10 Easy Ways to
Get Academic
Probation!
Adapted From The Student
Survival Manual, Arete Publishing,
2002
What is Academic
Probation?
 Students are placed on Academic Probation
when their cumulative GPA falls below 2.0.
 Academic Probation can lead to Academic
Suspension.
 Let’s cover the top 10 things you SHOULD NOT
DO if you want to remain in good academic
standing.
1. Vent academic frustration by
throwing stuff around the dorm
or punching your roommate.
 “Conduct violations” can get you suspended or
arrested – which is bound to hurt your grades!
 Time spent venting is time NOT spent
productively – what are some more
constructive ways to respond?
2. Plagiarize other people’s work
instead of doing it yourself.
 What is plagiarism? “No students shall submit as their
own to an instructor any work which contains ideas or
materials taken from another without full
acknowledgement of the author and the source.”
 What is the penalty? “penalty: not less than disciplinary
probation; not more than expulsion”
-Quotes from NMU Student Handbook, 2.2.3
3. Study while talking with your
friends for hours; complain about
poor grades, lousy instructors,
and non-existent social life.
 Problem #1: Noise, distractions interfere with retention of
information.
 Can anyone say Facebook? MySpace? Twitter?
Wikipedia? JuicyCampus?
 Problem #2: Complaining means not taking responsibility.
Work on the stuff you can control, NOT the stuff you can’t.
4. Study with music at full volume,
while watching a TV show
about people trying to be
instant millionaires.
 DITTO, info from previous slide.
 Music, TV, wishful thinking are okay, just don’t
let them interfere with your scheduled study
time!
 How about YouTube?
5. Play pool 5 hours a night--while
consuming beverages that dull
your mind—and release your “true
feelings” to anyone unlucky
enough to have to listen to you.
 Problem #1: Time management
 Problem #2: Alcohol interferes with retention
of information, athletic performance.
 Problem #3: Possible conduct violations
 Problem #4: Burn out your friends!
6. Act as if the paper you copied
from the internet was your
own.
 HEY, didn’t we already talk about plagiarism!?
 If anything, the dawn of internet technology
has made professors and college
administrators MORE edgy about academic
dishonesty.
 If you don’t know how to cite your sources,
ASK! (Professors, LRC staff)
7. Use a classmate’s exam paper
“for reference” when taking a
test.
 More academic dishonesty:
“No students shall, during the course of a quiz or
examination (1) offer information of any kind to another
student; (2) take and/or receive information of any kind
from another student, or from the quiz or examination
responses made by another student.” NMU Student
Handbook, 2.2.3
 Besides, is THIS what you want your education to be?
8. Skip class, because you have
better things to do that day.
 Regular class attendance and participation may
increase your GPA by nearly a full point (e.g. from
a “B” to an “A”)
 Many professors build their test questions directly
from lecture content.
 You are paying for your education…you want to
get what you pay for.
 What are some other reasons to attend class
regularly?
9. Keep study time to a minimum–
except before exams, when you
skip sleep to study all night.
 Conventional wisdom: two hours of study time for each
hour (credit) of class.
 College moves fast. Getting behind on assignments or
on reading/understanding the textbook is DEADLY.
 Top test performance depends on your being well-rested
and in good health.
 Cramming MAY SOMETIMES help with short-term
retention, not long-term learning.
10.Make sure you get poor grades
by catching up on much-needed
sleep during class lectures.
 You’ll miss out on learning AND offend the professor at
the same time!
 You are responsible to manage your schedule.
 If you need help managing your time, refer to the time
management resources here: www.nmu.edu/acac.
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consent.
www.nmu.edu/acac