With graduation just around the corner, some seniors seem to be slipping through the cracks
By: Nikki Bussey
Issue date: 11/11/08 Section: Other Stories
Graduation is set for Dec. 13, but some students won't be able to make it, and they don't even realize it yet.
As the year inches closer to an end, some seniors are finding out they don't have the proper requirements to graduate, which varies with each college on campus.
In order to prevent occurrences like those from happening, students are assigned a graduation analyst, who gives their information a "second set of eyes" to make sure they have everything in order to graduate.
Sandra Akah is a business and finance graduation analyst. She checks around 250 students' academic records, and she said there are around 15 students a semester who aren't quite ready to walk the line.
She said the problem could be attributed to one of several things.
"Sometimes they don't realize they haven't enrolled in everything," Akah said. "The first time we check their enrollment is before school begins, then I check it the day after the last day to add classes. Then its checked one final time a week after the drop date. Another thing would be if they have some transfer work. I can't accept anything unofficial."
Business and finance checks their students' graduation statuses a semester prior so they have time to correct any problems, Akah said.
For more than 20 years, Mark Freilich has been a U of M chemistry adviser. He said he has run across students not being able to graduate on time, but finds them to be rare occurrences, something he attributes to the structure of the chemistry graduation plan.
"I do know sometimes students get into this situation if they didn't consult with their adviser beforehand," Freilich said. "But pretty much if the students follow what we set out, they don't run into situations where they go, 'Oh my god, what am I going to do?'"
He said adviser error is also very rare, and The University is "pretty understanding" about it.
"I have found most of the time students understand what situation they are in," Freilich said. "I rarely had any situation where a student blew up. It's much more reasoned. When they are approaching graduation, they know where they are going and how they got there."
As the year inches closer to an end, some seniors are finding out they don't have the proper requirements to graduate, which varies with each college on campus.
In order to prevent occurrences like those from happening, students are assigned a graduation analyst, who gives their information a "second set of eyes" to make sure they have everything in order to graduate.
Sandra Akah is a business and finance graduation analyst. She checks around 250 students' academic records, and she said there are around 15 students a semester who aren't quite ready to walk the line.
She said the problem could be attributed to one of several things.
"Sometimes they don't realize they haven't enrolled in everything," Akah said. "The first time we check their enrollment is before school begins, then I check it the day after the last day to add classes. Then its checked one final time a week after the drop date. Another thing would be if they have some transfer work. I can't accept anything unofficial."
Business and finance checks their students' graduation statuses a semester prior so they have time to correct any problems, Akah said.
For more than 20 years, Mark Freilich has been a U of M chemistry adviser. He said he has run across students not being able to graduate on time, but finds them to be rare occurrences, something he attributes to the structure of the chemistry graduation plan.
"I do know sometimes students get into this situation if they didn't consult with their adviser beforehand," Freilich said. "But pretty much if the students follow what we set out, they don't run into situations where they go, 'Oh my god, what am I going to do?'"
He said adviser error is also very rare, and The University is "pretty understanding" about it.
"I have found most of the time students understand what situation they are in," Freilich said. "I rarely had any situation where a student blew up. It's much more reasoned. When they are approaching graduation, they know where they are going and how they got there."