Undergraduate Programs

Good Academic Standing

Good Academic Standing is defined as the condition of maintaining a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 GPA and a minimum 2.0 in the major. Students who do not maintain Good Academic Standing are subject to the provisions as specified below.

Students must be in Good Academic Standing the semester in which they graduate. A student jeopardizes their graduation if a cumulative 2.0 GPA or 2.0 GPA in the major is not maintained in the semester of graduation.

Students will be evaluated for academic standing at the conclusion of the Fall and Spring semesters. Although all students will be evaluated for, and notified of, any deficiency in their academic standing every Fall and Spring semester, no posting of academic warning or probationary status to students’ records will be made until the completion of the first Fall or Spring semester in which they have attempted at least 12 cumulative graded units. Students may be referred for academic support services at any time at the discretion of the Registrar and the Director of the Academic Advising and Achievement Center.

Rate of Progress and Progress Probation

Students are expected to successfully complete the courses in which they enroll each academic year. Students who complete less than three-quarters of the units in which they have enrolled in a given academic year will be subject to Progress Probation. Students on Progress Probation may be subject to dismissal from the University if they again fall below completing three-quarters of the units in which they are enrolled in any subsequent academic year. Students on progress probation may also be referred by the Registrar to the Academic Advising and Achievement Center for assistance with any specific skills development, tutoring, or assessment that may be useful. Exceptions due to extenuating circumstances such as unforeseen medical emergencies or severe illness may be appealed to the Academic Petition Committee.

Academic Warning

An undergraduate student is placed on Academic Warning if the student’s semester GPA is more than 1.0 but less than 2.0, even if the cumulative GPA remains above 2.0. Students on Academic Warning must meet with their advisors to reflect on the causes of their deficient performance and to take whatever actions are necessary to improve their performance in subsequent semesters. Students on academic warning are also referred by the Registrar to the Academic Advising and Achievement Center for assistance with any specific skills development, tutoring, or assessment that may be useful. The Academic Warning status is not noted on the transcript.

Students who are on Academic Warning are considered to be in Good Academic Standing.

If the semester GPA is above 1.0 but below 2.0 in the subsequent semester, the student is placed on Academic Probation, which is reflected on the transcript.

Academic Probation

If the student’s cumulative GPA is below 2.0, or if the semester GPA is below 1.0, the student is placed on Academic Probation (PR). Students on PR have until the conclusion of the succeeding Fall or Spring semester to raise their cumulative GPA to 2.0 or above. Failure to do so results in automatic dismissal from Dominican. Students who earn a semester GPA of less than 1.0 for more than one semester may also be subject to academic dismissal, even if the cumulative GPA remains above 2.0.

Students on Academic Probation are not considered to be in Good Academic Standing.

Academic Dismissal

Students are subject to Academic Dismissal (AD) under the following two scenarios:

If, as stated above, they are on PR and fail to raise their cumulative GPA to good standing (2.0); or
If their cumulative GPA falls below 1.0. In this case PR is bypassed, and the student is immediately disqualified.

Summary of Academic Standing

The table below illustrates the various levels of academic difficulty and the resulting actions that may be taken in each case:

Academic Warning	Academic Probation	Academic Dismissal	Continued Probation	Reinstatement
Term GPA >1.0 but < 2.0 Even if Cum GPA ≥ 2.0	Term GPA >1.0 but < 2.0 for a 2nd consecutive term	Term GPA < 2.0 for a 3rd consecutive term Even if Cum GPA is ≥ 2.0	By committee decision or by appeal only	By appeal only
	Cum GPA < 2.0	Cum GPA < 2.0 for a 2nd term	By committee decision or by appeal only	By appeal only
	Term GPA < 1.0	Term GPA < 1.0 for more than1 term Even if Cum GPA ≥ 2.0	By committee decision or by appeal only	By appeal only
		Cum GPA < 1.0	By committee decision or by appeal only	By appeal only
	Rate of Progress Probation - Less than 75% of enrolled courses completed in one academic year	Rate of Progress Dismissal - Less than 75% of enrolled courses completed in two consecutive academic years	By committee decision or by appeal only	By appeal only

Appeals

A student may appeal his/her dismissal and petition for immediate reinstatement. Such an appeal must be made in writing within the time limit indicated on the dismissal notification letter and must have the support of the student’s advisor. The appeal letter should be directed to the Appeals Committee, in care of the Registrar. The student may request to make a personal appearance before the committee. It would then be at the committee’s discretion to either:

Reinstate the student on Academic Probation or Continued Academic Probation; or
Deny the petition and allow the dismissal to stand.