First-year Students

The academic standing of students who earn less than a 2.00 GPA for one or both semesters of the freshman year will be determined at this time, and such students may be placed on probation or dismissed.

Upper-level Undergraduate Students

Every student's transcript is reviewed at the end of each semester by the Office of Academic Advising. At this time, academic standing is determined according to the following criteria:

1.  Students earning a semester grade point average of less than 1.00 will be academically dismissed;
2. Students on academic probation who fail to earn a semester 2.00 GPA in the consecutive semester of attendance will be academically dismissed;
3. Students whose overall cumulative GPA or semester GPA is less than 2.00 but higher than 0.99 will be subject to academic probation;
4. Students having less than 30 credits remaining to complete their degree and who earn a semester grade point average less than 2.00 will be subject to academic probation.

Graduate Students

Graduate students are either a) in good academic standing, b) on probation, or c) subject to dismissal.

Students are normally in good standing if they:

1.  Are making adequate progress toward the completion of degree requirements;
2. Earn passing grades in all coursework accounting for at least 80% of the total required credits within a given semester and successfully pass all sequenced requirements (including major seminar courses);
3. Have not been placed on formal probation.

Graduate student transcripts are reviewed at the end of every semester.

Graduate Academic Probation

For MA and MFA graduate programs that operate on a pass/fail system, if a student receives a grade of "F" in combination of course accounting for 6 of their total required credits in a given semester, they will be placed on academic probation and will complete a learning contract in consultation with the Graduate Director or appropriate faculty. This contract, outlining criteria to regain good academic standing, will be issued by the Office of Graduate Studies. Students who fail to satisfy the conditions in the contract within the designated time may be subject to academic dismissal. Academic probation may also be issued to students who earn grades of Incomplete (I) until the grade is reviewed and changed by completion of required work by the published deadline.

Academic probation will not be noted on the academic transcript.

If a student in an MPS program receives a grade of "C" in a letter-graded program, they will be placed on Academic Probation.

Students return to good academic standing after successfully meeting the criteria outlined in the learning contract in the semester following the probation.

Graduate Academic Dismissal

For MA and MFA graduate programs that operate on pass/fail system, if a student receives a grade of "F" in a major seminar or combination of required courses accounting for more than 60% of their total required credits, they will not be in good academic standing according to their degree plan and may be academically dismissed from their graduate program. In programs with sequenced requirements, a grade of "F" in any one course could result in academic dismissal from the graduate program. Notice of academic dismissal will be issued by the Office of Graduate Studies in combination with the Graduate Director and appropriate faculty. Students who have been academically dismissed will be instructed on steps for reapplication through the Office of Graduate Admissions.

The MA in Design Leadership, MAT, MPS, and MAAE programs are letter-graded and students must earn a "B" or better to pass a course. Students not meeting this standard may be academically dismissed.

If a student in the MPS program receives a "D" or lower, they will be academically dismissed and can apply for re-admittance according to the re-admittance policy. Students who earn a "D" or "F" will be required to re-take the course(s) within the next two years, and will be subject to the per credit tuition rate.