The
Volume Xn, Number 8
Proudly serving the UNCA community since 1982
October 27 . 1988
25% of students
face warning
by Maria Horton
News Editor
One out of every four
students at UNCA may have
problems with registration for
the Spring semester.
A new university policy
designed to help those who
have low grade point
averages (GPA’s) will
automatically identify
students with below a 2.0
GPA, notify them of their
status, and possibly drop
classes from their Spring
schedule if they do not see
their academic advisors for
^sistance.
Dr. lisa Friedenberg, chair
of the Academic Policy
Committee (APC), said the
new policy will identify
students early in their
academic career before it is
too late to graduate.
"It’s too late to tell people
they are in trouble when they
are already drowning. We
want to warn them before
given an additional 12 hours
to pull the GPA up or face
terminal probation. If the
GPA continued to fall below
specified levels, the student
would be dismissed after an
additional 12 hours of
attempted classes.
"Under this new system, a
student in trouble will go to
his advisor and discuss how
to get his grades up before
it is impossible to graduate,"
Mitchell said. "The advisor
will have a chart that can tell
the student exactly how well
he must do in order to pull
back up to a 2.0 the next
semester."
The goal, according to
Mitchell and Friedenberg, is
to get the GPA back up and
not have students staying
around and not being able to
graduate.
George Rowland, director
of Academic Assistance, said
the most significant point to
come out of the new policy
Academic warning
policy
1. ) A student whose cumuiative GPA falls
below. 2.0 at the end of any seiaester
will be placed on academic warning.
2. ) Students will be notified by the
Registrar that their schedules for the
next semester,have been blocked and
they must see their academic advisor
in order to continue at UNCA.
30 Students on academic warning will be
limited to 14 semester hours.
4.) Students who fail to seek special
advisement when directed to do so will
have their schedules cancelled.
they go into the water," she
said.
Those students whose
schedules are blocked
because of low GPA’s will
not be allowed to register for
more than 14 hours in the
Spring semester.
"If they fail to see their
advisor and change their
schedules, the computer ^ill
automatically cut classes from
their schedules at the end of
the drop period," Friedenberg
said.
Dr. Catherine Mitchell,
APC member, said the new
policy came after at least five
years of faculty effort to write
a "reasonable policy on
academic warning and
suspension."
"So this is the outcome of
negotiations between the
committee and Chancellor
Brown," she said.
Mitchell added that under
old university policy the
advisor did not know a
student was in trouble until
his GPA dropped much lower
than a 2.0.
Former university policy,
according to the 1986-87
university catalog, placed a
student on academic
suspension when his GPA
dropped below a certain
poini which varied according
to the number of semester
hours attempted.
The student would then be
is that the faculty will now
see students who fall below
a 2.0 as being in trouble.
"Some always felt that way
but others did not," he said.
"It will mean that students
will be forced to talk to their
advisors."
If last year was any
indicator, according to
Rowland, the policy will
affect a quarter of the
university students. Students
who would not normally see
their advisors during the
drop/add period will be
forced to do' so, Rowland
said.
Mitchell said the policy has
two purposes. One is to see
people graduate. "It’s not fair
to keep people struggling in
classes who can’t get up to
a 2.0, so now they will be
suspended sooner," she said.
"It will also try to catch
students before they get in
that state and have no chance
to graduate."
Freidenberg said a study
conducted by the Office of
Institutional Research looked
at what happens to UNCA
students who get into
difficulties early in the
academic careers.
"The results are that people
with less that a 2.0 are most
likey to drop out and not
graduate," she said. "Once a
student has compiled 60
see WARNING, page 8
♦ -Ti.? ^
Just hanging around
Staff Photo—Stacey Higdon
Area residents are getting ready for next week’s treak or treaters as evidenced by this
home on Gracelyn Boulevard.
UNCA hires female vice-chancellor
by Joan Schnyder
Editor
Beverly Wright Cutter has
been named vice-chancellor
for university relations at
UNCA. She will be one of
two female vice-chancellors
in the University of North
Carolina system, said Dr.
Eric lovacchini, vice-
chancellor for student affairs.
"Beverly Cutter will be the
second female vice-chancellor
in the University system.
There have been others in
the past, but currently there
are only two," he said.
"This is an unusual
appointment for a woman.
On the national level, female
vice-chancellors are in
Student Affairs or Academic
Affairs. It’s a real coup to
have her in this position,"
lovacchini continued.
"People tell me this is the
first time a woman has been
recruited for this level
position in Asheville. I don’t
know if that is really true, but
if it is, it’s a very positive
step," said Cutter.
"However, what I care
about most is increasing the
quality, awareness and impact
of higher education. I think
of how the education I have
received has made my life so
much richer," said Cutter.
Cutter, who has been the
chief development official at
the UNC-Chapel Hill School
of Law since 1985 and former
Duke University development
officer, will join the UNCA
administration January 23.
She will be responsible for
all university development
activities, as well as the experience of Chapel Hill
coordination of publications
and public information and
the Owen Conference Center.
"Beverly Cutter brings the
and Duke plus her
enthusiasm for the hberal arts
college we are building," said
Chancellor David Brown.
"She’s exactly what we need
"She’s exactly what we need-a fundraiser, another
advocate for quality liberal arts education and a person
of boundless energy."
David Brown
Compliments of Public Informatioo O^cc
-- a fundraiser, another
advocate for quality liberal
arts education and a person
of boundless energy," said
Brown.
"Asheville is lucl^ to have
her," said U.S. Senator Terry
Sanford, who worked with
Cutter while he was the
president of Duke University.
"She has done an outstanding
job.in every assignment she
has had," he said.
Asheville seems to be a
very special place filled with
special people, said Cutter.
"Just driving to and from
work will be soothing to the
soul. 1 caimot get over the
warm welcome which has
been extended to me. Each
day letters arrive from board
members, faculty and staff
telling me how pleased they
are to learn I will be joining
the UNCA team. That mean
so much," she said.
Cutter said she was
attracted to UNCA by "its
aspirations, vitality, it
humanities and honors
program, and its potential.
UNCA’s commitment to
strong undergraduate
education gives it a solid
sense of mission," Cutter said.
"With the help of dedicated
volunteers, we will position
ourselves to raise substantial
private and grant dollars.
This is wnere I, working with
faculty and volunteers, can
make a real difference," she
said.
"It’s exciting and rewarding
to know that my efforts will
directly affect higher
education in North Carolina,"
said Cutter.