Statement of Policy

Fundamental to the Excelsior College mission is the expansion of educational opportunity with efficiency, economy, and academic excellence while supporting students as they progress toward earning their undergraduate degrees and certificates. Excelsior College is open to all, and is responsible for ensuring that students are provided with options that can lead to academic success while maintaining academic rigor. Therefore, a policy on academic probation exists in order to:

1. Identify matriculated students whose academic performance places them in jeopardy of not achieving the minimum Excelsior College grade point average (GPA) or the minimum completion ratio required to earn an undergraduate degree or undergraduate certificate; and
2. Assist and support those students who need to regain academic good standing.

The College may dismiss the student after 12 consecutive months on academic probation or if the student is not making satisfactory progress toward degree completion.

Procedure

• An undergraduate student whose Excelsior College GPA falls below 2.0 and/or who fails to meet the minimum completion ratio for Excelsior College courses and examinations will be placed on academic probation.
• The student will be notified in writing by the dean of the school.
• Students on academic probation will have a maximum of 12 months from the date they are placed on probation to show academic progress.
• Students will be allowed to take approved outside sources of credit during this 12-month period to demonstrate academic progress.

Standards for Placing Students on Academic Probation

Students' academic probation status will be assessed according to the following two measures:

1. Minimum Excelsior College GPA: A matriculated undergraduate student must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 (C).
2. Minimum completion ratio: A matriculated student must complete a minimum of one half (50 percent) of Excelsior College course and examination credits attempted.

Academic Probation

The following actions will be taken when an undergraduate student is placed on academic probation:

• The student's Student Information System (SIS) record will be annotated, a block on registration will be in effect, and the 12-month probation time limit will be set. During this period an academic progress GPA and completion ratio will be calculated upon an update to a student's record.
• A letter from the dean will be sent to the student to inform him/her of the probationary status and its consequences.
• The student will be encouraged to take advantage of advising services.
• The student will be limited to registering to one course per term. The registration restriction is removed when a student regains academic good standing.
• An SIS work item will be generated to prompt a phone call from an academic advisor during the first two weeks after being placed on academic probation.
• Advisors will limit course approvals to one course per term throughout the duration of academic probation.
• Advisors will discuss strategies for returning to good standing (i.e., online vs. face-to face courses, study habits, online resources).
• If the student has not shown academic progress in 9 months from date of probation, an academic advisor will contact the student to discuss strategies for returning to good academic standing.
• A student can be on academic probation for a total of 12 consecutive months.
• If after 12 months on academic probation there has been no progress, a letter will be sent from the dean dismissing the student from the College.

Removal of Academic Probation Status

Students will be removed from academic probation once they have achieved academic good standing.

Academic Progress Measures

1. Academic Progress GPA: A matriculated undergraduate student must show academic progress as measured by the Academic Progress GPA which is calculated at the start of academic probation. The Academic Progress GPA includes all Excelsior College credits graded A, B, C, D, and F and any new outside sources of credit taken after the student is placed on academic probation. Students must achieve a minimum 2.0 (C) Academic Progress GPA within the 12-month academic probation period.
2. Academic Progress Completion Ratio: A matriculated student must complete a minimum of one half (50 percent) of all Excelsior College course credits graded A, B, C, D, P, F, and AW and new outside sources of credit taken after the student is placed on academic probation.

Bridge Programs

Students in the undergraduate portion of any bridge program (e.g. our RN to Master of Science in Nursing program) are governed by this policy.  Students in the graduate portion of a bridge program are governed by the Academic Probation and Academic Dismissal Policy for Graduate Students and Certificates.

Transferring to a Different Degree Program

A student may request a transfer to another degree program while on academic probation. Students should refer to the Academic Clean Slate policy for sources of Excelsior College credit.

Transfer options may be limited for students. Not all programs may be appropriate for students who have not been successful in other programs. Program transfer may not be feasible for all certificate students, as the College offers fewer certificate programs than degree programs, and there may not be an appropriate certificate program for the student to pursue.

Note: When an associate degree nursing student transfers to another school within Excelsior College, the initial evaluation for the new degree will include only associate degree nursing examinations posted on the student’s evaluation. Associate degree nursing examination failures are not posted unless it is the final attempt. Final attempt is defined as when the student is not eligible to repeat the examination.

Disciplinary Actions

The following actions will be taken when an undergraduate student is academically dismissed:

• After being on academic probation for 12 months, the student will be sent a dismissal letter from the dean.
• The student is dismissed from the program and administrative withdrawn from the College.
• The student's status will be designated as WAP (withdrawn academic probation).
• All College services will cease.

Academic Dismissal is a result of any of the following:

1. Failure to regain an acceptable Academic Progress GPA
2. Failure to regain an acceptable Academic Progress Completion Ratio

See Administrative Withdrawal and Academic Dismissal for further details.

Appeals

Refer to the Student Appeals policy for details on how to appeal disciplinary actions described above.

Statement of Policy

Fundamental to the Excelsior College mission to provide educational opportunity with efficiency, economy, and academic excellence is the need to support students as they progress toward earning their graduate degrees and certificates. While Excelsior College is open to all, the College is responsible for ensuring that students are provided with options that can lead to academic success while maintaining academic rigor. Therefore, a policy on academic probation exists in order to:

1. Identify matriculated students whose academic performance places them in jeopardy of not achieving the minimum grade point average (GPA) required to earn a graduate degree or graduate certificate.
2. Assist and support those students in their efforts to regain academic good standing.

Standards for placing students on academic probation

• A graduate student whose overall GPA falls below 3.00 will be placed on academic probation.
• A student placed on academic probation will be notified in writing by the dean of his or her respective school and have one year to achieve a minimum overall 3.00 GPA.
• Any student who does not achieve the minimum required GPA within one year is at risk of being academically dismissed from the graduate degree or certificate program.

Graduate students in a degree program are required to have a minimum 3.00 GPA in order to register for the capstone projects/courses. In order to earn a graduate certificate, the student’s final GPA must be a minimum of 3.00. If the student’s certificate GPA is less than 3.00 upon completion of the final course in the certificate program, the student will need to repeat a course(s) until the overall GPA is 3.00 or higher.

Graduate students may accumulate a maximum of two F-grades in Excelsior College courses. Students receiving more than two F-grades will be academically dismissed from the program and administratively withdrawn from the College.

Procedure

When a graduate student’s GPA falls below 3.00, the College will take the following actions:

• The student’s Student Information System (SIS) record will be annotated and the one-year probation time limit will be defined and set to begin.
• The student’s academic evaluation summary will be annotated.
• A letter from the provost will be generated automatically and sent to the student to inform him/her of the probationary status and its consequences and to encourage him/her to take advantage of advising services.
• Academic advisors will initiate contact with students who have been placed on academic probation to encourage persistence and discuss strategies for success in meeting the requirements in order to be removed from probation. This outreach approach will be determined by individual programs based on staffing levels and the number of students requiring intervention. It is understood that not every student placed on probation requires an identical outreach approach.
• At the six-month anniversary of the student’s academic probationary status, an official letter from the provost will be sent and academic advisors will contact the student, again outlining the student’s probationary status and its consequences, and encourage him/her to take advantage of advising services.
• At the 9-month mark, an official letter from the provost will be sent and academic advisors will contact the student indicating that the student is at risk for being academically dismissed from the student's graduate degree/certificate program in three months if they do not achieve a 3.00 overall GPA.

Note: Once a graduate student in academic probationary status achieves a 3.00 overall GPA, he or she is removed from probation. If, at a future date, the student’s GPA again falls below 3.00, the one-year academic probationary period will be implemented and a new one-year clock will start running again. In the case of subsequent or multiple probationary periods, the dean will convene a group to review the student’s academic record.

At the one-year anniversary of the student being on academic probation, academic advisors will review the student's file. If the student has coursework in progress, the advisor will wait until course completion to determine if the student's GPA will reach 3.0 or if the student should be dismissed. If the GPA remains below 3.0, the advisor will contact the dean or designee and a final letter will be sent from the dean dismissing the student from the graduate program or graduate certificate program and the College.

After earning a maximum of two F-grades:

Students receiving more than two F-grades in Excelsior College courses will be academically dismissed and administratively withdrawn from the College. The student's academic file will be annotated to reflect this action and the file will be flagged to block future enrollment, except through appeal, and all advising and evaluation services previously available to the student will be terminated.

Disciplinary Action

If a student on academic probation does not raise his or her GPA to 3.00, he or she will be academically dismissed from the graduate degree or certificate program and administratively withdrawn from College. Students receiving more than two F-grades in Excelsior College courses will be academically dismissed and administratively withdrawn from the College.

See Administrative Withdrawal and Academic Dismissal for further details.

Bridge Programs

Students in the graduate portion of any bridge program (e.g. our RN to Master of Science in Nursing program) are governed by this policy. Students in the undergraduate portion of a bridge program are governed by the Academic Probation Policy for Undergraduate Degree and Certificates.

Appeals

Refer to the Student Appeals policy for details on how to appeal disciplinary actions described above.