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Advice from Weiss 10/28

The Commuter

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Question: Does anything bad happen to me if I drop a class?

Answer: It depends. There may be a reason why you need to maintain a certain number of credits. Those reasons usually have to do with money; financial aid, a scholarship, being on a family member’s health insurance or car insurance. Those are the most common issues. Another big consideration is that students who get financial aid need to maintain a 70% completion rate. Also, in order to graduate you need to maintain a 70% completion rate. If you drop a class by the end of the second week, it will not count against your completion rate AND your money will be refunded. If you withdraw from a class after the second week (you are allowed to withdraw until the end of the seventh week) you will not get a refund. A “W” does not effect your grade point average in any way, but it does count against your completion rate.

Question: Does LBCC ever ask people who’ve graduated if you helped them?

Answer: Yes! Every year, in fact, LBCC conducts a graduate follow-up survey, to see how the folks who have come here are doing, and how they feel about the education they received. You can view these results by going to
www.linnbenton.edu/index.cfm?objectid=5FCODA5-9BD8-8544-4FB732C92OB34FF… How’s that for an address? The graduate follow-up survey is done by our Office of Institutional Research.

Question: How do I get a bad grade taken out of my record?

Answer: The only way to get a negative grade out of your official grade point average is to re-take the course at the same college that you took it in the first place. For instance, at LBCC if you re-take a class and get a better grade, AND if you go and tell the Admissions Office that you have done so, then admissions will “flag” the first grade with an “R,” for “repeated.” So, if you repeat a class in which you got a “D,” and get a better grade, then your transcript can be changed to show “DR,” and everyone will know to look further down your transcript and find the better grade, when calculating your GPA. The key to this process is to tell admissions to do this for you. They can’t know to do it, unless you tell them. One more sad reminder: in this world, nothing happens by magic. Things only happen through direct communication.

Question: I’ve been told I don’t communicate well. Can LBCC help me with that?

Answer: Oh, yes…in so many ways, with many different kinds of classes. My favorites are SP 218, Interpersonal Communication, and SP 219, Group Communication. These are skills that we all need in the work place, with our families and with our friends. We live in the communication age and we tend to work, play and live in groups. So, these courses are very helpful to life in the modern world. Of course the speech department also has classes in public speaking and persuasive speaking that can be helpful. Any writing class, from WR 50 to WR 121, and beyond, will help you hone your thinking and communication skills. Being able to communicate in writing is critical to the world of work, plus writing and speaking are very related. Also, RD 120, Critical Thinking, will help you to analyze what is being communicated to you, so that you are better able to respond. HD 190, Assertiveness Training, is a mini-course that has helped many students with communication. “Assertiveness” is defined as communication that is direct, but not aggressive. Assertiveness is what lies between “passive” and “aggressive.” It is knowing how to communicate so that people can really hear you, but aren’t blown away by you, either. Other forms of communication are found in art classes, music classes, lit classes, creative writing, athletics, and journalism. These fields of creative self-expression can really enhance our thinking and inspire us to new heights of personal development and communication.

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