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Controversy is brewing at the State University of New York at Old Westbury, where school officials have recently started to enforce an old rule that requires on-campus residents to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA.
The New York Times reports that one student, whose grades slipped due to an illness during exam week, received a letter informing her of this policy only days before the spring semester. She was also dropped from the meal plan, and her ID card no longer allowed her access to her dorm, making even clearing out her belongings difficult.
Some schools, such as Seton Hall and SUNY Farmingdale, have GPA minimums as well, but lack Old Westbury’s zero tolerance policy, instead offering tutoring and academic monitoring to low-performing students. Other schools offer free or reduced-rate housing to those with high GPAs.
For students with low GPAs, being kicked out of their dorm because of grades means commuting several hours each day or struggling to find affordable apartments–often impossible in small college towns, especially half way through the school year.
I do think all students should be encouraged to strive for higher grades, but, as with the student who became ill during exams, that’s not always possible. There are other ways to promote academic achievement, such as well-staffed tutoring centers and committed academic advisers. As one student at Old Westbury noted, it’s possible for the policy to have an adverse effect: students with low GPAs who suddenly find themselves without on campus accommodation might be forced to simply drop out before they have a chance to pull their GPA up.
What do you think? Should students with bad grades be punished by having their housing revoked? Does a housing-as-incentive policy encourage or discourage academic achievement?
4 Comments
Requiring a 2.0 isn’t really asking that much. A monkey can get a 2.0 at SUNY. Lots of schools require a 2.0 to stay enrolled, let alone live there. Study a bit more, drink a bit less.
Why are you putting down the SUNY system? Yea, it is kind of ridiculous if you can’t maintain a 2.0, but that doesn’t mean every SUNY school is that ridiculously easy.
I think this is an awesome idea….campus living should be a privilage, if you want to sit fuck around and waste time, take the bus with commuters like myself having to get up catch the bus to schools shows real determination and will possible help you get organized too; or make you relize that you need to get that g.pa. up
2.0 all B’s will but you at a 3.0 idk what you have to get to have a 2.0, but B’s seem pretty possible to me
The 2.0 policy should be actually be revamped and raised to a 2.7(B-)requirement in order to stay in the dorms. College is supposed to be about growing as a person and discovering what you would like to achieve in life. It is a four year window of opportunity that is supposed to help prepare you for life in the real world. If a student cannot maintain a 2.o then there is a problem. At this point, they need to re-evaluate what is important to them and make the necessary changes in order to become a good student and hopefully make a positive contribution to society. I graduated from the school with a 3.65 and I appreciated the fact that a room actually saved me money on travel expenses that I would have accrued had I not been on campus. School should be taken seriously and I hope these students learned a valuable lesson about the cost of taking opportunities for learning for granted. Politics has nothing to do with whether you incorporate good study habits. Students should respect the fact that the majority of things in life have to be earned, even dorm rooms.
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