Academic Progress

Effective Spring 2007 (based on Fall 2006 grades)

Academic Probation Status and Academic Dismissal

Note: Academic policies and standards are under review and may be changed after this catalog is published. Any changes to the following information will be posted to the online catalog at www.iastate.edu/~catalog.

Each college has an academic standards committee that is responsible for monitoring the academic progress of all undergraduate students in that college, based on policies and minimum requirements set by the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions and ratified by the Faculty Senate.

Individual college faculties may, with the approval of the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions, set additional requirements that are more stringent than those established for the university. These additional requirements must be reviewed at least every third catalog by the college academic standards committee to determine if they should be continued.

Requirements approved by the college academic standards committees will then be forwarded to the Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Standards and Admissions for final approval. The college committees are responsible for actions involving individual students with respect to placing students on academic probation, dismissing students from the university for unsatisfactory academic progress, and reinstating students who have been dismissed.

For questions concerning interpretation and application of the rules governing academic progress, students should contact the chair or secretary of their college academic standards committee in the administrative office of their college.

The university's academic standards rules are presented below. In addition to taking action based on these rules, a college academic standards committee may also place a student on academic probation or dismiss a student from enrollment in the university when, in the college committee's judgment, the student's academic performance or progress toward a degree is exceptionally deficient. Likewise, a college committee may, under exceptional circumstances, exempt individual students from the application of these rules.

Students who participate in the Regent Universities Student Exchange Program, or in a similar program where the credit taken at the other school will be considered as resident credit and the grades included in the student's ISU cumulative grade point average, are subject to Iowa State University 's academic standards.

Academic Probation Status and Academic Dismissal (new policy effective Spring 2007)

Students are placed on academic probation status as a warning that their academic progress is not satisfactory and that they should take steps to improve their academic performance to avoid dismissal from the university. Students who are placed on academic probation should immediately seek assistance in academic improvement from such sources as academic advisers, instructors, the Student Counseling Service, and the Academic Success Center .

Students may be admitted to Iowa State University on academic probation or may subsequently be placed on academic probation as a result of unsatisfactory academic performance. Students on academic probation status who do not meet the minimum requirements described below will be dismissed from enrollment in the university.

Decisions regarding academic probation and academic dismissal are based on the student's cumulative quality-point deficiency. The number of deficient quality-points is determined by subtracting the total number of ISU quality-points from twice the number of ISU credits attempted.

If a student enters Iowa State University with a quality-point deficiency, this deficiency will be added to any deficiency accumulated at Iowa State University to determine the cumulative quality-point deficiency. Example: Assume a student has attempted 65 credit hours of coursework, and has a cumulative grade-point average of 1.80. This student needs 130 quality points (i.e., 65 credit hours x 2.00 points) in order to have a zero quality-point deficiency. The student currently has earned 117 quality points (i.e., 65 credit hours x 1.80 grade point average). Thus, the student currently is deficient by 13 quality points (i.e., 130-117).

Assume the student must remove this 13 quality-point deficiency over the next 30 credit hours. The student would need to earn 60 quality points (i.e., 30 credit hours x 2.00 quality points = 60 quality points) in order to not add to the deficiency, and 73 quality points in order to remove the 13 point deficiency. Thus, a grade point average of 2.44 (i.e., 73 quality points/30 credit hours) for the next 30 credit hours is needed to remove the deficiency.

Students who are placed, or continued, on academic probation at the end of the spring semester may enroll for the summer term without being placed in jeopardy of academic dismissal from the university at the end of that summer term. However, the cumulative quality-point deficiency at the end of the summer term will be used for academic probation decisions. This is true for all students enrolled in the summer term. Students considered for academic dismissal at the end of spring semester will be permitted to enroll for the summer term. The cumulative quality-point deficiency at the end of the summer term will be used to determine whether the student should be permitted to continue. The individual colleges determine if students reinstated for the spring semester will be permitted to utilize the summer term option. (Reinstated students also see Index, Reinstatement.)

1. Students with fewer than 90 credits attempted or earned,* whichever is greater, will be placed on academic probation at the end of any semester or summer term when their cumulative quality-point deficiency equals 10 or more quality points. At the end of any term in which a student is on academic probation, the student will be:

a. dismissed from enrollment in the university if the cumulative quality-point deficiency has increased;

b. continued on academic probation if the cumulative quality-point deficiency has not increased but remains 10 or more;

c. removed from academic probation if the cumulative quality-point deficiency is now less than 10.

2. Students with 90 or more credits attempted or earned,* whichever is greater, will be placed on academic probation at the end of any semester or summer term when they have any quality-point deficiency. At the end of the term in which a student is on academic probation, the student will be:

a. dismissed from enrollment in the university if the cumulative quality-point deficiency has increased.

b. continued on academic probation if the cumulative quality-point deficiency has not increased but remains greater than zero.

c. removed from academic probation if the cumulative quality-point deficiency has been removed.

3. A student on academic probation may transfer to another college within the university only with the permission of the department chair of the new department and dean of the new college. Transfer during period 3 (after the last day to drop a course) may be approved by the department chair of the new department and dean of the new college only under exceptional circumstances. The student will be subject to any additional specific academic requirements determined by the academic standards committee of the college to which the transfer is made.

4. A student who has transferred from a college while on academic probation cannot transfer back unless permission is granted by the academic standards committee of the original college.

5. A student on academic probation who withdraws during period 3 will not be permitted to enroll the following term, except under extenuating circumstances as judged by the college academic standards committee.

Additional Academic Regulations (by college)