​Academic Standing for Undergraduate Students

Policy

Undergraduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are expected to meet academic standards set by the university and to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress towards earning a degree.

Academic Good Standing for undergraduate students is defined as:

• Achieving a Minnesota State Mankato (“local”) cumulative grade point average (GPA) of
  • 1.7 or higher for 0-30 attempted credits,
  • 1.85 or higher for 31-59 attempted credits, and
  • 2.0 or higher for 60+ attempted credits.
    
    Transfer credits accepted by Minnesota State Mankato are counted for the purpose of determining the applicable credit hour range.

And

• Maintaining a cumulative credit completion rate of at least 67%. (Transfer credits are included for purposes of calculating credit completion rate).

Grade Point Average (GPA) refers to the total number of quality points earned by the student, divided by the total number of credit hours attempted on a regular grade basis. Please refer to the University Grading Policy for the quality point calculations. Courses in which a P or NC is earned are not included for purposes of calculating GPA.

Credit Completion Rate (CCR) refers to the ratio of earned and attempted credits.

• Courses that received grades of A (+/-), B (+/-), C (+/-), D (+/-), IP, and P are considered attempted and earned
• Courses assigned grades of F, NC, I, W or Z are considered attempted credits
• Courses taken as Audit (AU) have no grade point value and are not included for calculation of the Credit Completion Rate. Please refer to the University Grading Policy for letter grade
• Remedial/developmental credits are included in the GPA but excluded from calculations of
• When courses are repeated, only the highest grade is used in calculations of GPA but all attempts are included in calculations of CCR. See the Course Repeat policy for more

CCR is calculated as follows:

• CCR = Cumulative Earned Credits / Cumulative Attempted Credits

When a student falls below academic good standing requirements, it will result in:

• Academic Warning: After one academic semester (fall, spring, or summer) of not meeting the academic good standing requirements, a student will be placed on academic warning. Academic warning is intended to be an intervention to alert the student that adjustments need to be made to improve academic success. At the end of the warning semester, if the student’s cumulative GPA and CCR meet the standard for good academic standing, the student’s warning status will end.
• Academic Suspension: After two consecutive academic semesters (fall, spring, or summer) of not meeting the academic good standing requirements, a student will be suspended from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Suspension is an intervention to give the student an opportunity to pause and regroup before attempting further study. Students on suspension may not enroll in courses at Minnesota State University, Mankato until the requirements for academic reinstatement are met. (See reinstatement procedures below.) If a student has already enrolled for the next semester, the student’s registration will be cancelled.
• Academic Probation: When a student is academically reinstated, they will be placed on academic probation. The student may continue on academic probation if they achieve a semester GPA of 2.5 and a semester credit completion rate of 66.67%. Failure to meet the academic probation semester requirements will result in academic suspension. (Refer to reinstatement procedures below.)

Procedure

Academic Warning

When a student is placed on academic warning, the Office of the Provost will notify the student, their college dean, the college academic advising office, and the director of the University Undergraduate Advising Center (UUAC) by University email. The student must follow the academic warning advising processes of the UUAC. A hold will be placed on the student’s registration to ensure the student meets with the Director of the UUAC or designee to create and implement a Student Success Plan. The plan will include student specific strategies to assist the student in returning to good standing and making progress toward a degree.

Academic Suspension

When a student is placed on academic suspension, the Office of the Provost will notify the student, their college dean, the college academic advising office, and the director of the UUAC by University email. A student may be academically reinstated through one of the methods listed below.

Academic Reinstatement

Academic reinstatement allows a suspended student to return to the university on academic probation. Access to the Application for Reinstatement from Academic Suspension and timelines will be communicated in the suspension notification letter noted above.

• Reinstatement After Academic Suspension: An undergraduate student who has been placed on academic suspension may be reinstated after completing one year (three semesters) not enrolled at the University. An Application for Reinstatement from Academic Suspension must be submitted online according to the timelines communicated in the notification letter. The student will receive reinstatement notification from the Office of the Provost upon review of the Associate Vice President for Curriculum, in consultation with the Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement Panel as needed. A reinstated student must follow the academic probation advising processes of their respective college(s).
• Early Reinstatement from Academic Suspension due to Extenuating Circumstances: An undergraduate student who has been placed on academic suspension may apply for early reinstatement after less than one year based on documented extenuating circumstances or evidence of academic progress on a UUAC Student Success Plan. Appeals for early reinstatement must be received according to the timelines communicated in the suspension notification letter. Students applying for early reinstatement after spring suspension cannot take courses during the first summer session.
  • Extenuating Circumstances:
    • Illness (other than minor illnesses); disease management/treatment
    • Bereavement
    • Personal/emotional circumstances
    • Hospitalization
    • Victim of crime
    • Family illness
• Evidence of Academic Progress: (in effect following Fall 2019)
  • Significant progress shown on Student Success Plan providing evidence of improved academic performance

The appeal for academic reinstatement will be reviewed by the Associate Vice President for Curriculum, in consultation with the Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement Panel as needed. The appeal must include

• • a student statement describing the appeal request and rationale and either
    • detailed documentation/evidence of personal/medical extenuating circumstances  or

• • • an existing Student Success Plan with evidence of significant improved academic

The student and the college advising office will receive notification about early reinstatement within 7 calendar days after the appeal deadline from the Office of the Provost via University email.

The following information may be considered during review of application for reinstatement:

• • Number of semesters where academic good standing has been achieved
  • Number of previous suspensions
  • Length of time following suspension from Minnesota State Mankato
  • Academic performance at institutions attended prior to and/or following suspension from Minnesota State Mankato
  • Progress toward degree
  • Evidence that the extenuating circumstance is fully resolved or will no longer be an impediment to the student’s success
  • Evidence of substantial progress on a UUAC Student Success Plan
  • Semester in which the student seeks reinstatement (for example, the compressed summer semester may not be in a student’s best academic interest for success)

Academic Probation

Probationary reinstatement may be granted for the following semester if the student meets one of the conditions below:

1. The student achieved a semester GPA of 2.5 and a semester credit completion rate of 66.67%.
2. The student’s Application for Reinstatement from Academic Suspension was formally approved.

When a student is placed on academic probation, the Office of the Provost will notify the student, their college dean, the college academic advising office, and the director of UUAC by University email. The student must follow academic probation advising processes of their respective college(s). A hold will be placed on the student’s registration to ensure the student meets with the college academic advisor to create and implement a Student Success Plan. The plan will include student specific strategies to assist the student in returning to good standing and making progress toward a degree.

During probation, the student must earn a semester GPA of 2.5 and a semester credit completion rate of 66.67% every semester until their cumulative GPA and credit completion rate qualify for a return to good academic standing.

In the event a student has been reinstated on Probation during a summer semester, where course credit enrollment limitations along with compressed semester schedule can have a detrimental impact on a student’s ability to meet Probation standards, students must agree to conditions outlined in their Student Success Plan. The plan should outline the minimum achievement required for the student to meet

Probation standards. This plan ensures the student is aware of the expectations and unique risk factors that are presented for attending summer semester while in Probation status.

Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement Panel

The purpose of the Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement Panel is to serve as a consultative body when additional review of reinstatement applications is warranted. Recommendations will be made through simple majority vote. The committee will include the following and whose appointments shall encompass a three-semester cycle, with appointment beginning fall semester:

• 1 Student Relations Coordinator representative
• 1 University Faculty member
• 1 Student Government appointee
• 1 University Institutional Diversity appointee
• 1 University Global Education appointee
• 1 Financial Aid Unit appointee
• Convened by the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Education

Note: A written appeal of the Undergraduate Academic Reinstatement Panel recommendation may be filed with the Office of the Provost. The procedure used in the original decision-making process and any new information provided will be reviewed. The appeal must be received within 14 calendar days of email notification sent by the University.

 

Rationale

This policy is intended to guide undergraduate students through the academic warning, suspension, reinstatement, and probation process in order to support them in achieving satisfactory academic standing. We understand a student might run into academic difficulty for a variety of reasons, including: personal challenges, poor time management, inappropriate course selection, incongruous choice of major or other factors. A continued record of failure to meet satisfactory academic standing requirements jeopardizes admission to major programs, precludes graduation, and may prevent transfer to other institutions. Our goal is to support students as they make changes to ensure success.

The policy follows federal regulations and established in accordance with the guidelines authorized under Minnesota State Colleges & Universities Board Policy 2.9 and Procedure 2.9.1.