Assessment of Academic Status

Each quarter the Office of the Registrar provides the dean or dean’s designee with a list of students who do not meet program or graduation standards. The dean, dean’s designee and/or school/department Student Progress Committee review(s) each student’s record according to specified degree program standards on file in the Office of the Registrar.

Students must achieve the required minimum GPA for their programs to graduate.
Most undergraduate students are required to maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA to remain in good standing. Students should check program-specific grade and graduation requirements for their individual programs listed below.

Graduate programs that issue letter grades typically require a minimum grade for each class and/or a minimum GPA to continue in the program. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to graduate. Students should check program-specific grade and graduation requirements for their individual graduate-level programs listed below.

A change of status, with the exception of dismissal, is the decision of the dean, dean’s designee and/or the school/department Student Progress Committee. Depending on the nature of the academic deficiency, the categories above are not necessarily followed sequentially. A student who is not in good standing in all programs in which s/he is enrolled will receive an academic improvement plan and/or be required to conform to other academic sanctions to avoid eventual dismissal.

Students under academic warning or on probation, final probation or suspension must complete at least one quarter with no academic difficulty and fulfill all prescribed terms and conditions in order to qualify for a change of status. A change of status is the decision of the school/department Student Progress Committee and/or the dean or dean’s designee, who will notify the Office of the Registrar accordingly.

Academic standing notations appear on the advisor’s transcript for internal use but, with the exception of suspension and dismissal status, are excluded from external transcripts. The registrar receives copies of all communications with students concerning changes in academic standing for the purpose of maintaining student records.

For more information regarding academic status, all students should refer to the individual academic policies on grading and degree and certificate program requirements.

Assignment of academic status for Naturopathic Medicine (ND) students

In order to monitor successful progress through the naturopathic medicine (ND) program and to ensure successful completion of the program while maintaining high academic standards, the following academic status policy applies to all students enrolled in the ND program. This policy supplements all other Bastyr University policies related to academic status, suspension and dismissal.

Each PC, RC and F an ND student receives is recorded on the transcript as follows:

1 PC (academic course) 1.5 points
1 RC (academic course) 2.5 points
1 F (academic course) 4.0 points
1 PC (clinic shift) 15 points Automatic academic warning
1 F (clinic shift) 20 points Automatic probation

When an ND student receives the following point totals, the following action or change in academic status is applied by the associate dean or dean designee:

< 10 points Good standing
10-19 points Academic warning
20-24 points Probation
25-30 points Final probation
30+ points Final probation; student is eligible for dismissal
Fail same course twice Final probation; student is eligible for dismissal
Fail 3 courses in same quarter Final probation; student is eligible for dismissal
Fail 2 clinic shifts Final probation; student is eligible for dismissal

An academic improvement plan may be part of the academic monitoring process with any point total but is required for probation.

Once an ND student successfully completes all courses which were previously failed and earns all ACs (Achieved Competency) in a quarter with 12 or more credits, academic status has improved but the student cannot return to good standing until all courses have been successfully repeated or remediated.

Assessment of academic status for all Acupuncture and East Asian medicine (AEAM) students

In all AEAM graduate programs (MSAOM, MSA, CHM), a student is considered in good standing if his/her cumulative GPA is equal to or greater than 3.0. This is the AEAM graduate program minimum standard.

In the AEAM doctoral programs, the minimum standard is AC (Achieved Competency). In order to be eligible to graduate from these AEAM programs and receive a degree, a student must be good standing.

Assessment of academic status for all Nutrition and Exercise Science students

The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science utilizes the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status:

The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative grade point average (GPA) is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for graduate students, and at or below 2.8 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduate students.

The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:

a continuous trend in academic performance;
a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance; or
performance in a single course.
Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to do one of the following:
If a student is in the first quarter of his/her program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to make a note to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
If the student is in the second or third quarter of his/her program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the department’s assigned faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, to remind the student about the resources available to him/her at the University, and to request that the student meet with the advisor. This email communication is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.

Assessment of academic status for all Counseling and Health Psychology students

The Department of Counseling and Health Psychology utilizes the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status.

The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:

a continuous trend in academic performance;
a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance; or
performance in a single course.
Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to proceed with one of the following:
If a student is in the first quarter of his/her program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
If the student is in the second or third quarter of his/her program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the student’s faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, remind the student about relevant University resources available to him/her, and request that the student meet with the faculty advisor. This email is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.

Assessment of academic status for all Midwifery students

The Department of Midwifery uses the following guidelines which supplement the University’s general policy regarding academic status.

Student progress through the program to graduation is monitored by the department chair (academic) and clinical education supervisor (clinical). An instructor, preceptor or staff member may identify a significant problem with a student’s academic performance, clinical performance or behavior by notifying the department chair.

Satisfactory academic progress is measured in the following ways:

summative evaluations via quarterly grades given by course instructors;
Clinical Skills Evaluations from preceptors;
holistic assessment of each student in the quarterly faculty meeting, which includes a progress report from the clinical education supervisor;
scores in each section of Advanced Clinical Exam and the Comprehensive Exam; and
progress toward completion of the master’s project or the Botanical Medicine for Midwifery track.

Students who are not making reasonable progress toward meeting graduation requirements listed in the catalog here in a timely way (i.e., are approaching the University’s five-year limit) are contacted by the department chair for counseling.

If a student is in jeopardy of failing a course, or if a student is not receiving satisfactory evaluations from clinical faculty, the department chair (in the former) or the clinical education supervisor (in the latter) is notified. The department’s Student Progress Committee may be convened to discuss and develop a plan for any student at risk of not making timely progress toward graduation requirements.

Assessment of academic status for Master of Science Ayurvedic Sciences students

The Department of Ayurvedic Science utilizes the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign academic warning status.

The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative grade point average (GPA) is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:

a continuous trend in academic performance;
a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance; or
performance in a single course.

Based on the above indicators, the department chair chooses to proceed to one of the following:

If a student is in the first quarter of his/her program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action for the department chair is to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
If the student is in the second or third quarter of his/her program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the department’s assigned faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer his/her support, to remind the student about the resources available to him/her at the University, and to request that the student meet with the advisor. This email communication is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.

Assessment of academic status for Master of Arts in Public Health students

The program director in the Department of Public Health receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative grade point average (GPA) is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The program director reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to performance in a single course or a continuous trend in academic performance.

A student will be placed on academic warning for the following reasons:

The student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.3 on a 4.0 scale
The student demonstrates a pattern of failing grades or evidence of a progressive downward trend in cumulative GPA

Students on academic warning status may be changed to the University’s probation status (described in the following section) if his/her cumulative GPA continues to fall.

Assessment of academic status for all students in Herbal Sciences and Integrated Human Biology Bachelor of Science degree programs

The departments utilize the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status:

The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative grade point average (GPA) is at or below 2.8 on a 4.0 scale.

The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:

a continuous trend in academic performance;
a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance; or
performance in a single course.

Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to do one of the following:

If a student is in the first quarter of his/her program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to make a note to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
If the student is in the second or third quarter of his/her program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the department’s assigned faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, to remind the student about the resources available to him/her at the University, and to request that the student meet with the advisor. This email communication is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.

Up one level

Academic Status - Probation, Suspension and Dismissal