Academic Probation Policy

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.

Academic Warning, Probation, and Dismissal

Continued enrollment at Iowa State University depends upon an undergraduate student maintaining satisfactory academic progress toward attaining a degree. To assist students in maintaining satisfactory progress, Iowa State University has adopted academic standards designed to provide early identification of students who are experiencing academic difficulty, and to provide timely intervention through academic advising and academic support programs. Academic standing at Iowa State University is dependent upon the total number of credits a student has attempted or earned, the student’s semester grade point average (GPA), the student’s cumulative ISU GPA, and the student’s transfer GPA (if below 2.00.)

Academic Warning

While a warning (W) is the least severe of the negative academic actions, it serves as a reminder that future academic performance below 2.00 could result in more serious consequences. In fact, a student on warning whose subsequent term GPA is below a 2.00 will be placed on probation (P) the following term. Students who receive an academic warning are required to develop a plan for academic improvement in consultation with their academic adviser or the Academic Success Center. A student who is subject to both academic warning and academic probation will be placed on academic probation. The academic warning is not a part of the student’s permanent academic record. Students will receive an academic warning (W) at the end of any fall or spring semester when they earn a GPA of 1.00 – 1.99 for that semester. At the end of the next fall or spring semester of enrollment, one of the following actions will be taken for students on academic warning status:

• Students will be placed on academic probation if they earn less than a 2.00 GPA for the next fall or spring semester, or
• They will be removed from warning status if they earn at least a 2.00 semester GPA for the next fall or spring semester and they are not subject to academic probation based on cumulative GPA (over 75 credits).

See Summer Academic Standards Regulations section for how summer grades affect warning, probation, or dismissal status.

Academic Probation

Academic probation is an indication of very serious academic difficulty which may result in dismissal from the university. Students may be placed on academic probation as a result of either semester GPA, cumulative GPA, or both.

Students who are placed on academic probation are required to develop a plan for academic improvement in consultation with their academic adviser which may include referral to the Academic Success Center. Academic probation status is not a part of the student’s permanent academic record.

Students will be placed on academic probation (P) at the end of a semester/term for either of the following two reasons:

1. Semester GPA: Students who earn less than a 1.00 at the end of any fall or spring semester, or less than a 2.00 two consecutive semesters, will be placed on academic probation. Students will not be placed on academic probation at the end of the summer term due to summer term GPA only.

2. Cumulative GPA: Students with 75 or more credits attempted or earned, whichever is greater, will be placed on academic probation at the end of any fall or spring semester or summer term when their cumulative GPA is less than 2.00. Students with 75 or more credits attempted or earned who have a transfer GPA < 2.00 will be placed on academic probation at the end of any fall or spring semester or summer term when their combined transfer/ISU cumulative GPA is less than 2.00.

At the end of the next fall or spring semester of enrollment, one of the following actions will be taken for students on academic probation status:

• Students will be academically dismissed if they fail to earn at least a 2.00 semester GPA. At the end of any spring semester, students in dismissal status may enroll for summer term. (See Summer Option for Students in Dismissal Status in the Summer Academic Standards Regulations section.)

• Students will continue on academic probation if they earn at least a 2.00 semester GPA but are subject to continued academic probation based on their cumulative GPA (over 75 credits).

• Students will be removed from probation if they earn at least a 2.00 semester GPA and are not subject to continued academic probation based on their cumulative GPA (over 75 credits).
See Summer Academic Standards Regulations section for how summer grades affect warning, probation, or dismissal status.

Academic Dismissal

Students who do not meet the requirements of their academic probation are academically dismissed from the university. Each College Academic Standards Committee is responsible for final decisions regarding the academic status of students in that college, and any appeals to academic dismissal actions are considered by the college committee. Once dismissed, students are not allowed to reenroll at Iowa State University until they have been academically reinstated. (See section on reinstatement.) Academic dismissal is placed on the student’s academic record as a permanent notation. The official transcript of a student who has been dismissed includes a “not in good standing” notation.