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Complete the First Year Advising (FYA) Academic Standing Builder New!

First year students on academic notice are encouraged to complete the FYA Academic Standing Builder in their Angel account.  Students completing the academic standing builder will learn how to best improve their GPA and work more effectively with FGCU's student success resources. 

In your Angel account under "Community Groups" select "FYA Academic Standing Builder"   Login to Angel to begin (Angel username is the first portion of your eagle email account as referenced here in bold jdoe@eagle.fgcu.edu) (Angel password is the same password you use to login to your eagle email account)

First Year Advisor Contacts                           Sophomore -Senior Advisor Contacts

*Academic Notice students should proceed to complete the FYA Academic Standing Builder

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Academic Notice and Academic Warning 

A student with 18 graded hours or less will be placed on Academic Notice when their cumulative grade point average (GPA) falls below or equals 1.80.  A student who has between 19-36 graded hours will be placed on Academic Warning when their cumulative GPA falls below or equals 1.90.  Academic Notice and Academic Warning students will need to earn a minimum of 2.00 GPA each semester until their cumulative GPA reaches 2.00.  Failure to reach 2.00 per semester will result in Academic Probation for the following semester.  Notice and Warning status requires students to meet with the Center for Academic Achievement and then their respective academic advisor in order to register for the following semester.  View catalog academic standing policy    

Requirements 

As a student on academic warning or notice you will have a hold on your registration preventing you from web registering for classes.  In order to register you must first meet with the Center for Academic Achievement (CAA) and participate in their Academic Retention Program to discuss your Personal Action Plan.  You may then meet with your advisor to discuss and register for classes.  You will be required to keep in compliance with the CAA Academic Retention Program until your cumulative GPA reaches a 2.00.

Academic Planning: Tips for Improving your GPA

Choose your classes wisely- As a student on academic warning or notice you will work with an advisor to schedule your classes.  Keep in mind that your course choices are extremely important because your grades in those courses will determine your academic standing.  Therefore choose classes wisely.  Your goal is to earn the highest grades possible to raise your GPA and get off of Warning or Notice.   Keep the following suggestions in mind:

• If you are not a morning person and you will likely skip early classes, don’t sign up for an 8:00 am class.

• If you struggle with longer courses, schedule classes meeting for shorter periods a few days a week.

• If you struggle with science courses, consider taking a semester off from science and enroll in courses in which you are more confident. 

• After a bad semester you may be tempted to enroll in many classes in an effort to make up credits.  Be careful not to overload yourself.  It is wiser to take fewer courses and do well then spread yourself too thin.  If you do not need to be full time for financial aid reasons or insurance, consider taking fewer credits. 

Meet with your academic advisor and the CAA as soon as possible.  Choosing your classes wisely is important and you will have more choices if you register early.  Meeting with your advisor asap is encouraged to provide more course selection options.  Remember, you will not be able to register unless you are also in compliance with CAA's retention program so make your appointments early.  You will also not be permitted to register if you have holds (other than the AN/AW hold).  You are advised to view and resolve active holds. 

Be aware of important deadlines.  You have the week of add/drop to attend class, review syllabi and make sure you are comfortable with the instructor, subject matter, and course content.  If you have concerns about your potential for success in any courses consider making schedule changes with your advisor asap. As a last resort you may withdraw from a course with no academic penalty and no refund prior to the posted deadline about 2 months into the semester- see academic calendar for posted deadlines.  

Use Grade Forgiveness.  If you have taken an FGCU course and received a grade of C- or lower you may repeat the course in a future semester at FGCU for grade forgiveness.  The old grade will be removed from your GPA and the new grade will be calculated, providing the quickest way to improve your GPA.  You will need to submit the Grade Forgiveness form to the Registrar’s Office by the deadline noted on the academic calendar near the end of the semester in which you retake the course.  You will have time to consider whether to use one of your two grade forgiveness options. 
 

Frequently Asked Questions:

I have met with CAA and my advisor, why do I still have a hold on my registration?
The hold will remain on your registration until your cumulative GPA reaches at least a 2.0.  Although your semester GPA may have been a 2.0, your cumulative must rise to at least a 2.0 before the hold will be lifted.    

I took a course for grade forgiveness and it wasn’t factored into my GPA yet, why not?

If you did not turn in the grade forgiveness form to the Registrar’s Office (1st floor McTarnaghan Hall), the grade forgiveness was not applied.  If you turned in the form after the deadline the grade forgiveness will not be applied until the end of the following semester after grades post.
 

I only earned 6 credits last semester because I failed courses, should I enroll full time this semester? 
It is normal to feel like you want to “catch up” after having a rough semester.  However, if a full load was problematic for you last semester it is likely be difficult again.  Concentrate on quality not quantity.  Enrolling in fewer courses and achieving better grades may be more beneficial then taking on too much and doing poorly.  If you are a bright futures recipient make sure you know how many courses you need to complete and what GPA you must earn to maintain your scholarship.   

I am working 20-30 hours per week.  What is a realistic load of classes?

Only you can determine what the right load is for you, however if you are working more than 25 hours a week you should consider lessening your course load to accommodate for the time your job takes out of your schedule. 
 

Should I change my major?
If you are asking this question this is probably something you should investigate.  Your past performance in courses can be a good indicator if your major is a good fit.  If you are a Biology major and you have trouble with science courses then this might indicate a need to re-examine your major choice.  Use the resources on campus to explore other major options that may be a better fit with your interests, skills and values.  However, don’t discount a major just because it requires a certain course you may have an aversion to.  Try to look at the big picture of your career and how it fits with your abilities and interests.  

I am an undecided major and was bored with my classes last semester.  Any suggestions?
It is difficult to work toward a goal when you don’t have a vision for your future.  Developing an academic plan connected to goal setting can help you work through academic challenges.  It is ok to be undecided but you should start to give your major and future career interests thought and exploration.  Use the exploration resources available to research majors and take some introductory classes in areas of interest to you.  This can help motivate you and fuel future goal setting.  

I attend class, spend a lot of time studying, and do my homework and I still can't seem to earn decent grades.  Is there anything else I can do?

Even when you put in the effort sometimes it is still tough to earn good grades.  Consider working with your academic advisor and/or the Center for Academic Achievement to learn more about how you can tailor your academic approach to how you best process information.  Taking a learning style inventory can help you determine insightful information about how you learn and most effectively work with academic content. Once you determine your learning style you can strategize more efficient means of course preparation.