March 2015 has arrived and we are nearing mid-semester. That means a lot of important dates and events are heading your way. Let’s deal with the critical deadlines of March. You are undoubtedly taking or will soon be taking exams and writing papers and this is all so that your professors can begin to assess your performance and provide you with guidance. A very useful part of that guidance is mid-term grades, which are reported for students at-risk in each class. At-risk means on the way towards getting a grade of D or F. If you receive a mid-term report, you need to quickly think about how you can better your grade – what can you change? Answering this question is often greatly assisted by talking with your professor and talking with your advisor and plotting out some new strategy. The alternative is to cut your losses and withdraw from the class. The deadline for withdrawing is March 26.
Keep in mind that if you do withdraw from a class, a “W” will appear on your transcript, but this will not be reflected in any way in your GPA. There are potential consequences to your financial aid from withdrawing if it brings you below full-time status; check with your Financial Aid officer for definitive information.
As I have written about previously, if you have not yet declared a major, you absolutely need to get to this ASAP. This is important so that you can be assigned a new advisor in your major field prior to fall registration that will be taking place in April.
And now to the fun stuff – Spring Break! I hope you all have a chance to get away from San Antonio and enjoy some down time. Be safe and come back recharged and ready to tackle the last half of the spring semester.
Dr. Bachrach
Class Marshal
