USMMA handles academic probation slightly differently than other SA. It is not uncommon for a student to be rolled back into a later class. The trimester system has unique challenges and you typically see first year students struggle with Calculus, Chemistry, and or Physics. When you overlay this nuance with ~12 months at sea, there are unique challenges at USMMA that make class year more fluid than one might think if only living under the context of a 4 year school. The class of 2024 saw a record number of academic setbacks following the first trimester this academic year. Those students were sent home and are invited to work on the deficient classes at a school of their choosing, but the curriculum needs to be approved by USMMA. If a satisfactory grade is achieved, they are invited to join the class of 2025. The DOD Service Academies would generally place a student on academic probation, but allow the student to remain on campus and potentially make up the course(s) at a later time - i.e. summer school. There are many variables to this that would decide a students outcome of stay (probation), roll back, or disenroll completely.
Academic rollback does not happen at a DoD school to my knowledge -- I have seen medical rollback because the student could not complete courses. I say that, but a gymnast classmate of mine broke his neck and was in a halo for weeks and we rolled his wheelchair to class and kept on truckin.....
Interestingly, each Service Academy has a program by which a student can take a leave of absence. This may be for a Mormon Mission, a dying parent, or other personal matter that would require a student to leave the school and return in the future. COVID is having a large impact on USMMA right now, and the 3 Star Superintendent reminded parents that a USMMA "Compassion Setback" is available to any student who is unhappy with the situation on campus and would prefer to take a leave of absence and return next year.
Bottom line - setbacks are fairly normal at USMMA. I would not say they are common, but they do happen. As I type this, the students are completing the second academic trimester and there are roughly 6 plebes that are likely to be asked to roll back into 2025. This follows an unprecedented ~18 that were set back after first tri.
Under a normal academic year, where everyone is attending face-to-face classes, they have never struggled this much. The Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) is where students go for additional instruction (tutoring). The ACE services have been available to the class of 2024 but there have been limitations as the campus has dealt with various surges in COVID related activity.
As a prospective student, understand these key points:
1) The staff at a Service Academy is focused on your success and you are not a paycheck for them like one might be at a public institution.
2) There are multiple tutoring resources available to students
3) Service Academy faculty are historically rated tops in the nation for accessibility to students
4) Class sizes will look far closer to your high school than a large public college with hundreds in freshman classes
5) There are mechanisms in place to help you succeed should you engage early and seek them out
