Heading Off Academic Trouble in College

Over the past few weeks we have heard from a number of college students who were dismissed or suspended from their schools because they had failed one or more courses or did not meet the required GPA standards set by their programs. Some of these students had long standing learning challenges; others had never previously encountered academic difficulties. But they all had some things in common and their experiences may help you or your college student avoid going down the same road.

• Medical and emotional crises can take a toll on academic performance. If your son or daughter has a medical problem - mononucleosis, an extended bout of the flu, or a sleep or eating disorder - it's important to monitor how their illness is impacting their ability to attend class and complete their work and exams. Likewise, students with depression -- whether long-standing or newly evident -- may be unable to meet their school obligations. When these situations arise it is often best to take a medical leave or arrange for "incompletes" in the affected courses. This is preferable to one or more failing grades.
• Keep in mind that colleges have no obligation to remove a failing grade from a student's record, no matter why that student might have failed. An "F" on a transcript stays there, even if the course is repeated successfully later, and this can have an impact on graduate school or employment applications, as well as driving down a student's GPA.
• The sooner students with diagnosed disabilities of learning, attention, or executive functioning arrange for accommodations with their college's Office of Disability Services, the better. Accommodations -- things like extended time on exams, special arrangements to get class notes, and other helpful supports -- are never offered after the fact. If a student needs accommodations and doesn't arrange for them with the Office of Disability Services, or gets them but doesn't use them, there is no "do over" for the classes involved. 
• When a student without a history of learning problems suddenly runs into academic difficulties in the more demanding setting of college, it is time to investigate why this is happening. A neuropsychological and academic assessment, such as the kind we do here at The Yellin Center, can shed light on previously undiagnosed learning, attention, or emotional problems and provide strategies to help the student succeed.
• College students are legal adults, but the fact remains that the part of the brain that is involved in decision making, judgment, and other executive functions -- the prefrontal cortex -- continues to develop until around age 25. As difficult as it may be for parents to monitor their college student's academic performance or medical or emotional well-being, parental involvement can be crucial for a student who is struggling with academics because of these kinds of issues.
• Colleges generally have procedures for academic warnings during the course of a semester and for appeals from academic suspensions or dismissals. However, by the time a college has determined that it is necessary to suspend or dismiss a student, the college administration generally believes that "taking a break" from school may be in the student's best interests. Re-admission may require the student to demonstrate that he or she has taken steps to deal with their problems, including showing satisfactory grades at another school in the course or courses that the student failed. 

By monitoring your college student's academics and being proactive when problems may arise, families can help their students avoid academic failures and make sure that they are on track for success in their college careers.

Rewards for Reading: Does It Work?

An article in Reading Today*, a publication of the International Reading Association, cautions against rewarding students for reading. The authors, Katherin Hilden and Jennifer Jones, of Radford University in Virginia, warn parents and educators that research has not found rewards to be particularly effective, and that if rewards are given, they should be the right kind.

Hilden and Jones discuss the two different kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within a person. For example, a child may spend hours drawing or playing video games because s/he finds the experience rewarding. A common phenomenon in people who are intrinsically motivated is the sense of “losing track of time” as they pursue the chosen activity. When a person is extrinsically motivated, however, they behave according to external factors; extrinsic rewards can be tangible (a prize) or intangible (praise), and extrinsic motivation may even result from desire to avoid punishment or a poor grade.

Hilden and Jones cite studies which have observed students working for extrinsic rewards, then ceasing the desired behavior as soon as the reward is earned. This is hardly a trend that teachers attempting to instill a love of learning in students should be perpetuating. For example, one study found that students who were given either a book reward or even no reward at all for reading were more likely to continue to read on their own than students given points, trinkets, etc. as a reward for books read.

The authors make several recommendations about rewards, for example, offering rewards that are linked to the desired behavior, like giving kids books, bookmarks, or journals as rewards for reading. Another suggestion is to make the reward social, like allowing students to eat lunch in the teacher’s classroom at special readers’ lunches or to allow them time to share their reading with others. Hilden and Jones note that social collaboration has been shown to predict reading motivation among students in first grade. Finally, students can be motivated to read if they have choices. The authors recommend that a variety of reading materials, including non-fiction selections and magazines, be available to students. Children should also be allowed to use e-readers if they prefer them.

While handing out goodies is an easy way to recognize a job well done, parents and educators should think carefully about ways to teach students that reading is its own reward.


*Hilden, K. & Jones, J. (2011). “Rewards for Student Reading: A Good Idea or Not?” Reading Today, 29(2), 6-7.

Learning Difficulties in Students' Own Words

High school student Bryan Stromer has written a terrific piece in the New York Times/WNYC "SchoolBook" feature about his experience applying to top New York City public high schools. Bryan has a learning disability and cerebral palsy and was given twice the standard time to take the highly competitive exam that is required for entrance to the most demanding academic public schools in the City. He scored well enough to earn a place at the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School but decided to continue his high school career at the New York City Lab School where he had attended middle school. Why? Because there was only one special education teacher for more than 5300 students at Brooklyn Tech, the largest high school in the city, but where less than one percent of the students have special needs.

Another perspective from students with learning difficulties appears on the website Smart Kids with LD, where a piece by Sheryl Knapp includes the views of four middle school students who discuss some of the practical issues they deal with in their schools. Pull out supports, for example, sometimes interferred with the activities going on in their regular classroom. Most of the students noted that neither they nor their parents had sufficient input into the way their program was implemented.

If you have not yet read the book Learning Outside the Lines by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole, two Brown University graduates with learning and attention issues, you may find their perspectives and suggestions useful. What worked for them might not work for everyone, but they present their experiences in a very readable, entertaining format. This book has been around for a while, but it is a solid member of the "in their own words" genre.



Photo: Lichfield Live/Flickr Creative Commons