If you ask Aric Kuntz and Kyle Vincent if they’re happy with their respective grade point averages last semester, they’ll both say the exact same thing.

No, not at all.

Kuntz, Olathe freshman, blamed his 1.5 GPA on a lack of preparation for his classes. He was in the top 12 percent of his high school class at Olathe North High School, with a 4.02 weighted GPA. In high school, he didn’t have to study; he said he just learned quickly. Then came college, and more specifically German 104.

“I was in German,” Kuntz said. “It was the biggest headache ever. I found myself studying for that most often. That was where my semester ran into problems.”

Vincent, Olathe freshman, blamed his .75 GPA on laziness. He said he struggled with attendance, lacked focus and partied excessively.

“I partied too much, to be honest with you,” Vincent said. “I didn’t do a lot of homework, didn’t go to class a lot. I really wasn’t that into school, and I was only here for the party. I didn’t do great.”

Both Kuntz’s and Vincent’s GPAs qualify them for academic probation, according to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ College Student Academic Services. According to the CSAS Web site, any student who falls below a cumulative GPA of 2.0 is placed on probation, and failure to meet probation requirements results in expulsion from the University. To meet probation requirements, freshmen and sophomores must earn a 2.0 term GPA or raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.0 or higher, and juniors and seniors must earn a 2.5 term GPA or raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.0 or higher.

Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, said it would be hard work, but it would be worth it.

“Making the commitment to really focus on your academics is the critical first step,” Roney said. “This is the time to ask questions, seek assistance and use the many resources available at KU – office hours with your instructors, help sessions, study groups, tutoring, study skills workshops, time management workshops and the many other services that are available at KU.”

One such service is the Academic Success Seminar, a class offered through the college. According to the CSAS Web site, the one-credit-hour class meets once every week. Enrollment is limited to 15 students and is geared toward helping students learn to better manage their time, work with their strengths to increase academic performance, access resources around campus and improve their study skills. Neither Kuntz nor Vincent are enrolled in the class, but both said they would work hard to stay at the University. Kuntz said he would prioritize his time better and Vincent said he was planning to make a study schedule that he’d stick to. Both said they didn’t want to leave the University they love.

“I do want to stay here, definitely,” Vincent said. “Both my parents went here, and I’ve been a KU fan my whole life.”

Vincent said his parents were upset when he brought home a .75 GPA last semester. Kuntz’s dad wasn’t happy either.

“My dad was like, ‘Bring the computer over here, you’re going to show me your grades,’” Kuntz said. “There was definitely a sinking feeling when he said that. I had a mental countdown in my head for when him starting to yell at me was going to start. It was dead on. It was like bam! It was zero hour, and he was not happy.”

This was the same son who brought home good grades in high school, whose lowest grade in high school was a C on a midterm.

“That’s why a shift down to a 1.5 was a little shocking for my dad,” Kuntz said. “He was like, ‘What the hell happened to you?’ My dad was pissed.”

Because of his F in German 104, a five-credit-hour class, Kuntz — and, more specifically his father, who is footing his tuition bill — lost more than $1,000 from the failed class. Kuntz, an in-state undergraduate, pays $206.50 per credit hour. Out of state undergraduates lose even more money when they fail classes, as every credit hour costs $542.40. In-state graduate students lose $255.10 per credit hour, and out-of-state graduate students lose the most money when they perform poorly, at $609.55 per credit hour, according to the University of Kansas Comprehensive Fee Schedule. The loss of money was upsetting to Kuntz’s dad, he said.

“He said, ‘You’re just throwing my money away, what’s wrong with you?’” Kuntz said.

Vincent, who had no scholarships coming into the University, said his parents also felt the financial strain of his low GPA.

“I feel guilty that they wasted their money on me,” Vincent said.

Kuntz also did not have any scholarships coming in as a freshman, but has friends who are on probation and lost scholarships as a result.

“I could be my friend in Engineering who says, ‘Crap, how am I going to figure out how to pay tuition without three grand in scholarships?’” he said.

Vincent, Kuntz and his friend are not the only students at the University who underperformed academically. In the most recently reported data from Fall 2007, a report published by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning said the cumulative GPA for all freshmen males at the University was a 2.52, below the all-male average of 2.82. Freshmen women fared better with a 2.76 cumulative GPA, below the all-female average of a 3.05. The all-undergraduate GPA was a 2.94, and the college’s cumulative GPA was the lowest of all the schools at the University, with an overall 2.82. Students’ GPAs rank as low as 0.0, Roney said, reflecting all Fs.

There is hope for students on probation that they can stay at the University. Kuntz said he knew what he needed to do. He said he knew he was better than his 1.5 GPA, and said he knew he was able to earn better grades than his GPA reflected. As the spring semester begins, Kuntz and Vincent said they knew the pressure was on.

“It sucks. It’s a little stressful — I have to do that much better this semester,” Vincent said. “It feels like I have a monkey on my back.”

To calculate your GPA, continue here. Or continue here to visit the CSAS Web site.

— — Edited by Grant Treaster