STANDARDS OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS
1. Course Load:
a. Normal course load at Beloit College is four units.
b. Full-time students must be registered for at least three units.
c. Exceptions to (b) are approved only by the registrar and the student’s academic advisor.
d. On or after registration day, students wishing to elect units in excess of 4.75 may do so
with the written authorization of both the major advisor and the registrar. Such approval requires that the student have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 and no outstanding incompletes, and shall be made only after evaluating the student’s academic progress and the reasonableness of his or her program. Students seeking an exception to this policy may petition the Academic Performance Committee.
e. Students must be accumulating units at a rate consistent with achieving 31 units by the end of eight semesters.
2. How to Maintain Good Academic Standing:
a. Maintain at least a 2.000 cumulative grade point average, and accumulate units at a rate
consistent with achieving 31 units by the end of eight semesters.
3. Lack of Good Academic Standing and Progress:
a. aPC reviews, at the end of each term grades of students below a 2.000 GPA for that
semester and/or cumulatively. In rendering a decision, the committee considers extenuating circumstances if such are known. The committee also may consult with the student’s advisor(s). Each case is reviewed individually but aPC is guided in its decision by certain minimal standards.
b. Academic warning status is given for excessive Incompletes or a term average between 2.000 and 1.850.
c. Academic probation status is given for a term average below 1.85; a cumulative GPA
less than 2.000; two consecutive semesters between 1.85 and 2.000. Such status may endanger continuation of financial aid.
d. Academic dismissal or academic suspension:
1. Students with extremely low term or cumulative GPA’s are subject to actions of
academic suspension or dismissal.
2. A student may be dismissed or placed on academic suspension without having
been placed on warning or probation the previous semester.
3. A student may be subject to the action of academic dismissal if his/her
cumulative GPA at the end of the semester is below:
1.000 after 1st term 1.500 after 2nd term
1.650 after 3rd term 1.800 after 4th term
1.850 after 5th term 1.900 after 6th term
4. A student is subject to academic dismissal for a semester of all “Fs”.
5. A student may be placed on academic suspension if both the semester and cumulative GPA are significantly below a 2.000 but not low enough to meet dismissal criteria.
6. Normally, first-term first-year students are not dismissed for academic
deficiency, but are instead warned, put on academic probation, or suspended. However, the Academic Performance Committee may dismiss first-year students if its findings indicate such action is appropriate in the individual case.
a. Appeals to actions of academic dismissal or academic suspension must be
in writing to aPC within one week of receipt of the letter containing action notification. Decisions of aPC normally will not be changed except in cases of extenuating circumstances. If aPC does not reverse its original decision, the student may then submit his/her petition to the Chief Academic Office within one week of the initial appeal hearing.
4. Dean’s List: A student will be placed on the Dean’s List if he/she attains at least a 3.400 GPA for the semester. The student must have taken a minimum of three units for the term, and may not have received a grade of “F” in any course that semester. The student cannot earn Dean’s List recognition if he/she has Incompletes from previous terms, or has any Incompletes for the current semester. The student cannot be placed on the Dean’s List if he/she is currently on academic probation.
5. Readmission: Students who have been dismissed or who have withdrawn voluntarily may apply to the Academic Performance Committee for readmission to the college. Those who have been dismissed must wait one year before reapplying. Students may be readmitted on the approval of the Committee which will consider each application on an individual basis. Students wishing to reapply should contact the Dean of Students Office.
a. A student previously enrolled at Beloit College and readmitted after an absence of one
(1) year (two terms) or more and with a deficient academic record may submit a request to the Academic Performance Committee that previous work at Beloit be re-evaluated by the registrar on the same basis as credits offered in transfer. A minimum of 16 units of credit for graduation must be completed at Beloit College after a student is readmitted.
6. Vacation Term and Withdrawal: At the start of each term, every student must submit a schedule card to the Registrar’s Office, indicating registration status for that term. Students taking a leave should follow vacation term procedures. These include an exit interview with the Dean of Students, Christina Klawitter; Associate Dean of Students, Teresa Leopold; or with the Director of Learning Enrichment and Disability Services, Joy de Leon. They will assist students in all procedures. Withdrawals from the college must be approved by the dean of students, or his/her designee, and the registrar. Having been approved, the student must officially withdraw from his/her classes through the Registrar’s Office. Failure to do so may result in the posting of “Fs” for all classes not officially dropped.
Taken from the Student Handbook (May 2014).