complete 60% of units with passing grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “Cr/P” in the subsequent semester will be subject to dismissal.

Students will be notified of their dismissal status from Southwestern College when progress does not improve while on academic or progress probation for two consecutive semesters. The notification will explain the reason for dismissal, availability of support services, the petition process to appeal the dismissal decision, and the procedure for readmission into the college. The dismissal process provides students time to reevaluate and reorganize their educational goals and commitment to college.

Dismissal Appeal

The student has the right to appeal a dismissal action. The student must submit the Petition to Appeal Dismissal form to the Counseling Department Office within established deadlines. If the student fails to submit the petition by the deadline, the student waives all future rights to appeal the dismissal action. The petition will include detailed reasons for continued enrollment to be granted.  Upon receipt of appeal petitions students are notified of mandatory workshops. Students must attend one of the workshops in order to have their petition reviewed by the Counseling Department.  The student will be notified of the outcome of their appeal in writing within ten business days after attending the workshop.

If the dismissal appeal is granted, the student will be continued on probation for an additional semester. At the end of the additional semester, the student’s academic record will again be evaluated to determine whether the student shall be removed from probation, be dismissed, or continued on probation.

Readmission

Readmission is the process by which a student who has been dismissed is reinstated into the college. Students may be re-admitted after dismissal for one regular semester by completing each of the following steps:

  1. Submit a completed Petition for Readmission after Dismissal to the Counseling Department by the sixth (6th) week of the semester prior to re-enrollment:
    1. The completed petition must include a clear explanation of what led to dismissal and what will be done differently to improve learning, completion of classes, grades, and for removal from the continued action of probation.
  2. Upon receipt of the petition by the Counseling Department, the student will be notified to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
  3. During the counseling appointment, the petition is reviewed, discussed, and approved or not approved.
    1. If approved, the counselor will identify the courses to be taken for the semester of re-enrollment and services that must be used to improve learning.
    2. If not approved, the counselor will make recommendations for the student to complete prior to consideration of re-enrollment for the following semester.

Upon re-enrollment, the student will be placed on probation to assist with improving learning.  The student will monitor progress, grades, and schedule a meeting with the instructor and counselor at the first sign of a problem, i.e., difficulty with course material, poor grades on quizzes, tests, assignments, etc.  If the student does not pass all courses, or withdraws from any course, the student will be dismissed again for one semester.