Assessment of Academic Status
Each quarter the academic departments run a report to obtain a list of students who do not meet program or graduation standards. The dean, dean’s designee and/or school/department Student Progress Committee review(s) each student’s record according to specified degree program standards on file in the Office of the Registrar.
Students must achieve the required minimum GPA for their programs to graduate.
Most undergraduate students are required to maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA to remain in good standing. Students should check program-specific grade and graduation requirements for their individual programs listed below.
Graduate programs that issue letter grades typically require a minimum grade for each class and/or a minimum GPA to continue in the program. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to graduate. Students should check program-specific grade and graduation requirements for their individual graduate-level programs listed below.
A change of status, with the exception of dismissal, is the decision of the dean, dean’s designee and/or the school/department Student Progress Committee. Depending on the nature of the academic deficiency, the categories above are not necessarily followed sequentially. A student who is not in good standing in all programs in which they are enrolled will receive an academic improvement plan and/or be required to conform to other academic sanctions to avoid eventual dismissal.
Students under academic warning or on probation, final probation or suspension must complete at least one quarter with no academic difficulty and fulfill all prescribed terms and conditions in order to qualify for a change of status. A change of status is the decision of the school/department Student Progress Committee and/or the dean or dean’s designee, who will notify the Office of the Registrar accordingly.
Academic standing notations appear on the advisor’s transcript for internal use but, with the exception of suspension and dismissal status, are excluded from external transcripts. The registrar receives copies of all communications with students concerning changes in academic standing for the purpose of maintaining student records.
For more information regarding academic status, all students should refer to the individual academic policies on grading and degree and certificate program requirements.
Assessment of academic status for Naturopathic Medicine (ND) students
The following provides the policy on maintaining Title 38 benefits for naturopathic medicine students. Students’ academic progress is reviewed after each quarter, and academic status is assigned based on the following plan. A student’s VA benefits will be terminated when a student is placed on final probation. In order to restore eligibility for VA benefits, a student must return to at least academic warning status.
Each PC, RC and F an ND student receives is recorded on the transcript as follows:
| 1 PC (academic course) |
1.5 points |
|
| 1 RC (academic course) |
2.5 points |
|
| 1 F (academic course) |
4.0 points |
|
| 1 PC (clinic rotation) |
15.0 points |
Automatic academic warning |
| 1 F (clinic rotation) |
20.0 points |
Automatic probation |
When an ND student receives the following point totals, the following action or change in academic status is applied by the associate dean or dean designee:
| Points |
Level |
| < 10 points |
Good Standing |
| 10.5 - 20.0 points |
Academic Warning |
| 20.5 - 25 points |
Probation |
| 25.5 - 30.0 points |
Final Probation |
Reasons to be referred for dismissal:
- Poor academic performance as evidenced by accumulating 30.5 or more points
- Failing the same course twice or failing to convert an RC to AC
- Receiving three Fs or three RCs or any combination of Fs and RCs that total three or more in a single term
- Failing two or more clinic rotations
- Failure to remediate a non-passing grade in the clinic entrance exam or clinic exit exam
An academic improvement plan may be part of the academic monitoring process with any point total but is required for probation or final probation. Each time an ND student earns all ACs (Achieved Competency) in a quarter with 12 or more credits (10 or more credits for those on the five-year track), the academic status will improve one level. However, the student cannot return to good standing until all courses have been successfully converted to AC.
Assessment of academic status for all Acupuncture and East Asian medicine (AEAM) students
In the AEAM graduate programs (MAc, MAcCHM, CCHM and DAc), a student is considered in good standing if their cumulative GPA is equal to or greater than 3.0. This is the AEAM graduate program minimum standard.
In the AEAM DAOM programs, the minimum standard is AC (Achieved Competency). In order to be eligible to graduate from these AEAM programs and receive a degree, a student must be in good standing.
Assessment of academic status for all Nutrition and Exercise Science students
The Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science utilizes the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status:
The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative GPA is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for graduate students, and at or below 2.8 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduate students.
The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:
- a continuous trend in academic performance.
- a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance.
- (or) performance in a single course.
Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to do one of the following:
- If a student is in the first quarter of their program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to make a note to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
- If the student is in the second or third quarter of their program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the department’s assigned faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
- The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, to remind the student about the resources available to them at the University, and to request that the student meet with the advisor. This email communication is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.
Assessment of academic status for all Counseling and Health Psychology students
The Department of Counseling and Health Psychology utilizes the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status.
The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative GPA is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for graduate students, and at or below 2.8 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduate students.
The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:
- a continuous trend in academic performance.
- a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance.
- (or) performance in a single course.
Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to proceed with one of the following:
- If a student is in the first quarter of their program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
- If the student is in the second or third quarter of their program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the student’s faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
- The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, remind the student about relevant University resources available to them and request that the student meet with the faculty advisor. This email is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.
Assessment of academic status for all Midwifery and Maternal Child Health Systems students
The Department of Midwifery uses the following guidelines, which supplement the University’s general policy regarding academic status.
Student progress through the program to graduation is monitored by the department chair (academic) and clinical education supervisor (clinical) as applicable. An instructor, preceptor or staff member may identify a significant problem with a student’s academic performance, clinical performance or behavior by notifying the department chair.
Satisfactory academic progress is measured in the following ways:
- Summative evaluations via quarterly grades given by course instructors
- Progress toward completion of the master’s project (for midwifery and MCHS students) or the Botanical Medicine for Midwifery track (for midwifery students)
- Clinical Skills Evaluations from preceptors (for midwifery students)
- Holistic assessment of each student in the quarterly faculty meeting, which includes a progress report from the clinical education supervisor (for midwifery students)
- Scores in each section of the Advanced Clinical Exam and the Comprehensive Exam for midwifery students
Students who are not making reasonable progress toward meeting graduation requirements listed in the catalog in a timely way (i.e., are approaching the University’s five-year limit) are contacted by the department chair for counseling.
If a student is in jeopardy of failing a course, or if a student is not receiving satisfactory evaluations from clinical faculty, the department chair (in the former circumstance) or the clinical education supervisor (in the latter circumstance) is notified. The department’s Student Progress Committee may be convened to discuss and develop a plan for any student at risk of not making timely progress toward graduation requirements.
Assessment of academic status for Master of Arts in Public Health students
The program chair in the Department of Public Health receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative GPA is at or below 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The program chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to performance in a single course or a continuous trend in academic performance.
A student will be placed on academic warning for the following reasons:
- The student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.3 on a 4.0 scale
- The student demonstrates a pattern of failing grades or evidence of a progressive downward trend in cumulative GPA
Students on academic warning status may be changed to the University’s probation status (described in the following section) if their cumulative GPA continues to fall.
Assessment of academic status for all students in Herbal Sciences and Integrated Human Biology Bachelor of Science degree programs
The departments utilize the following steps on a quarterly basis to closely monitor the academic status of each of its students and to assign Academic Warning Status:
The department chair receives from the Office of the Registrar a list of students whose cumulative GPA is at or below 2.8 on a 4.0 scale.
The department chair reviews the transcripts of students on this list to identify if the major reason for the current GPA is related to:
- a continuous trend in academic performance.
- a unique series of improvements or declines in academic performance.
- (or) performance in a single course.
Based on these indicators, the department chair chooses to do one of the following:
- If a student is in the first quarter of their program, or if the cumulative GPA appears to be related to performance in a single course, the most frequent course of action is for the department chair to make a note to monitor the student for an additional quarter before initiating any official academic status steps. The student’s faculty advisor is notified by the department chair with a request to reach out to the student in an informal way to check in and determine what support may be helpful.
- If the student is in the second or third quarter of their program, or if the academic concern is related to performance in some courses with successful performance in other courses, the department chair will refer the student to the department’s assigned faculty advisor with a request for formal communication.
- The faculty advisor will communicate with the student via email to begin a documented chain of communication to offer support, to remind the student about the resources available to them at the University, and to request that the student meet with the advisor. This email communication is considered a communication of “Academic Concern” and is a precursor to placing the student on any University academic status designation.