Music education junior Bryan Burch, a member of the Marching Sound Machine, got the news last spring. His GPA was below 1.9, and if he didn't bring it up he'd be suspended.
And that's exactly what happened. Burch said he didn't have the resources to go to summer school and get his GPA up. "I had other issues at the time, trying to get things situated with housing, transportation, which led to me not being focused," said Burch.
Burch says he's planning to work, attend Durham Tech, earn his associate's degree and then reapply to N.C. Central University.
Burch is not alone: 703 students had GPAs below 1.9 last spring. Of these, 454 went to summer school to improve their grades, but only 117 succeeded.
This left more than 300 students suspended, according to Provost Debbie Thomas. The majority of students in trouble are freshmen and sophomores.
In all, 29 percent of freshmen and 14 percent of sophomores were in academic trouble at the end of the 2010-2011 academic year.
Just 6 percent of juniors and 2 percent of seniors are in the same kind of trouble.
"If students are not anywhere near that [2.0], we look at it as being a waste of somebody's time and money for letting them linger until they do have the grade," Bernice Johnson told the Daily Tar Heel in April.
Johnson is dean of University College, which is in charge of monitoring the success of incoming students.
But not all students agree with Johnson's tough love.
"Because it's not always the student," said Regis Dickson nursing senior. "If a teacher has a high failing rate then that should be a red flag." Pharmacy sophomore Jautam Davis said the policy unfair.
"If you are really trying you should at least give them some room for improvement," she said, adding that she had a friend with a 1.896 who was forced out.
Dominique Armstrong, a mass communication junior who found himself in academic trouble, described the rule as "messed up," adding that students are going through a lot.
Armstrong said he bounced back and got his GPA up. "They had me in a corner," he said, "but I ain't going back to the crib." Armstrong said he is one of the few among his friends who remains in school.
Some students are not at all sympathetic to the plight of those who have let their GPAs drop below 1.9.
"I feel like if you have a 1.9 GPA then you are not focused at all, and school is not your main priority," said Ashleigh Hooper, mass communication senior.
"So you should take some time off at this segment in your life." Elementary education senior Jamail Davis agrees.
"They need to be put out because while they are goofing off there are other students that could be there and taking school seriously," Davis said.
Mass communication senior Ebony Garrett said, "I feel like when you come to college there are high expectations so what's the point of slipping … tighten up.
"You should have a higher expectation for yourself." University Registrar Jerome Goodwin told the Echo in the spring that higher academic standards are a good thing "for the student, for the institution."
He said higher standards send a positive message to the community and to employers.
"When they see that we are very serious about increasing our standards, they are now more motivated to go after our students," Goodwin said. As for Burch, he said he plans to turn things around. His advice to other struggling students:
"Try your hardest. Stay in school." "Do everything you can to maintain your grades."
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