This week’s post is a sneak peek into my presentation time at AASE (I hope to see you there!)

Many of our institutions use the phrase “academic probation” to signal that a student is in academic trouble. Of course, the ABA has requirements that institutions work to identify and support students that are not meeting certain academic thresholds, but must we label it probation?

This stigmatized, targeted and racially charged word does not serve our students or our work. 

Without reviewing the etymology of the word probation (because this is a short post), let me illustrate my argument using a different example. You are a person that struggles with your weight. You know that you are much heavier than is healthy for your body. You walk into a doctor’s office and glance at your chart. You see that your label on the chart is “morbidly obese.” Does that label help inform the reality that you already know and have been grappling with for years? Likely not. You watched yourself gain weight. You saw the scale numbers tick up. You watched yourself eat unhealthy food. You know what is happening. The label in your chart instead further demoralizes you. 

This example is just like how most of our students know that they either 1) studied all the time but completely missed the mark or 2) did not study and it shows. 

Our students saw their outcomes upon grade release. Our students are already in the reality of “fight or flight” because these outcomes trigger fear. How does the label of “probation” improve or increase the likelihood that our students will bounce back? Frankly, it doesn’t. The word probation serves to harm students, not help them. Exploring other phrases and pitching this change to those in charge of academic standards better supports our students and may even increase their likelihood of success in the future. 

More to come on this at AASE! 

(Amy Vaughan-Thomas)