The Graduate College Handbook - 2009
B. Academic Standing
Graduate students must maintain satisfactory progress in all aspects of their degree programs in order to continue as students. The Graduate College monitors cumulative graduate grade point average, and the graduate programs monitor all other aspects of academic progress. There are three categories of Academic Standing: Good Standing, Probation and Dismissal.
- Grade Point Average (GPA) Computation:
The GPA component of academic status is calculated at a predetermined date at the end of each semester. Even though grades may be changed in the official record after this date, the academic status for that term is NOT changed. At the point of calculation, graduate students must have a GPA at or above their department’s minimum to be in good standing. See chapter III.A.1 for more information about grade points used in computations.
- Minimum GPA:
Campus policy requires a student to maintain a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 2.75 in order to continue in an advanced degree program, and to have a cumulative graduate GPA of at least 2.75 to graduate. Many departments, however, require a minimum of 3.0 or higher. For departments with higher minima, the Graduate College enforces the department’s minimum. Students enrolled in joint degree programs must meet the minimum GPA requirements of both degree programs in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress and to graduate.
- Good Standing:
Good academic standing requires more than an acceptable GPA. Graduate students must make satisfactory progress in all aspects of their program in order to continue as students. Additional factors that a program may use to assess academic progress include, but are not limited to, performance in course work, satisfactory and timely completion of all milestones as determined by the program, satisfactory progress in research, and performance on qualifying, preliminary, and other examinations. Failure to meet these requirements can result in the program recommending to the Graduate College that the student be placed on probation or dismissed from the Graduate College. Good standing can also be referred to as full graduate standing, which is the normal status of graduate students with no holds (II.B.3) orlimited status (II.A.1) at the University.
- Probation:
A student who has a cumulative graduate GPA below the degree program's minimum at the end of any semester of enrollment will be placed on probation. Once a student has been placed on probation, the student must raise the cumulative GPA to his/her program's minimum by the end of the next term of enrollment, or face dismissal from the Graduate College. Please refer to the complete Graduate College Probation Policy for more information.
- Limited Status Due to Low GPA:
Students who are admitted to the Graduate College on limited status because of no comparable bachelor’s degree or low undergraduate GPA are admitted on probation (see chapter II.A.1 for more information). If these students do not meet the minimum GPA for their program in the first semester of graduate work, they will receive a notice of dismissal from the Graduate College (see chapter III.B.6).
- Dismissal:
A graduate student placed on probation who fails to improve the GPA to the required level by the end of the next term of enrollment will receive a notice of dismissal from the Graduate College. This action prohibits the student from registering and drops any courses for which the student has pre-registered. If a student is dismissed from the Graduate College because of a low cumulative graduate GPA, the graduate student petition process may be used to request reinstatement. The Graduate College will consider petitions containing strong program support and strong justification based on other factors pertinent to the program's determination of satisfactory academic progress.