Students logging on to AccessPlus Saturday may receive an unpleasant surprise. The Office of the Registrar will post midterms as a warning for students who may be struggling in their classes.

Last fall, 20,956 midterms were given out, and in the spring semester 17,780 were posted. Larry Dau, associate registrar, said these are average amounts compared to previous years.

Similar numbers are expected this semester. Consequently, many students will have to rethink their study habits.

Midterms are posted on AccessPlus for all classes in which a student currently has a grade of C- or lower, but midterms do not remain on the student’s permanent record, Dau said.

According to statistics from Office of the Registrar, the math, psychology and chemistry departments send the most midterms out to students each year.

ISU professors and advisers said students who receive a midterm still have a number of options.

Richard Tondra, professor of mathematics, recommended students who receive a midterm first seek out the professor of the class or teacher’s assistant to discuss their grades and how to improve them. However, many students don’t take advantage of this strategy, he said.

“About one out of ten who get a midterm come in and talk to me,” he said.

When students meet with Tondra, he recommends they also check out help rooms and sessions offered by most departments to gain an edge on assignments.

Tondra said in some of his low-level classes he has given midterms to as many as 25 percent of the class, but in high-level classes only about two percent of his students received midterms.

Students should keep in mind most professors plan a larger portion of grade points to be given in the second half of a class, Tondra said. This allows students time to get a feel for test formats and a chance to raise their grade.

Susan Williams, adviser for the psychology department, said when students ask her how they should improve their grades after receiving a midterm, her first question is whether they’ve been attending class. She said this is crucial to success in any class.

Williams said she has often advised students to seek help at the Academics Success Center.

“We don’t do any tutoring here in our office so we have to send [students] somewhere else,” she said.

One possibility is for students to simply drop the class if they have enough credits without it, Williams said.

“Quite often students know why they got a midterm, and if they don’t, we recommend they talk to their professor,” she said.

Eric Cooper, associate professor of psychology, said typically a quarter of the students in his research methods class receive midterms.

Students should remember a midterm is only a warning and should be used as motivation, he said.

“It’s not the end of the world — they shouldn’t drop the class until they talk to their professor,” Cooper said. “The key is don’t get discouraged.”

Tondra, Williams and Cooper agreed giving midterms to students can be beneficial.

“[It’s beneficial] if they use it as a warning and try to buckle down and raise their grades,” Williams said.

AccessPlus will be shut down Friday night to load midterms onto the database. Students can view them Saturday, Dau said.

“If you don’t get anything, you’re doing okay,” Dau said.

He said students should be aware of receiving midterms in classes they believed they dropped and have not been attending.