It happens sometimes. Regardless of what the reasons might be, you’re failing a class. Hopefully, you have become aware of this relatively early in the semester when there are still many things you can do to remedy the situation. Even if you have found out around midterms, you still probably have a fighting chance. But if it’s the last few weeks of the semester, there may be little you can do.
This is why it is so important to keep track of your grade in the class throughout the entire semester. If you know there is a specific grade you need to earn in a class for financial aid, scholarship, or transfer purposes, you need to focus on behaviors geared toward earning that grade from the very beginning of the class.
Here are some steps to take if you are failing a class.
• Talk to the instructor and ask for a breakdown of your grades. He or she may have helpful suggestions on what you need to do to improve your grade and probably can advise you as to whether you have any realistic chances of passing the class. Remember, the later you check into the problem, the less likely it is that it can be fixed.
• Take a look at the work you’ve done so far in the class and figure out where the weaknesses are. Do you procrastinate on out-of-class assignments? Are you losing points on reading quizzes? Do you panic when a major test is coming up? Are you unsure of how to write a paper? Find out what is tripping up your grade, talk to your instructor, and see if there is tutoring available to boost your confidence in the trouble areas.
• Look closely and honestly at your approach to the class. Are you truly putting quality time and energy toward learning the material and earning the grade you want?
• Multiple learning resources are readily available for most classes. Are you reading the textbook? If your textbook has free online supplements for students (most of them do), are you using them? Are you taking good lecture notes? If the class uses an online learning management system such as Blackboard, are you logging in and checking for updates frequently?
• Talk with more successful students in the class. Find out what their approaches to studying for the class are and see if their suggestions will work for you. You might want to see if there are any active study groups or if there is interest in forming one.
• See whether you are still able to drop the class without a penalty of some kind on your transcript. It would be a good idea to talk with your academic advisor before you do so.
• If none of the above is possible, you may simply have to retake the class. Consult with your academic advisor. Being aware of what went wrong the first time you took a class can be a powerful tool to use in successful completion of the class the second time around.
