By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

 

No one signs up for a class with the intention of failing it.

If you find your grades sliding, the worst thing you can do is ignore what’s happening.

For one, the anxiety will eat you up. And, of course, you don’t want to waste time and money on a class to receive a bad grade, which will tank your GPA and possibly reduce scholarships and other opportunities. Instead, take these steps:

Ask for help.

“The first thing is to talk with the professor,” said Joey Tse, director of the Office of Learning Services and Education Opportunity Program at Oswego. “Go in prepared. What are you not understanding? Ask the professor to explain it. Don’t just say, ‘I don’t understand your class.’”

Express that you feel disappointed in yourself for performing poorly and ask if you could discuss why you think your grades are slipping. Ask for suggestions and if you can do any extra credit projects. Say that you are willing to do what it takes to learn in this class and to earn good grades. Then follow through on it.

Even if you do none of the suggestions below, open a dialogue with your professor. Teachers want to help you, but if you stay silent, they can only assume that you don’t care if you fail.

“If the professor doesn’t answer your question, keep seeking help like from the TA,” Tse said.

Keep attending class.

“A lot of times when they start to fail, they stop going to class,” Tse said. “When they don’t go to class, that doesn’t help at all.”

Some classes count off points for not attending. Plus, the very aspects of the class you don’t understand may become clearer if you keep attending.

Look at the syllabus.

Analyze what activities account for what percent of your overall grade and where you’re falling short. Are you missing points for flunking quizzes? Did you miss writing a paper or turning in a project? Sharpen your focus on these areas to help bring your grade up. Look for extra credit. If you’re not too far gone, you may be able to rescue your grades through completing extra credit activities.

Plan your time.

Dedicate extra time to buckling down and working at this class, but not at the expense of your other classes’ grades. Reduce but don’t eliminate leisure time. You will need some downtime periodically. However, you need to be real with yourself about excessive doom scrolling.

Get help.

Ask your academic adviser about any school resources that can help you.

“If a college has tutoring support, use the support,” Tse said. “When you go in and get tutoring help, you can’t just say ‘I don’t understand what’s happening in class.’ Say you don’t know about this concept or say that you don’t know where to start.”

Could you study with a classmate or a group to improve your grades? Who constantly answers questions correctly in class? That’s the person you need to tap.

“If you had accommodations in high school, ask for them in college,” Tse said. “You may be eligible to receive extra help.”

Above all, don’t stick your head in the sand and ignore that GPA trailing downward.

“I can’t read minds and if you tell me early, I can help,” Tse said.