Good communication between academic departments and the director of CRP is important when students are experiencing academic difficulty. Because CRP is designed to support the academic departments, department heads play a role in both the entrance (referral) and the exit (Change of Program) processes. The following questions and answers will help you to determine which students should be referred to CRP and will explain your role in our students' reinstatement process.

ENTRANCE PROCESS (Referrals):


1. Q: Can anyone refer a student to CRP?
   A: Only people who can sign Change of Program applications can refer students to CRP.
2. Q: What should I consider when referring a student to CRP?
   A: Since CRP is designed to return students to RIT academic departments, your judgment of a student's potential to succeed at RIT is important. If, in your opinion, the student is not "RIT material," then other alternatives for exiting the Institute should be considered. We have purposely designed our referral form so that department heads can list specific conditions the student must meet to be considered for reinstatement. Having these contingencies helps us advise students more realistically.
3. Q: What if the student I'm referring doesn't want to come back to my department?
   A: If the student knows what new department he/she is interested in, send the student to that department head, who can then write the CRP referral.
4. Q: What if the student doesn't know what department he/she wants?
   A: Then the original department head should complete the referral and indicate this on the form. Approximately 55% of our students apply for internal transfer after completing CRP. Confusion about what major to pursue can be a significant cause for poor academic performance. CRP has a Career Exploration course which can help undecided students examine their interests, values, and aptitudes to determine what RIT programs would be most suitable for them.
5. Q: Besides the conditions for reinstatement, what else should be indicated on the referral?
   A: We ask for your insight on factors that contributed to the student's academic difficulty. These can be related to personal problems, attitude, developmental problems, career issues, basic skills, study strategies, time management, financial problems, etc. We also ask you to note and prioritize which specific credit courses you feel the student should take while in CRP.
6. Q: How many credit courses can a student take while in CRP?
   A: Generally we place students in 6 to 8 credits worth of credit classes. This ensures they will continue to receive financial aid while in CRP.
7. Q: Do you always register the student in the courses listed on the referral?
   A: We use this information as a guideline. If the results of our diagnostic testing indicate a student should not take a particular course, we will call you before placing him/her in a more appropriate course. For example, if a student got a D in Calc II and an F in Calc III, we may have him/her retake Calc II before retaking Calc III, depending on the results of the student's diagnostic math test.
8. Q: Are there any guidelines you use when scheduling students?
   A: Yes. The first priority is to improve the cumulative GPA. Therefore, we usually have students repeat courses they've failed in the past, especially if they're listed on the referral. Otherwise, we place students in liberal arts/general ed courses that can be applied toward any RIT undergrad degree.
9. Q: What if a student is on probation but not yet suspended? Should I refer the student to CRP or wait a quarter to see if he/she can improve academic performance?
   A: In general, when a student performs poorly and is facing suspension we recommend early intervention. If, however, the student is facing probation, or if CRP is full, you might want to consider the Academic Support Center's Learning Support Services. LSS is a fee-based service whereby the student meets one-on-one with a Learning Support Specialist. These meetings can be weekly or daily. The price for meeting once a week with an LSS specialist is $440 per quarter. This level of intervention is less acute than CRP; however, it may be a more appropriate level of intervention for the students, and it's a lot less expensive.
   
   Whether you're considering waiving a suspension, putting the student on a probationary contract, referring him/her to LSS, or referring the student to CRP, the earlier the intervention, the better the chances the student has to recover academically and return to good standing.
10. Q: Can you take every student I refer to CRP?
    A: We can accommodate up to 50 students each fall, winter, and spring quarter. We encourage early referrals and keep a database of all received referrals and applications to determine the first 50 students. After we reach 50, we start a waiting list. As soon as a spot opens up we will contact the student.
11. Q: How can I increase the student's chance of getting into CRP?
    A: As early as possible, send referrals through our web site at /studentaffairs/asc/crp/. Make sure to tell the student to complete an application electronically from our web site. If the student is facing suspension, send us the UNPROCESSED suspension form and the student's academic folder. For students facing probation, send us a SIGNED Change of Program form and the student's academic folder. WE CANNOT REGISTER STUDENTS UNLESS WE HAVE THIS SIGNED PAPERWORK!
    
    If we get a referral but don't hear from the student, we will assume the student is not interested in CRP. Also, if a student misses an appointment during intake, that might result in his/her being dropped to the bottom of our waiting list.
12. Q: Is there a cut-off time when you no longer accept referrals?
    A: We will accept referrals anytime. If we are full, we will continue to add students to the waiting list. Our goal is to have 50 students tested and scheduled by day 3 of week 1 of each fall, winter, and spring quarter. Scheduling a student after day 3 seriously jeopardizes the student's chance for academic success
13. Q: Do you process students for fall quarter over the summer?
    A: We accept referrals and applications over the summer. In the past two years, we generally fill up by late June; however, some students make other plans and have to be dropped from the list. We highly recommend that referrals for fall quarter be submitted as early as possible following spring quarter.
14. Q: How will I know if a student I referred is in CRP?
    A: You can call the CRP Staff Assistant at 475-5536 any time to find out a student's status. Once we have the first 50 eligible students, we will e-mail that list to you. Likewise, once we are able to finalize our list of students, we will e-mail that list to you.
15. Q: What happens to the suspension if a student does not get into CRP?
    A: Usually we will send the suspension form to the Registrar's to process, unless you tell us otherwise. All the suspension forms we receive will be processed during Add/Drop. If the student's name is not on our final list, you can assume we have proceeded with the suspension. Call Joette Hartman at 475-5536 if you have questions or concerns.

EXIT PROCESS (Change of Programs):


16. Q: How will I know if the student is making any progress in CRP?
    A: At mid-quarter, around week 6, CRP mentors write a summary of the student's performance in CRP classes and credit courses. Students are advised to schedule an appointment week 8 to meet with their prospective department head week 9. At this week 9 meeting, the student will present his/her:
    • Mid-Quarter Progress Note
    • GPA Stats
    • Academic Advising Report (AAR)
    The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the student's progress and plan for the next quarter. Students do not expect department heads to tell them at that time if they will be re-accepted. We highly recommend that department heads wait until they see the final grades before making any decision to reinstate a student. Change of Program applications can be processed only between quarters. COPs signed early by department heads tend to give students unrealistic expectations about acceptance into a program. The result can be students' over-confidence and lower grades, especially in credit courses.
17. Q: What is the process for exiting CRP?
    A: During finals week CRP mentors write their final reports with recommendations for exiting CRP. On day 5 of finals week, we will hand-deliver the following items to academic departments:
    • CRP Final Report with recommendations for exiting CRP
    • Student's Letter of Appeal for Reinstatement
    • Change of Program application with the CRP director's signature on the bottom left
    • Student's academic folder, which has already been routed through the College of Liberal for Change of Program transfer credit
    We ask that you review CRP students' files as soon as possible and let them know by e-mail or phone whether you are reinstating the student or not. If you check "reject" on the Change of Program application, please send the form back to the Academic Support Center main office. If you check "accept" on the Change of Program application, please send it to the Registrar's Office to process. The student's program code will change from TCRP to an academic program code.
    
    If the student needs to make scheduling adjustments, that should be done through an academic advisor, not through CRP.
18. Q: What is the CRP Transition Seminar?
    A: CRP Transition Seminar is a non-credit, small group follow-up seminar that meets once a week during the quarter following CRP. The purpose of the Transition Seminar is to reinforce the skills and strategies learned in CRP, and to prevent back-sliding. Students can register for Transition Seminar on SIS. If a section is full, they can contact the CRP director at 475-7818.
19. Q: What if the student has barely met the conditions stated on the referral? If I don't accept this student, is there any other alternative?
    A: All RIT students, even part-time students, must be under a program code. If a department rejects a CRP student's Change of Program application, that student will either be placed back on suspension (if s/he came to CRP facing suspension), or the student will go on a non-registered status (if the student was on probation prior to CRP).
20. Q: Who can I talk to if I have a question about reinstating or referring a student to CRP?
    A: I am happy to discuss with you information about any student you have referred to CRP or any student who has submitted to you a Change of Program application. My contact information is bsbldc@rit.edu, (585) 475-7818, 01-2353. Conversely, we value your feedback and insights.

By working together, we can help many students get back on track at RIT!