Commission/Interest Group: Probation, Dismissal & Reinstatement Issues Interest Group

Chair:      Johanna Pionke   

Summary of Annual Meeting at National Conference (agenda items, issues, discussion topics, announcements, etc.)

The following agenda items were addressed in the meeting:

• Welcome & Introductions of PDR Chair & Steering Committee Members present
• Recognize IG award winners and upcoming presentations
• Overview of Interest Group —
  • Membership
  • list serve Membership - how to join and what the list serve is like \
  • Web Site
• Interest Group Goals & Objectives
  • Discussed option of moving toward commission status  — Reviewed minimal expectations for a commission and benefits of moving from IG to commission status.
  • Provided opportunity for volunteers to serve as liaisons from Regions 1-10 to the Interest Group.
• Hot Topics
• Small group discussion and sharing

The business portion of the meeting was limited to approximately 15 minutes. There were few positive comments regarding the idea of taking the interest group from IG to commission status. Given that there were approximately 44 out of over 1100 members in attendance, it was decided to take this issue to the membership for comment.

Based on the comments from IG meeting participants, there does not appear to be significant support for moving from IG to commission status. Most participants were more interested in sharing and receiving information on policies and programs from other meeting attendees.

The most productive parts of the meeting by far were the last 45 minutes during which we discussed hot topics in an open forum and then the IG was split into four groups in which group members shared information regarding their programs and policies for PDR students.

Approximate Number of Commission/Interest Group Members in Attendance:    44  

Critical Issues of Concern or "Hot Topics" Identified:

• Program assessment and longitudinal studies
• How to stop students from getting on probation
• Recognizing when to change programs
• Collegial unit programs that are separate from university programs
• Types of probation, dismissal and readmit programs - comparing and contrasting policies from different institutions
• Ethical issues of re-admission and overriding of decisions
• Academic forgiveness/fresh start policies
• Parental involvement
• Issues of entitlement
• Policy differences
• PDR differences - i.e., PDR policies for academics v behavior
• Early warning systems and what to do with the information
• Disasters - what didn't work
• 2 Year Colleges - programs and research due to the large numbers of students on probation in open enrollment institutions
• Group interventions - profiles of successful programs
• Undergraduate and alumni mentors for PDR students
• Contracts
• Legal Issues/Guidelines - Privacy and Due process
• Summer of programs and different types of programs
• Credit bearing intervention courses
• Prescriptive programs v voluntary
• "How to" start your own program
• Profile of students on PDR - assessments
• Use of registration holds
• Cooperation from profs regarding reporting progress
• What works best in different sized institutions
• Relation between PDR and attrition
• Using technology to track students

Unit Goals and Objectives for Next Year:

1. Poll IG members regarding interest in moving toward commission status.
2. Encourage research and publication in PDR areas.
3. Utilize regional representatives to track PDR issues and presentations in their regions.
4. Increase member involvement in the list serve and IG activities.
5. Collaborate to present a pre-conference session on PDR issues with several collaborating institutions.

Future Activities Planned:

1. Possible survey regarding PDR programming and outcomes
2. Pre-conference workshop on PDR issues
3. Decision regarding whether to move toward commission status

Volunteer Opportunities Available Within Unit:

• Steering committee is established and working toward unit goals
• Regional volunteer positions are available