Support for Students in Achieving Academic Good Standing

Undergraduate Academic Good Standing

The university is committed to the academic success of all its students. To that end, it monitors the progress of each student and has established requirements to be considered in “Academic Good Standing.”  To remain in Academic Good Standing students must satisfy both rate of progress and cumulative grade point requirements. A student who does not meet Academic Good Standing requirements will receive academic sanctions and may be required to participate in programs designed to improve academic performance. In cases of serious or repeated failure to meet Academic Good Standing requirements, a student may be subject to various actions up to and including dismissal from the university.

Minimum Performance Requirements: To meet the rate of progress requirement students must accumulate the minimum number of credit hours noted in the scale below. Please note, the minimum satisfactory rate of progress would necessitate five years to complete an undergraduate degree. Students who do not accumulate the minimum number of credits hours, or earn only the minimum number of credits, but want to complete their degree in less than five years are encouraged to take winter or summer session classes.   To meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirements students must achieve the cumulative GPA noted in the scale below.

*Transfer students will be considered to have completed one semester of full-time study for every 12 credits of posted transfer credit. For example, a student who transfers 24 credits must satisfy the “End of 3rd Semester” standards after their first semester at RWU. In other words, the student must have a cumulative GPA of 1.9 or higher and accumulated a total of 36 credit hours. (Twenty-four transfer credits and a minimum of twelve RWU credits.)

Academic Interventions

Different program levels of intervention are provided to students who need additional assistance to succeed academically. These academic interventions are described below.

First-Year Support Through ASEP: First-year students and transfer students in their first year at RWU who have attained satisfactory academic standing but who have not earned a minimum GPA (see chart) in either of their first two semesters will be enrolled in the Academic Support Enrichment Program (ASEP.) These students will be assigned a mentor by the Center for Student Academic Success (CSAS) and provided guidance regarding available academic resources and suggestions for improving their performance.

Academic Guidance (AG): Students who are in academic good standing (according to the chart)  but whose most recent  semester’s  performance resulted in their earning less than 12 credits and/or achieving a semester GPA less than the appropriate cumulative GPA in the table above will be enrolled in the Academic Guidance Program. The objective of the Academic Guidance Program (AGP) is to ensure that students experiencing academic difficulty in a given semester, but still satisfying the cumulative academic standards, are identified and offered guidance to achieve success the subsequent semester. Students enrolled in the AG Program must meet with their faculty academic advisors within the first two weeks of the semester and are encouraged to keep in contact with their advisor throughout the semester.  Students are encouraged to avail themselves of the resources in the Center for Student Academic Success and/ or faculty advisors may refer students to CSAS for additional assistance.

Academic Management (AM): Students who fail to achieve academic good standing (according to the chart) at the end of a semester will be placed in the Academic Management (AM) Program for the next semester. Placement in the Academic Management program serves as a formal warning that the student’s academic performance must improve. Since students in the AM program should be focusing on making academic improvement, they will not be allowed to serve as a student club/organization officer, a resident assistant or peer mentor, or participate on NCAA or club sport teams. However, they may participate in co-curricular activities as they are only restricted from holding leadership roles in said activities.  Students placed on Academic Management must meet with their faculty academic advisors and/or professional academic advisor in CSAS to develop an academic plan to help them achieve academic good standing.

First-year students placed on Academic Management will be enrolled in the Academic Support Enhancement Program (ASEP) and assigned a mentor for the next semester in the Center for Student Academic Success.  Students will be required to meet with their mentor on a weekly basis to review their academic performance and their academic dean will be notified should they fail to meet the requirements of the ASEP program.
Students who fail to attain academic good standing after a semester on academic management but who have demonstrated improved academic performance may, at the discretion of the university, be placed on Continued Academic Management.

Academic Hiatus: Students who are unable to attain academic good standing after placement in the Academic Management Program or Continued Academic Management Program may be placed on Academic Hiatus. Students placed on Academic Hiatus will be withdrawn from the university for the subsequent semester (fall or spring.) Students placed on Academic Hiatus are required to use the semester away from the university to reflect on their personal academic goals and to formulate a plan for academic success. Students must have been placed in the Academic Management Program before being placed on Academic Hiatus.

Returning from Hiatus: Students desiring to return after a hiatus should contact the Center for Student Academic Success and formally request to be return by mid-October (Spring semester return) or mid-February (Fall semester return) to formally request to be re-admitted.   Requests to return will be accepted until one week before classes begin.  Students will be expected to complete the request form for approval.  Along with the request form, students must submit a reflection statement on how they spent their time during the hiatus, as well as their personal goals and plan for improving academically upon their return.

Academic Dismissal:  Academic dismissal is reserved for those students whose demonstrated academic performance indicates they are unlikely to earn a degree as they have not been able to attain the minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 needed to graduate.  A student must have been placed on Academic Hiatus at least once before they can be dismissed. Academic dismissal is noted on the student’s transcript.

Students have the right to appeal the Academic Dismissal to the Academic Appeals Committee.  If the Committee’s decision is to allow the student to return, the Committee reserves the right to impose restrictions on credit load and the student will be required to participate in the Academic Management Program.  The student will be reviewed again at the completion of the term.  If they make significant progress, they will be allowed to return and may be required to participate in the Continued Academic Management Program until they reach Academic Good Standing.  Students who do not make significant progress may be dismissed at the completion of the term.

Determination of Academic Intercessions and Notifications

Placement of a student in the First-Year Academic Enhancement, Academic Guidance or Academic Management Programs is made by the academic dean and/or Academic Appeals Committee based on the policies outlined and the individual student’s academic performance in the semester just completed, as well as their overall performance.  Notification of an academic intervention will be made by letter mailed through the United States Postal Service, as well as the student’s university email address.

Appeals of Academic Intercessions

Placement in the First-Year Academic Enhancement, Academic Guidance, or Academic Management may not be appealed except in cases where there is an error of fact or there is a completion of an Incomplete grade (I). Such appeals should be made to the academic dean.

Appeals of Academic Hiatus or Academic Dismissal are heard by the University Academic Appeals Committee on an announced date in the months of January and June. Students desiring to appeal either hiatus or dismissal decisions should follow the instructions for appealing contained in the letter notifying them of the action.
Appeals may be in person, in writing, or through electronic media (if prearranged). Students will be given a date and time for their appeal. Students may elect to have an advisor present during their appeal. The advisor is required to be a member of the university community and cannot be a family member or legal counsel. The advisor’s role is to provide support and therefore are not permitted to speak during the appeal hearing.

The Academic Appeals Committee may deny the appeal or it may change an Academic Hiatus decision to Academic Management or an Academic Dismissal to Academic Hiatus or Academic Management. The committee’s decision will be communicated to the student immediately following the student’s appearance before the Committee. The committee reserves the right to place conditions upon the appeal decision to which the student must agree if the appeal is to be granted. All Committee decisions are final.