Minutes
Academic Standards Committee
April 5, 2012
In Attendance: Paula Wilson, Landon Wade, Amy Odegard, Maddi Werhane, Kali
Odell, Brad Tomhave, Sarah Moore, Dan Burgard, Debbie Chee, Ben Lewin, Bill
Barry, Lori Ricigliano
Minutes: The minutes from the March 8 and March 22 meetings were approved.
Petitions Committee Report: Brad Tomhave offered the Petitions Committee
Report for the period 02/29/2012 – 03/27/2012
The Petitions Sub-Committee held meetings on March 6, March 20, and on March
27. No meeting was held on March 14 during spring break. During this reporting
period, the Petition Preview Team met on 3 occasions. The petitions work yielded
the following results:
1 Denied Late Registration
1 Denied Change of Grading Option from Graded to Pass/Fail
4 Approved Medical Withdrawals
2 Denied Exceptions to the Upper-Division Graduation Requirement
1 Approved Appeal of a Transfer Credit Evaluation
1 Approved Application of Alternate Courses to Foreign Language Requirement
10 Total Petitions
Registrar Approved:
0
Preview Team Approved:
4
Sub-Committee Approved: 2
Total Approved:
6
Sub-Committee Denied: 4
Total Petitions: 10
For the year to date, 172 petitions have been acted upon with 47 involving late
registration and 31 involving registration with a schedule conflict. For comparison,
by March 25, 2011, 134 petitions had been acted upon with 22 involving late
registration and 25 involving registration with a schedule conflict.
Of the 172 total petitions to date, 132 have been approved and 40 have been
denied.
Review proposals for changes to the Academic Standing section of the
Academic Handbook drafted by Brad Tomhave with comments by Sarah
Moore
The committee approved the text distinguishing sanctions for new students from
sanctions for continuing students. Bill Barry noted a missing word in the first
sentence and the word “will” was added next to “placed.” The revised section on
expulsion was approved to specify that both new and continuing students may be
expelled. The approved changes appear below.
This new subsection, “New Undergraduate Students” would immediately follow the
second full paragraph in the major section titled “ACADEMIC STANDING”
NEW UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
New students entering Puget Sound with freshman, transfer, or non-matriculated
status who earn a grade point average below 2.00 for their first semester at Puget
Sound will be placed on Academic Probation or will receive Academic Dismissal as
described below:
Academic Probation
If the grade point average for a new student is between 1.00 and 1.99, then the
student is placed on Academic Probation.
Academic Dismissal
If the grade point average for a new student is below 1.00, then the student is
dismissed for one semester. The student may petition the Committee for
readmission at the end of the dismissal period provided the student can present a
reasonable plan for academic improvement. The student also has the option to
petition for immediate readmission and the Committee expects such a student to
present a compelling argument and a compelling plan for academic improvement.
The guidelines for submitting a readmission petition are provided to a student upon
notification of dismissal.
CONTINUING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
After new freshman, transfer, or non-matriculated students complete their first
semester of attendance, they are categorized as continuing students in terms of this
policy on academic standing. Continuing undergraduate students are subject to the
sanctions of Academic Warning, Academic Suspension, Academic Probation, or
Academic Dismissal as described below:
Subsections titled “Academic Warning,” “Academic Suspension,” “Academic
Probation,” and “Academic Dismissal” continue as before. The final subsection,
“Academic Expulsion” has been revised slightly so as to make clear that both new
and continuing students could be expelled under the extreme conditions noted.
Academic Expulsion
A new or continuing student may be dismissed and precluded from ever returning to
the University. Expulsion is the most severe sanction available to a Hearing Board or
to the Academic Standards Committee and may be levied, for example, in response
to a severe case of academic dishonesty.
Since this is the last scheduled committee meeting for the semester, members will
vote on approving the minutes by email. The committee would like the Faculty
Senate to approve the language at its next meeting on April 16 so that changes in
the Academic Handbook can be made for the coming year. If the Faculty Senate
suggests substantive changes, the Academic Standards Committee has agreed to
hold another meeting on Thursday, April 19.
The committee was adjourned at 8:40 AM.
Minutes submitted by Lori Ricigliano