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Academic Review: Warning, Probation,
and Suspension
The Academic Standing Committee reviews the academic record of all
students enrolled in the College. Students are expected (a) to maintain
a cumulative grade point average (gpa) of 2.00 or higher, and (b) to
earn one course credit (or term credit) every term except for an
occasional vacation term, so that they will graduate in four years. That
is, students are expected to earn eight term credits during their first
year, should have 16 by the end of their sophomore year, and 24 after
their junior year. Transfer students and students who withdraw from
Cornell and then reenter are expected to keep up with their class, so a
student who enters or reenters with sophomore standing should have
earned at least 16 credits by the end of the sophomore year.
The gradations of academic review issued by the Committee are:
Warning, Probation (Probationary
Suspension), Suspension,
and Dismissal. These citations are arranged in order of
seriousness and reflect the likelihood of the student's graduation from
the College.
Students who are in academic difficulty are expected to work with their
instructors, their academic advisors, members of the counseling staff,
the Writing Studio and other tutors, the Registrar, other
professionals, and their parents to identify and resolve the
problems that are causing their academic difficulties. Students in
academic difficulty should give serious thought to revising their
registrations to ensure their taking courses in which they have a
greater chance of success. Failure to heed these citations and to seek
appropriate help may result in suspension and dismissal.
- Students are given an ACADEMIC WARNING
- if at the end of a semester (Term Four or Term
Nine) their cumulative grade point average is above 2.00, but their
semester gpa is below 2.00; or
- if after any term their gpa falls below 2.00
(note--first-term students are allowed one C- before this
category applies to them); or
- if they will be unlikely to be graduated in four years (36 terms).
For the purposes of this citation, students must earn at least seven
term credits in their first year (or equivalent for students who enter
after Term One, or who take a leave of absence, or who withdraw and then
reenter), 14 credits by the end of their second year, and 23 credits by
the end of their third year. Students who fail to achieve these numbers
will be issued a Warning. This citation may last until a student has
earned 27 term credits. Students will be notified when issued a Warning,
and at the end of every semester thereafter as long as this condition
applies.
Academic Warning is an indicator that the student may be liable for one
of the following academic sanctions if grades do not improve. A student
on Warning may be suspended at the end of a semester for an extremely
poor academic performance (see
5.a.). Therefore, the Committee may
require a student on either academic citation, Warning or Probation, to
draw up, sign, and fulfill a Learning Contract. The Contract will bind
the student to additional conditions in order to continue as a student
at Cornell.
- Students are placed on ACADEMIC
PROBATION at the end of a semester for the entire following semester
- if their cumulative gpa is below 2.00
and their semester gpa is 1.25 or higher; or
students are placed on PROBATION after any term for at least the next
three terms
- if they have received a grade of F or NC, and their cumulative gpa
has fallen below 2.00; or
- if they will be unlikely to be
graduated in four and one-half years (40 terms). For the purposes of
this citation, students must earn at least five term credits in their
first year (or equivalent), 13 term credits by the end of their second year,
and 21 term credits by the end of their third year. Students who fail to
achieve these numbers will be placed on Probation. This citation may
last until a student has earned 27 term credits. Students will be
notified when placed on Probation, and at the end of every semester
thereafter as long as this condition applies; and
- the Committee may also, at its
discretion, place any student on Probation who has lost two term credits
in the course of that semester (note--the first vacation term taken in
any academic year is not counted as a lost term credit). Students are considered to have lost a term credit if they (a) take more than one vacation term per year; (b) receive a grade of F or
NC; or (c) withdraw from a course with a grade of W, WH, or WR.
Once on Probation, a student is not allowed to withdraw from a
course, or take more than one vacation term per year, without the
permission of the Academic Standing Committee. Students who do either
without permission will be subject to Suspension.
The words ``withdraw'' and ``withdrawal,'' as used here, refer
to those situations in which students receive on their transcript the
notation W, WH, or WR. Students, however, are always permitted to drop
one course and add another in its place either before a term begins or
during the first three days of a term.
- Students continue on PROBATION
- if their cumulative gpa is below 2.00, but their semester
gpa is 2.00 or higher; or
- if they continue to have a deficiency in term credits, as listed
in 2.c.
- Students are removed from PROBATION if their cumulative gpa at the
end of the semester is above 2.00, and if they achieve the minimum
number of term credits for their year, as listed in
2.c.
Students on Probation have no restrictions on their right to
take courses and participate in all the activities of the College.
However, they need to monitor their activities to see that they do not
fall into even greater difficulty. Students on Probation should
seriously reconsider their commitment to any extracurricular activity:
social life, participation in organizations, employment on or
off campus, or athletics. Finally, students on Probation are not
permitted to withdraw from a course without permission of the Academic
Standing Committee (see Index. Adding and Dropping Courses, item 7).
- Students are subject to
ACADEMIC SUSPENSION
- if at the end of the
semester their cumulative gpa is below 2.00, and their gpa
for the semester is below 1.25; or
- if they had been on Probation, and their semester gpa is
below 2.00.
Students are also subject to SUSPENSION after any term
- if they have been placed on Probation and they receive a grade of F or NC; or
- if while on Probation they withdraw from a course without the permission of the Academic Standing Committee.
The phrase ``subject to Suspension'' means that the Academic
Standing Committee places students on Suspension or leaves them on
Probationary Suspension at its own discretion. Always the criterion is
whether the student has a reasonable chance to graduate from Cornell if
that student continues at Cornell, or whether the student would benefit
from time spent away from the College.
Students whose academic record is such that they may be subject
to Suspension at the end of a term or semester ought to present any
pertinent information concerning mitigating circumstances to the
Committee prior to the time the Committee meets to review student
records for that term (usually the Monday following the end of a term).
The actions of the Committee are not subject to appeal.
A student who is suspended for unsatisfactory scholarship,
disciplinary, or financial reasons is denied permission to continue to
attend classes, to enroll in subsequent terms, to reside in College
housing, to receive Cornell-funded financial aid, and to participate in
Cornell-sponsored extracurricular activities in ways that are not also
open to the general public. The student must leave the campus within
three days after notification unless granted an extension by the Dean of
Students. Failure to leave in a timely and orderly manner may jeopardize
a student's readmission.
- The Committee uses the term
PROBATIONARY SUSPENSION to describe those students who,
although subject to suspension, have been granted a reprieve. This term
is merely a different designation, and not a separate category. These
students actually continue on Probation and have the same obligations
and restrictions as any other student on Probation.
In deciding whether to Suspend or place on Probationary Suspension, the
Committee may (but need not) choose to use Cornell's minimum gpa scale
for class standing.
The minimum for a student's class standing is defined as the number of
terms in which they have been enrolled at Cornell, whether or not they
earned term credits for these, plus any other credits earned from
adjunct courses, by examination, or by transfer, according to the
following sliding scale:
by -1
by 3
| | Terms/Credits |
| Minimum GPA |
| |
| | 4 |
- | 6 |
| |
|
| | 7 |
- | 10 |
| |
|
| | 11 |
- | 18 |
| |
|
| | 19 |
- | 26 |
| |
|
| | 27 |
- | |
| |
|
|
|
|
- Students are given ACADEMIC
DISMISSAL if they had been suspended once before in their career at
Cornell, had been readmitted, and are now being suspended for a second
time. Such students may not return to the College.
|
