Policies and Procedures
Graduate College Probation Policy
Effective September 2004
Graduate students must make satisfactory progress in all aspects of their program in order to continue pursuing a graduate degree. Factors that a program may use to determine satisfactory academic progress include, but are not limited to, performance on qualifying, preliminary, and other examinations; performance in course work; satisfactory and timely completion of all milestones as determined by the program; satisfactory progress in research; and overall graduate and/or program grade-point average (GPA). Students enrolled in approved joint degree programs must meet the minimum GPA requirements of each degree program in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress and to graduate. All graduate students must meet the minimum degree GPA specified by the degree program in order to have the degree certified and to graduate. Most factors that determine satisfactory academic progress are monitored by the student's degree program, and 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. While all factors to determine satisfactory academic progress are important, the Graduate College monitors only overall graduate grade-point average. The graduate degree programs monitor all other aspects of academic progress.
Minimum GPA Requirements by Program
The Graduate College requires a minimum overall graduate GPA of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale; however, graduate degree programs can and often do set a higher minimum. If a minimum GPA higher than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale is approved by the Graduate College and published by the program, this higher minimum overall graduate GPA will be required by the Graduate College of students in that program. Students who have an overall 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, he or she will have one semester in which to raise his/her overall graduate GPA to his/her program's minimum. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the Graduate College.
Limited Status Admission
A student admitted to the Graduate College on limited status due to low undergraduate GPA must meet the degree program's minimum overall graduate GPA at the end of the first semester of registration, or be dismissed from the Graduate College.
Appeal of Dismissal
If a student is dismissed from the Graduate College because of a low overall graduate GPA, the graduate student petition process may be used to appeal this dismissal. 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.
