Academic Probation and Dismissal at the Undergraduate Level Policy

Policy Statement

To earn an undergraduate degree from SUNY Brockport students must complete their degree requirements with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher (referred to as “being in good standing” academically). It is neither in the student’s best interest nor the best interest of the University to let students continue their studies indefinitely unless they are achieving at that minimal level. For this reason, the University has a probation and dismissal policy — a system for warning students are not meeting minimal academic standards, and dismissing them if the problem continues.

Purpose/Scope

Academic performance problems can lead to probation and/or dismissal based on the University’s rules for satisfactory performance.

Applicability

There is no applicability provided for this policy at this time

Definitions

There are no definitions for this policy at this time.

Policy Procedures

Students must have attained a grade point average of 1.0 or better by the time they have completed 12 indexable or graded credits (that’s the end of the first semester at Brockport for full-time students).Students who do not meet this criterion will be dismissed without first being placed on academic probation. Earning such a low GPA in the first semester usually means that there is a serious problem with academic achievement and it is better for the student not to continue at Brockport until her/his ability to do university-level work improves.

Students who earn a 1.0 or better in the first semester at Brockport, but fall below a 2.0 GPA in this (or any future) semester, will be placed on academic probation (Probation I) for the next semester. After being placed on Probation I, there are three possibilities:

1. The student regains a GPA of 2.0 by the end of the semester on Probation I and is simply taken off probation;
2. The student does not manage to get the cumulative GPA back to a 2.0, but does attain a 2.0 or better for that particular semester and is granted one more semester of probationary to work toward raising the overall GPA to a 2.0 (Probation II);
3. The student who does not earn a cumulative GPA or a semester GPA of 2.0 during that Probation I period, will be academically dismissed. There is a common misconception on campus that students are entitled to two semesters on probation. It is important to understand that students are only granted a second semester of probation (Probation II) if they attain a semester GPA of 2.0 or above during the Probation I period.

Being on probation doesn’t place any specific restrictions on a student; it serves primarily as a warning. However, the University does strongly encourage students on probation to limit their 
course load, to discuss the situation with their advisor, and to seek the assistance of the Student Learning Center to help them succeed in their coursework.

Please be aware that a common reason that probationary students proceed to academic dismissal in future semesters is that they do not immediately retake courses that they fail. Immediately retaking courses with “E” grades (in the next semester) and improving the grade removes the “E” from the GPA calculation and makes it easier to bring up the cumulative GPA to a 2.0 or higher. This is very important. For questions, students should discuss this with their academic advisor.

Links to Related Procedures and Information

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Contact Information

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History (in descending order)

Approval

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