Back on Track Support Program

Academic Probation Support

Many students face academic difficulty at some point in their college careers—you are not alone! Being placed on academic probation status can feel overwhelming or upsetting. Your assigned CASA academic success coach is here available to support you and assist you in devising strategies to get back on track and graduate.

 

I’m on Academic Probation. What's Next?

Reflection: What contributed to your situation?

Every student is different; the reasons you may find yourself on academic probation status are specific to you. You should know that you are not alone in experiencing these challenges. There are many reasons students encounter academic challenges. These challenges can include personal, financial, health, family, time management, and study skills, to name a few. Your success coach encourages you to reflect on what led to you being on academic probation, to formulate a plan for academic success in the future, and to utilize resources available to help you reach your goals.

We hope you will watch this video of previous students on academic probation explain what happened and what they did to get "Back on Track".

 

Back on Track Program Requirements

Back on Track is a semester-long intensive intrusive advising program for students who are on academic probation or have been reinstated students to the university. The Back on Track program provides structured support as students work to get back to good academic standing. Students meet frequently with their success coach to work to address challenges, improve strengths, and connect to campus resources that can help them reach their academic and career goals. Requirements include attending one-on-one meetings with their success coach, completion of an Academic Action Plan, submitting Midterm Progress reports, and doing academic success activities that can improve their success.

Current students on academic probation will be enrolled on the Canvas learning platform to download and upload all Back on Track program requirements. Please log into myUSF in order to access your Canvas Account and accept our course invitation.

See the Undergraduate Student Regulations for USF's Academic Probation Policies.

 

Considerations for Students on Academic Probation

  1. Review your class schedule – Your academic probation semester is not the time to take your most difficult classes. If at all possible, take classes where you feel confident about your success (a variety of major and core classes). Also, examine the class start times and lengths to make sure the timing is appropriate for your life situation. The number of credits you take is also important to consider.
  2. Time management – Ensure you are not too over-committed. Balancing school, studying, job, family, and other obligations are difficult. You can meet with your success coach for more assistance. Additionally, all students on academic probation will receive a USF calendar to track all assignments, exams, etc.
  3. Utilize USF resources – Visit professors during office hours, use the services offered at the Learning, Writing, and Speaking Centers, or sign up to receive other supplemental instruction on a regular basis.
  4. Consult with your success coach on a regular basis. You are required to meet with your success coach a minimum of two times at the beginning of the semester, but we encourage you to stay in touch more often.

 

Advice from Students that Have Been Removed from Academic Probation

The following are quotes that are taken directly from the Back on Track survey:

  • Study hard, don't lose focus. Don't slack, just do the hard work. Make sure there are fail safes so that if you start to fall behind, there are checkpoints along the way to catch up.
  • Work harder, use your coach, just listen to your advisers, and be willing to commit yourself to improving yourself as a student.
  • If you try and be responsible, you can do anything. Don't give up and get help when you know you need it.
  • Even if you feel hopeless, don't! Because it is possible to get off of probation. The important thing is to keep working hard and for you to truly give it your all. If you really want something, you must show your effort and not just sit around and hope you will get off of probation.
  • Even motivated people can slip. So, don't panic about probation. Put your head on straight and do what you know you ought to. There will be a way out of academic probation, and it's perfectly normal to be on it.
  • If you have some questions about your class, try to go to your professor's office hours. Check email everyday.
  • Embrace academic probation! Know that you aren't the only one and that being in this program is an opportunity. It's an advantage that you'll have this semester that the majority of students won't have. It's something that will help you to succeed and give you skills in doing that for your future college career.