Now a low GPA can mean more than just mom and dad breathing down your neck — some colleges are starting to kick their students out of housing because of low GPAs.
The State University of New York at Old Westbury has required students be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.0 to be eligible to live on campus since 1994, but this year is the first time the policy has been enforced.
“The concept behind this policy is to ensure students understand the importance of their academic experience with us,” said Michael Kinane, Old Westbury assistant to the president for advancement. “The use of campus residence halls is a privilege and our goal is to extend that privilege to serious students who wish to study and learn on our campus.”
Kinane said students and faculty members have been aware of the planned policy enforcement and students received a letter directing them to the academic support services available on campus.
Faculty members have expressed concerns with the policy, especially because it relates to first-year students, he said. Kinane said he has agreed to continue discussing the issue.
Stefan Menin, a New York Institute of Technology sophomore and NYIT Housing and Residential Life employee said the institute uses Old Westbury dorms for its students. Though NYIT dorms are independent from SUNY, they still have to follow the university’s housing rules, he said.
Menin said his boss claims the office offers to help students whose GPA is too low so they do not have to leave campus housing right away.
He said most public reactions have been supportive of the policy and said the practice emphasizes the importance of academics to students. “Obviously, some of those who were affected, and their family and friends, have expressed disappointment and concerns, but still others affected have re-enrolled as commuter students with little question,” Menin said.
Seton Hall University in New Jersey requires a minimum GPA of 1.8 to live in university dormitories, but students may apply for an exemption by filling out an application. In the application, students identify the resources they need in order to get their grades up.
The Seton Hall Office of Housing and Resident Life then meets with students individually to review term papers, connect them with the online writing lab and work to find other GPA-boosting strategies.
“We are a tool to help these students meet their academic goals, not penalize them,” said Seton Hall Housing and Resident Life Director Tara Hart.
She said the problem affects first-year students who may have pledged themselves to a time-consuming campus organization or who may have personal problems distracting them from their studies.
The policy had contributed to academic improvement, Hart said. Since the policy was enacted in 2001, the average GPA of the resident assistants who work with her went from 3.2 to 3.6, she said.
More than 50 students did not meet the GPA requirement fall semester, Hart said, but no one was immediately removed from housing. She said the at-risk students used the university’s contract system and promised to bring their grades up.
Seton Hall freshman Juliana Pinto said because resident tutors live on every floor of the dormitories, help is available for students who need it. “I think the chances of a student actually getting kicked out of housing are very low,” she said.