Scholastic Termination

Students may be dismissed by their department at the end of any semester if they have not made sufficient academic progress or maintained the professional dispositions as defined in accreditation, ethical, or professional standards of practice to warrant continuance of study. Termination of students will follow policies and procedures adopted by the department and reported to the Graduate School. The department must immediately notify the Graduate School of a dismissal. The student will be prevented from enrollment in future terms.

Dismissal by an academic department may be appealed to the dean of the Graduate School after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted at the departmental level. This should be completed within 30 calendar days of the decision resulting from an appeal to the department. When students are terminated by a department, but not simultaneously by the Graduate School, they may apply for admission to another graduate program; however, they may not apply for admission to the same department from which they were dismissed.

A graduate student is subject to scholastic termination for the following reasons:

1. Failure to achieve a 3.0 cumulative grade point average by the end of the next nine semester hours of enrollment following scholastic warning.
2. Failure to maintain other academic performance standards required by the department offering the degree program of study.
3. Failure to maintain the professional dispositions required by the degree program offering the program of study.
4. Third failure on the comprehensive examination.
5. Cheating and/or plagiarism.

Students with a cumulative grade point average below 3.0 in graduate courses for two consecutive terms are placed on academic probation by the Graduate School. They then must make a 3.0 or higher semester grade point average in graduate courses each succeeding semester that their overall cumulative grade point average in graduate courses is below 3.0. These students’ probation ends when their cumulative graduate average is 3.0 or above. If, while on probation, a student’s semester grade point average in graduate courses is below 3.0, the student is dismissed.

When students repeat a graduate course, the last grade will be utilized to calculate the cumulative graduate average that is used for probation, dismissal, admission to candidacy and graduation. Grades of S, U, I, and V will not be used in calculating the cumulative graduate average. However, when a grade of I converts to F, this may result in an action of probation or dismissal for the semester in which the conversion takes place, even if the student is not registered for the semester in which it converted. When students are dismissed under the terms of this policy, they may not apply for admission to another graduate program offered by the University.

Students who are dismissed by the Graduate School for academic reasons may appeal the dismissal to the dean of the Graduate School. The appeal must be submitted to the dean within 30 calendar days following receipt of notice of dismissal. Information concerning the appeal process may be obtained in the Graduate School.