March 26, 2008
First-year Surprises: The Pleasant Ones and the Other Kind
By Sue Deel
Registrar
The first year of college is often a surprising one. Many students are pleasantly surprised by how well they can survive on their own and how well they “fit in” to the college environment.
However, not all surprises are as pleasant.
Students who were very successful in high school (often without much effort) often find college to be a different animal. They are definitely not in Kansas, or high school, anymore. As parents, you might be wondering what in the world happened. How can your student, who always did so well in high school, have such a rough year in college? This is actually quite common — the process of figuring out different ways of thinking and learning, test taking, note taking, etc. can be difficult and take some time. It’s not unusual for first-year students to have a rocky start.
If your son or daughter is in need of some grade repair, here is a suggestion. Students can repeat classes over the summer and transfer them back to Alma College. The Registrar’s Office staff is happy to help with this process.
“If your son or daughter is in need of some grade repair, here is a suggestion: Students can repeat classes over the summer and transfer them back to Alma College. Alma College will accept transfer credit from almost any college in Michigan. ”
Alma College will accept transfer credit from almost any college in Michigan. Now is the time to check college Web sites for summer schedules and registration dates. These dates are coming up soon, if they are not already here. Once your student finds some course options, he or she should call our office at (989) 463-7372 or e-mail Kathy Doran to begin the approval process. Students should be sure to do this before the course is taken to avoid wasting time and money by taking a class that either won’t transfer back to Alma or won’t count the way the student needs it to count.
Transfer courses must be passed with a ‘C’ or higher (not a ‘C-’), and we need to know if the course will be taken as an on-line course. Regular, lecture-type courses are preferred by our faculty; online courses are more difficult to have approved. Transfer work affects your student’s grade point average by removing the Alma College grade from the grade point average. The grade earned in the course at the other institution does not transfer in, but credit is granted.
I know the process can be a bit confusing, and we’re happy to help with it. Please feel free to contact our office at the number above if you have questions. We hope you have a wonderful, surprise-free, summer!
Contact: Sue Deel, (989) 463-7372
