Dismissal?

Nursing Students General Students

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Unfortunately I have failed a second nursing class by a point. Has anyone ever gone through a dismissal appeal process? I am appealing but I am afraid my chances of winning are slim.

I feel for you

I am not saying this is the case with you, but you do need to examine why you are failing. If you are honest with yourself...are you putting the necessary time in?

What I see happen with students, is that they blow off assignments at the beginning of the term and expect later assignments to save them. What happens is that they eventually get a difficult assignment or exam where they score much lower than expected...then exceeding high scores are required to pull it up.

Is it a numbers game? Yes, it is.

What I see happen with students, is that they blow off assignments at the beginning of the term and expect later assignments to save them. ... Is it a numbers game? Yes, it is.

I always tell students, "Panic early and often." If you get below a "B" EVER, something is wrong. Fix it now before your lack of points means you need a 120% on your final.

When you appeal, present a plan for success. Don't make excuses. Be honest about what went wrong. Outline your strategies for improvement. Use the nursing process: Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes / Planning, Implementation, & Evaluation

  • Are you working too many hours? Explain how you will cut back.
  • Present a realistic schedule of your work/school/home/study life.
  • Time how long it takes you to read a chapter (for real, with comprehension and note taking). Now you know how long each page takes and use that in your planning.
  • Do some research and find out what kind of learner you are. I was surprised that my learning style was not what I assumed. Incorporate this info into your plan.
  • Include other strategies like headphones with wave sounds, coming to school just to study away from home, tutors, etc.

If you can, have someone smart and professional help you with your appeal and possibly come with you as moral support to help you make your case. Do research, what have previous students done to successfully appeal?

The most important thing is to present yourself as an asset, not a liability to the school. They have no interest in keeping you if you are just another whiner who is going to bring down their NCLEX pass rate.

I hope you succeed. Nursing school was the hardest thing I had ever done, much harder than actual nursing. If they keep you, you need to step it up. You do not need the stress of barely passing, you want some points to comfortably cushion your final.

I am not saying this is the case with you, but you do need to examine why you are failing. If you are honest with yourself...are you putting the necessary time in?

What I see happen with students, is that they blow off assignments at the beginning of the term and expect later assignments to save them. What happens is that they eventually get a difficult assignment or exam where they score much lower than expected...then exceeding high scores are required to pull it up.

Is it a numbers game? Yes, it is.

The warning in this post is very pertinent. Time and time again, have advised my granddaughter to treat the first assignment, the first quiz, the first exam, the first extra credit opportunity, as if her life depended upon them, so that she has some leeway later on. Does she take my advice? No. Going into the final exam, her grade is usually teetering. And those papers? Oh yes. She believes they must be cranked out seven or eight hours before they are due. One of these days the computer will really klunk out and she won't even have a poor effort to turn in.

Lots of hard work should commence at least on the first day of class. Add to that, early and as frequently as necessary, interaction with the instructor when problems arise; not only start you out toward a decent grade, they are also the habits of those who get good, not just passing, grades.

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