The intensity of school work changes greatly from high school to college, which is a fact that many students don’t realize. What may have helped a student pass his or her classes in high school may not have the same effect in college. For this reason, many college students end up failing a class or two during their college experience.

There are many reasons why students come into college and don’t receive the grades they hoped,such as: they miss classes, thus missing important class activities such as quizzes or exams, students wait too long to ask for help to bring their grade up, they violate an academic integrity policy in a manner that is serious enough to cause failure of the course, don’t show that they are understanding the material through course material and not completely course requirements that are outlined in the course syllabus.

On the other hand, students can also have struggles outside of the classroom. Many students get to college and have complete freedom for the very first time in their life. It can be exhilarating and cause students to make poor decisions, such as hanging out with friends instead of working on the paper that’s due the next day. Without a parent telling them to do something, students are often going to get sidetracked and do something else.

Another outside struggle can be stress. Every college student knows what it feels like to be under a large amount of stress. Some students may thrive off it, but others crumble beneath its force. If students become too stressed they may find it difficult to concentrate on the work they need to be doing rather than worrying about everything they have to do.

For students struggling with a class, Millikin has ways to help. According to Karen Klein, the Assistant University Registrar, Millikin offers many programs to help students raise their failing grade, such as: an academic alert system, free tutoring, the math and writing centers, study tables, collaborative learning spaces, Living Learning Communities, advising appointments and being able to repeat a course to replace a grade.

These programs must be working because over the past four semesters, Millikin’s percentage of students with at least one failing grade has steadily decreased. In the fall of 2011, 17 percent of students had at least one failing grade. However, in the spring of 2013, Millikin decreased that amount to nine percent.

Millikin encourages students who are struggling in classes to take advantage of the programs offered here. If all students use the programs, eventually the percent will be down to zero.