St. Cloud State University Policies & Procedures

Communication of Program Specific Expectations

When a program establishes specific terms by which a student’s progress for continuation is measured that differs from the criteria outlined in this policy and procedure. These criteria will be referenced in program policy, handbooks, guidelines, webpages, or syllabi. Details such as a higher GPA or other requirements, regulations, and obligations, should be provided for all impacted students to access. For complete information on degree progress standards, academic performance standards, and the procedures used to monitor these standards or for questions about requirements, resources for assistance and consequences students should consult with the program advisor, coordinator, chairperson, or graduate director.

Disclosure of Professional Standards

Departments, programs, or majors that have professional standards or disposition requirements based on the attributes valued by the field or profession. For example, the expectation is that a nurse will be caring and have attention to detail, a teacher will have good communication skills and a great deal of patience, or a counselor will be able to establish trust with a client and maintain confidentiality. Those departments, programs, or majors shall establish written procedures for addressing failure to meet those standards and will be responsible for communicating these standards and expectations to students. Failure to meet standards or expectations of this nature shall not deprive students of equal opportunity and students who have been determined not to meet professional standards or dispositions will be provided with counseling, coaching, and support to meet the written improvement plan developed for such students.

Departments or programs may reserve the right to take actions to address the deficiencies. If an undergraduate student is still unable to achieve established professional standards or does not display the disposition needed to be successful in careers in their chosen field, the department may recommend dismissal to the Dean, who will make the final determination. If a graduate student is subject to a recommendation for dismissal for failure to meet professional standards or dispositions the dismissal process is outlined in the Graduate Dismissal section of this procedure.

Undergraduate Students  

Undergraduate Criteria

Criterion 1: Grade point averages (GPA) - An undergraduate student must have the following minimum cumulative GPA based on credits in courses attempted at SCSU, including developmental courses.

0-44 credits: 1.75 GPA

45 or more credits or post-baccalaureate undergraduate: 2.0 GPA

Criterion 2: Credit Completion Rate - Successful completion of 2/3 (66.67%) of all credits attempted at SCSU or accepted in transfer including developmental courses.

Successful completion of credits means earning a passing grade (A+ through D- or S) in a course. Grades of I (Incomplete), IP (In progress), Z (No grade reported), W (Withdrawal), F (Failure), FN (Failure for Non-attendance), NA (Never Attended), or U (Unsatisfactory) in a course count as non-completed credits.

A student repeating courses will have the course credits count only once towards graduation and GPA, with the highest grade counting toward the GPA. However, each time a course is repeated, all attempts are included in the computation of the student’s completion percentage.

1. The highest grade earned will be the student's official grade for the course.
2. No courses or grades will be removed from thetranscript.
3. The university or program may limit the number of times a student may repeat a course.

Undergraduate Insufficient Academic Progress

Undergraduate Warning:

A student whose cumulative grade point average, credit completion average, or both fall below the minimum at the completion of any semester or summer term will be placed on academic warning. An academic warning will remain in place for the next enrollment period, semester or summer. A student placed on academic warning is required to make an appointment with Advising and Student Transitions or the Business Advising Center to discuss academic progress. A student who does not meet with an advisor may lose the right to appeal any subsequent suspension.

A student on academic warning may register for the next semester or summer term, but the enrollment will be administratively canceled if the student is suspended.

Undergraduate Suspension:

A student on academic warning who fails to raise both the cumulative grade point average and the cumulative credit completion rate to the minimum during the warning or probationary semester or summer term will be suspended from the university through the next semester. Summer sessions cannot count as a suspension term. This academic suspension will result in the cancellation of all course pre-registration. A student who serves their suspension and returns to the university will be placed on academic probation.

Suspensions may be appealed. The student should follow the instructions and deadlines provided in the notification email. An appeal, including supporting documentation and a personal success plan, must be submitted to the Office of Academic Appeals and Probation by the date written in the notice. Students who receive an approved and/or administrative appeal will be required to meet with the Academic Appeals and Probation Advisor to create a customized success plan for the upcoming semester. Students will be unable to add courses or adjust their schedules until this is completed. Students who fail to complete and/or follow the success plan may not be able to appeal subsequent suspensions. A student whose appeal is approved will be placed on academic probation. Students who are suspended after the spring semester and receive an approved appeal or administrative appeal will be eligible to enroll again in the upcoming fall semester.

Undergraduate Probation:

A student will remain on academic probation until they are in good academic standing. In many cases, this takes more than one semester. To remain on probation until good standing is achieved, students must demonstrate continued academic improvement during their probation semesters, in accordance with guidelines stated in official communications. Students who do not demonstrate continued academic improvement and do not achieve good standing may be suspended again for up to 2 additional times.

A second or third suspension will be for one full academic year, which includes two semesters and summer. Students suspended for a full year may apply for early readmission after sitting out one full semester and are eligible to return the upcoming fall or spring semester (not summer). Whether returning after one or two semesters, the student will need to complete a success plan with the academic appeals and probation advisor or an advisor in Advising and Student Transitions or the Business Advising Center.

Undergraduate Dismissal:

There is a set number of suspensions a student can serve or successfully appeal before academic dismissal. A student who has completed or successfully appealed the third suspension will be reinstated into probation status. The student must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.3 and 100% credit completion in each semester upon reinstatement until the criteria for good academic standing have been met.

Failure to achieve a GPA of 2.3 and 100% credit completion per semester after their third suspension until good academic standing is met will result in academic dismissal. Generally, dismissal is permanent. Exceptions may be considered by the Academic Appeals and Probation Office if the student reapplies after three or more years and can establish good cause for reinstatement including evidence indicating changes made since the dismissal that would lead to academic success.

Graduate Students

Graduate Criteria

Criterion 1: Grade point average (GPA) - a graduate student, whether in a degree, certificate, or licensure program, must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Criterion 2: Credit Completion Rate - Successful completion of 2/3 (66.67%) of all graduate credits attempted at SCSU. 

A student repeating a course will have the course credits count only once toward graduation and GPA, with the highest grade counting towards GPA. However, each time a course is repeated, all attempts are included in the computation of the student's completion percentage. A student who does not achieve a satisfactory grade in the first course of a course sequence or a program sequence or a prerequisite course cannot take the subsequent courses in that sequence until the course has been completed with a passing grade of C or better.

For candidates in all graduate programs and courses, successful completion of credits means earning a passing letter grade (A+ though C). Letter grades (C- through D-) and grades of I (Incomplete), IP (In progress), Z (No grade reported), W (Withdrawal), F (Failure), FN (Failure for Non-attendance), NA (Never Attended) or U (Unsatisfactory) received will be treated as credits attempted but not successfully completed and will not be accepted toward program completion. Grades of R (Registered) or RC (Research Continued) are considered satisfactory and not used in computing GPA or completion rate.

Graduate Insufficient Academic Progress

Graduate Warning:

Graduate students with an undergraduate GPA of 2.74 or lower are conditionally admitted on warning status and must achieve a 3.00 in their first 9 graduate credits.

Regularly admitted graduate students who have a cumulative GPA between 2.0 and 2.99 following the completion of 9 graduate credits are placed on academic warning and a registration hold is added. Students in warning status may register for a maximum of 9 additional new or repeated graduate credits to bring their cumulative grade point average into compliance. If a hold is placed prior to registration for the upcoming term, you must contact Graduate Studies to temporarily lift the hold. The hold will remain in place until a 3.00 is achieved or a dismissal is initiated.

Graduate students who have completed 18 or more graduate credits with a GPA of 2.5 or higher can be placed on or remain in academic warning status and a registration hold is added or continued. Students in warning status after attempting 18 credits may petition to register for a maximum of 9 additional new or repeated graduate credits to bring their cumulative grade point average into compliance. Petitions can be found online at the Graduate Studies forms page (see supporting URL link). 

Petitions must provide a rationale for continued registration and outline a clear plan for academic improvement approved by the graduate program director. For full-time students, the plan for improvement must be completed during the next intended term of registration (summer, fall, spring). For part-time students, the credits may be completed over a maximum of three terms of registration.

Academic improvement plans must be uploaded with the petition to lift the registration hold.  The plan must include text or bullet points that specify what you will do to improve your GPA in the upcoming term.  Consult with your advisor or program director if you need guidance in this area.

Students with approved petitions will remain in academic warning status and the registration hold will remain until the 3.00 has been achieved. Holds will be lifted after the submission of grades at the end of the term.

Graduate Dismissal:

Graduate students with an undergraduate GPA of 2.74 or lower who are conditionally admitted on warning status, and who do not earn a 3.00 GPA in their first 9 graduate credits, are automatically dismissed.

Graduate students who have attempted at least 9 graduate credits and have a GPA of 1.99 or lower will be dismissed.

Graduate students who have been on academic warning for two or more semesters or have attempted 18 or more graduate credits, and have a GPA of 2.49 or lower will be dismissed.

Students dismissed based on the grade point average can petition the graduate dean for reinstatement. Petitions must include a detailed remediation plan listing the credits to be repeated and the grades to be earned. Failure to follow the remediation plan submitted and achieve the 3.00 in the time indicated will result in dismissal.

Students dismissed as a result of a low GPA can reapply for admission after 3 years and if readmitted, should be directed to the Academic Forgiveness Policy (see related policies link)

When a graduate student is unable to demonstrate the required dispositions or competencies as outlined. Dismissal is also a possible outcome

Graduate program dismissal review steps

1. Graduate program faculty members (maybe all graduate faculty associated with a program, a representative group familiar with the student, or a culminating project committee comprised of 3 or more graduate faculty members) meet to determine which professional dispositions/competencies (see Professional Standards or Dispositions section) and/or stated academic requirements have not been met. These criteria will serve as the basis of the dismissal/termination of graduate student status.
2. The student must be notified in writing that graduate faculty members associated with a graduate program have identified academic or professional deficiencies that could lead to dismissal from the program. The student must be provided an opportunity to respond in person or in writing to the specific concerns identified.
3. The program will schedule a meeting for the student with the graduate program coordinator/director, graduate faculty committee, or another representative committee of the graduate program faculty. The student may bring an advocate to a meeting. Advocates must conform to the policy on Assisting Students with University Procedures (See the Related St. Cloud State University Policies section below). Alternatively, a student may elect to respond to the concerns in writing and the program must consider the written response to the allegations in making a final recommendation.
4. Following the meeting, the graduate program faculty or designated faculty committee will make a determination to retract the notification, provide a plan of remediation, or move forward with the recommendation of dismissal/termination of graduate student status.
5. If the decision is to allow the student to remain in a program, the program will notify the student in writing of the steps to achieve good standing with regard to the dispositions/competencies/academic requirements.
6. If the decision is to recommend dismissal, the program coordinator/director will send a memo to the School of Graduate Studies on behalf of the graduate program. The recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Studies must be accompanied by the documentation from the program and the student considered in making the recommendation.
7. The Dean of Graduate Studies will review all documentation submitted by the student and graduate program, and make the final determination, and notify the student.
8. The student may appeal the dismissal to the Provost/Office of Academic Affairs within 60 days of notification in the following circumstances: procedural error on the part of the institution, failure of the faculty to hear an appeal and render a decision, or new or newly discovered information of a character that may have substantially affected the outcome.

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