NROTC Academic disenrollment probable- better to Drop on Request?

B

brandi

New Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Messages
3
Thank you for any advice I can get. My DS is a NROTC 4/c mid who has struggled academically at a University of California school (we're out of state) despite having no problems in high school. He was on academic probation after winter quarter and this spring quarter was an absolute disaster with a 1.0 GPA. He was at home doing remote learning and I saw that he studied, but he just couldn't do it. He is a math major so his load is heavy with advanced math and physics. He says he was surprised by the Spring quarter grades. We have made the decision not to return to UC, but switch to our home state university which might be a better fit academically. Our home state school has a new NROTC program starting, but not until school year 2021-22. He would like to continue in NROTC. He asked his commanding officer (not sure if that's the right term, but the LT who is in charge of him) about the possibility of LOA until 2021-22 and transferring the scholarship to our home school -vs- dropping scholarship all together, but her exact words were :"You will be given another PRB due to your grades, nothing can be discussed until after the board." This is not very helpful. He'd like to avoid being disenrolled since he still wishes to make the Navy a career. Could he simply DOR before the PRB, transfer schools and finish NROTC as a college option at our home school and still commission? We are blessed in that the scholarship was nice, but we'll be fine without it.
 
Since he may lose the scholarship due to the PRB, I can see that no discussion about transferring the scholarship can legitimately occur now. If he does lose the scholarship he may be able to continue elsewhere as a college programmer. Again, the LT can let him know after or at the PRB in this case. I have to say this is my surmise and all may depend on the PRB which I'm confident would in effect happen even if he DOR'ed.

In any case he should continue his conversation with the LT and get any answers he can, or at least try to lay out the alternatives depending on the PRB result.
 
There's a few things to address here, some of them are pedantic, others not so much. To start off, he should really be running point on this process not you. If he's truly interested in staying in NROTC, he should go read the ROD, and then read it three more times and figure out what his options are in this process.

The LT is his advisor, not his commanding officer. His CO is the Navy Captain (O-6) who is in charge of the unit. HOWEVER, this does not mean he should reach out to the CO directly, rather he should respect the chain of command and continue to communicate with the LT as @kinnem stated.

Regardless of whether or not he decides to DOR ahead of time, he's going to a PRB. DORing is not simply saying "I don't want to do this", you still have to go through the formal process of a PRB. See page 6 of Appendix P of the ROD:


If he has any intention of becoming an officer through NROTC, the last thing he should do is DOR. His new school will most likely not pick him up for college programmer as they do so with the goal of getting college programers on advance standing and commissioning them, something that is just not going to happen if he already DORed from the program.

If money is truly not an issue in terms of tuition, then why not go the OCS route? Frankly, your DS seems like he needs the time to mature, and that would also allow him to improve his GPA (especially if he didn't transfer any credit and went into his new school as a freshman). Not to be harsh, but failing all your classes isn't "surprising". Surprising is getting a B+ instead of the A-, not getting all Fs when you thought you were passing. I get it, the UC's are very difficult schools, but it seems like your DS didn't put in the work needed or ask for help when he needed it. Doesn't make him a bad kid, but I think he needs to learn the lesson that college isn't like high school, you can't just go through the motions and expect everything to turn out fine.

And finally, have your DS go read the ROD another 4 times. The best thing he can do is go into his PRB prepared with a clear plan of action that is both doable and accountable.
 
Thank you. Very helpful. I agree with all of the above about maturity and lesson learning. My son seems to think that if he does OCS the chance of him getting the assignment he wants is less than if he continues NROTC as a college programmer.
 
brandi said:
Thank you. Very helpful. I agree with all of the above about maturity and lesson learning. My son seems to think that if he does OCS the chance of him getting the assignment he wants is less than if he continues NROTC as a college programmer.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily true, in fact for Navy OCS you can apply to the community you want. If you get that community, then you will go to that community's school upon completion of OCS. The chances of him getting what he wants through NROTC is not guaranteed and his chances are worse if his grades are bad. I would tell him to have an open mind and don't be discouraged if one route does not work out.
 
brandi said:
Thank you for any advice I can get. My DS is a NROTC 4/c mid who has struggled academically at a University of California school (we're out of state) despite having no problems in high school. He was on academic probation after winter quarter and this spring quarter was an absolute disaster with a 1.0 GPA. He was at home doing remote learning and I saw that he studied, but he just couldn't do it. He is a math major so his load is heavy with advanced math and physics. He says he was surprised by the Spring quarter grades. We have made the decision not to return to UC, but switch to our home state university which might be a better fit academically. Our home state school has a new NROTC program starting, but not until school year 2021-22. He would like to continue in NROTC. He asked his commanding officer (not sure if that's the right term, but the LT who is in charge of him) about the possibility of LOA until 2021-22 and transferring the scholarship to our home school -vs- dropping scholarship all together, but her exact words were :"You will be given another PRB due to your grades, nothing can be discussed until after the board." This is not very helpful. He'd like to avoid being disenrolled since he still wishes to make the Navy a career. Could he simply DOR before the PRB, transfer schools and finish NROTC as a college option at our home school and still commission? We are blessed in that the scholarship was nice, but we'll be fine without it.
Click to expand...

As the mom of a mid who faced 2 PRB's due to academics, if you are able to get enough posts to private message me, I would be more than happy to chat about it. The above responses are great resources, as you and your son should read the regs thoroughly. I think there is also something else to consider, especially if your son just completed his first year. It is my understanding that once the student steps onto campus in the fall, the financial commitment kicks in, so-to-speak. Meaning, that if he is disenrolled, there is the possibility that he would have to pay back for the first year scholarship monies he recieved. Others may have a better understanding of that, but I think it is something to consider.
Your son should be prepared for his PRB nonetheless, once he has decided on an action plan. Are there any summer classes he can take right now to mitigate the poor semester? I know they are all online, but even if he were to take another class now and get a good grade, it may demonstrate his abilities and commitment to academics. This helped my mid at a PRB. He will also need to take a hard look at how and why his GPA tanked, and be prepared to own up to it, fall on the sword and have concrete action plan on how he will improve going forward- no matter what he decides about any school. It is also important for him to know how he did as a member of his unit- are there any admonitions in his record for lateness, insufficient PT, etc. Another thing to consider, Even if your son is granted the opportunity for a LOA, he will still be require to attend the same school and maintain all his PT and naval science courses and participate in the unit during that semester in order to get his GPA where it needs to be- which can be a herculean task if he bombed. Lastly, I encourage him to send an email to ALL his professors asking for them to take a second look at his grades, with a polite email asking if there is anything he can do now to mitigate the grades in light of the difficulties he faced with online learning due to covid, and also mention that he risks being disenrolled in his nrotc unit....you never know....as I told my mid, the worst thing that happens is they say, "no"- one of the professors did, in fact, change the grade due to the in-class participation. every bit helps.
Best of luck- I know how stressful it can be as a parent on the sidelines watching our kids make their way. Thankfully, my mid recovered from the disastrous past semesters, and after an LOA one semester worked the butt off to get gpa back up, the scholarship was re-activated into the unit for the following semester.
 
@brandi - you have gotten some great advice and opinions from the above posters. I am not sure I can add anything but do want to reinforce a few points.

I think @anonmom is correct. Scholarship students who show up to the first day of school in the fall of Sophomore year trigger their commitment. I can't imagine how that is handled with a pending PRB but your DS should look into all aspects of that issue.

You note your family decision to withdraw from the UC school and go to your home state school. Not exactly sure how that is permissible when you have a NROTC contract at the UC school. Yes, you can drop the scholarship and transfer but that is a DOR and not sure if that closes doors at the future school.

Perhaps a college programmer option at the new school is viable given it is a start up unit? There may need to be some serious "selling" of the journey your DS has been on and proof of a reversal of results.

You note a 1.0 GPA. Did that include his Naval Science class? That could be problematic. But, while not easy to hear, I wonder if these results are a silent cry for something else. Dropping NROTC, moving home, girlfriend, other??? Only you and your family can answer that - just putting it out there.

I struggled mightily in the transition from HS to College. Today, I brag that "I made the Dean's List twice" but reality was that it was the wrong Dean's list. My parents got a letter advising I wouldn't be invited back without improvement. :( I switched majors, took summer school classes, and read some books on how to study. Turns out I always memorized schoolwork and spit it all out in the tests - a great tactic in HS but terrible in College. University professors expect you to internalize the idea and be able to apply it to a new situation you haven't experienced before. Once I understood that, I searched for the "why" rather than memorize the formula and plug and chug. It was an Ah-Ha moment that changed my whole approach to school and life.

Final reinforcement of other poster's comments: nothing is guaranteed in life - especially the military. People who have their sights set on a particular assignment are often disappointed. If you want to serve and lead a unit, you have to be open to the needs of the Navy. You need to bloom where you are planted.

Best of luck to your DS.
 
Thank you all for your advice. His PRB has been scheduled in 2 weeks. He is retaking 2 of his classes he failed in summer school right now. His school has a forgiveness policy so they replace the F with whatever grade he gets when he retakes the class. If (big if) he does well in them his GPA would greatly improve. But the PRB recommendation will have been made by then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top