2012/2013 – 02
PROPOSED MANDATE FOR UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
TITLE: Change to Academic Dismissal/Probation Policy for Graduate Programs in the
College of Arts and Sciences
OBJECTIVE: To change the policy for academic dismissal and probation to a GPA
based system for Graduate Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
REASONS FOR PROPOSED MANDATE:
1. The current policy used in the College of Arts and Sciences to determine whether
a graduate student is eligible for academic dismissal is complicated and difficult
to administer effectively. Changing to a policy that allows these decisions to be
made based on cumulative GPA will be more efficient, accurate, and result in
more timely notification to the student.
2. Currently, there is no provision for a category of academic probation for students
in the graduate programs of the College of Arts and Sciences. The addition of
such a category will allow graduate program directors to provide better advice and
counseling for students whose academic performance puts them at risk of
dismissal.
3. Currently, there is no official appeal process for students who wish to contest their
academic dismissal. The addition of such a policy provides clarity and structure
for decisions regarding appeals of dismissals.
RECOMMENDED FOR STUDY BY WHICH BODY?
__X__ Faculty Senate:
Academic Policies and Procedures Committee
_____ Faculty Senate:
Faculty Policies and Procedures Committee
_____ College Council:
College of Arts and Sciences
_____ College Council:
Haub School of Business
_____ Standing Committee on Student Affairs, Full-time Undergraduate
_____ Standing Committee on Student Affairs, Part-time Undergraduate/Graduate
_____ Administrative/Staff Council
Signature:
Sabrina DeTurk, Associate Dean, Graduate Arts & Science Date: 10/3/12
Please forward to the Provost who serves as Chair of the University Council, along with
complete documentation to substantiate the need for the proposed mandate.
EXPLANATION & SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
In the College of Arts and Sciences the current policy for dismissing graduate students
who fail to make adequate academic progress is both complex and impractical. As stated
in the University Catalog, the policy reads as follows:
Students enrolled in degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences that
require fewer than twelve courses for the degree who receive three grades below
B will be dropped from the degree program. Student in programs that require
twelve or more courses who receive four grades below B will be dropped from the
degree program. Also, students who receive two grades of F will be dropped
from the degree program. The term course as used in this regard, applies only to
560 or higher level courses.
Students in Post-Master’s Certificate programs that require four courses will be
dropped from such programs if they receive a grade below B. Students in
programs that require more than four courses will receive a warning letter if they
receive a grade below B; they will be dismissed if they receive a second such
grade.
There is a provision that individual programs may have separate requirements (e.g., the
Ed.D. program).
In practice, the only way to apply the current policy is for the Associate Dean for
Graduate Arts and Sciences to receive from the registrar at the end of each semester a list
of all students who have received one or more grades below B that semester. The
Associate Dean then pulls each of those student transcripts in Banner and checks the
student’s entire academic record to see if any of the above criteria have been met. If so,
the student is academically dismissed. If they are very close to dismissal (e.g., have
received one F or 2 C’s) they receive a warning letter. The scale of this task is substantial
and has increased with the addition of online programs (during the spring 2012 semester,
103 students received a grade below B).
Saint Joseph’s policy is not only unwieldy; it appears to be an outlier among peer
institutions. A sample of policies from other Jesuit institutions and some local
competitors is included at the end of this text (these are general guidelines; some graduate
programs may have more specific regulations).
In addition, several institutions have a formal appeal process in place for students who
wish to contest their dismissal. Saint Joseph’s University has no such policy; current
practice is that the student is asked to submit a formal letter of appeal (including any
supporting documentation) to the Associate Dean, who then consults with the program
director and makes a decision about whether to reverse the dismissal. If a student is not
satisfied with the outcome of that process, they may then appeal to the Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences. While this practice is generally effective, it would be
helpful to have a formal university appeal policy to which students could be referred.
Based on the above, the following changes to the academic probation and dismissal
policy for graduate programs of the College of Arts and Sciences are proposed.
Minimum standards for probation and dismissal (individual programs may have higher
standards)

Graduate students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 (B) in order to remain in good
academic standing.

The progress of each student is reviewed at the end of the Fall, Spring, and
Summer semesters (a semester is defined by the length of the longest course
running in graduate CAS during that period; e.g., a student may take 2 accelerated
courses consecutively in one semester).

A student whose cumulative GPA is below 2.3 at the end of a semester is
immediately dismissed from their degree or certificate program.

A student whose cumulative GPA is between 2.3 and 2.9 at the end of a semester
is placed on probation for the following semester and notified in writing of this
status. If the cumulative GPA has not been raised to a 3.0 at the end of the
probationary period, the student is dismissed from the graduate program.

A student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above to graduate from a
graduate CAS degree or certificate program at Saint Joseph’s University.
Appeal process
Students may appeal their dismissal within 5 days of the date the dismissal was issued.
Decisions regarding student appeals will be made by the Associate Dean of Graduate
Arts and Sciences in consultation with the appropriate graduate program director. A
student wishing to appeal must submit a letter of appeal and relevant documentation to
the Associate Dean (see appendix A for sample appeal form).
Implementation
As with any change of policy, it will be important to implement the new policy in a way
that does not negatively impact those students who entered Saint Joseph's University
under previous rules. Recognizing this need, the following implementation process is
recommended:
1. At the end of the first semester after the new policy is approved (e.g., summer
2013 if approved in spring 2013), the Associate Dean for Graduate Arts and
Sciences will receive from the registrar’s office a list of all graduate CAS students
whose cumulative GPA is below 3.0.
2. Students whose GPA falls between 2.3 and 2.9 will be placed on probation for
one semester. After that semester, their GPA will be subject to review under the
new policy.
3. Students whose GPA is below 2.3 will have their transcripts evaluated as follows:
a. If a student was admitted to SJU under the previous policy and a review of
their transcript under those guidelines would not result in their dismissal,
they will be placed on probation for the next semester. After that
semester, their GPA will be subject to review under the new policy.
b. If a student was admitted to SJU under the previous policy and a review of
their transcript under those guidelines would result in their dismissal, they
will be dismissed from their program.
c. If a student was admitted to SJU under the new policy, they will be
dismissed from their program.
This implementation practice would continue for two years following the approval of the
new policy, after which point transcripts would be reviewed only according to the new
criteria. This will provide sufficient time for the majority of students admitted under the
previous policy to complete their studies. The implementation practice would reduce the
number of transcripts that the Associate Dean reviews at the end of each semester
substantially; for example, as of October 2012, 85 out of 1510 graduate CAS students
have a GPA below 3.0 and only have a GPA below 2.5 (the 1510 total does not include
students who began classes in fall 2012).
APPENDIX A
Saint Joseph's University Graduate Arts and Sciences
Academic Dismissal Appeal Form [DRAFT]
DEADLINE: An appeal form with all appropriate documentation must be submitted no later than
5 business days after you receive notification of your academic dismissal.
Part 1: Student Information
Name: _____________________________
SJU ID # ________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Email: ____________________________
Phone: _________________________
Signature: ______________________________________________________________
Part 2: Reason for Appeal
Please indicate any mitigating circumstances that contributed to your inability to successfully
complete your academic requirements by checking any category that applies to you. You must
also follow the instructions for each category.
_____ Serious illness or injury to you or an immediate family member (parent, spouse, sibling, or
child) that required extended recovery time. Attach a statement from a physician and provide an
explanation in your letter of appeal regarding the nature and dates of the illness or injury.
_____ Death of an immediate family member (parent, spouse, sibling, or child). Include the
name of the deceased and relationship to you in your appeal. If available, include a copy of the
obituary/death notice.
_____ Other extenuating circumstances that impaired your emotional or physical health or
otherwise made it impossible for you to be academically successful. Explain the specific
circumstances of your condition/situation in your letter of appeal. Please be sure to include dates
and what you have done to overcome this condition. If available, include supporting
documentation from a third party (physician, therapist, social worker, etc.)
Part 3: Letter of Appeal and Documentation
You must submit a letter detailing the reason for your appeal, being sure to address any of the
specific issues identified in Part 2. You should include any supporting documentation with your
appeal in one file. You may email or fax your appeal and documentation to:
Dr. Sabrina DeTurk, Associate Dean
sdeturk@sju.edu
Fax: 610-660-3230
Phone: 610-660-1289
APPENDIX B
Examples of policies at other institutions:
University of
Scranton
All graduate students must have a cumulative grade point average
(GPA) of at least 3.0 in order to graduate with a master’s or
doctoral degree. In addition, all graduate students must maintain a
cumulative graduate GPA of at least 3.0 in order to remain
in good standing.
A master’s degree seeking student whose cumulative graduate
GPA falls between a 3.0 and 2.0 will be placed on academic
probation. A master’s degree seeking student whose cumulative
graduate GPA falls below a 2.0 will be subject to dismissal.
1. If a student in a master’s program is placed on academic
probation, then the student is required to earn a cumulative
graduate GPA of a least 3.0 within the next three courses
taken (normally nine hours of course work).
2. Successful achievement of this expectation will result in
the master’s degree seeking student being reinstated to
regular academic status.
3. Failure to fulfill this expectation may result in the
dismissal of the master’s degree seeking student.
4. Although there are no set limitation on the number of
courses a master’s student may take in a semester while on
academic probation, it is imperative that the student
recognizes the necessity of improved academic
performance in order to regain the minimum graduate
GPA of 3.0 within the next three courses.
Loyola Maryland
It is the student's responsibility to make certain that the minimum
QPA requirement of 3.000, which is a B average, is maintained.
Students who fall below this level of achievement will be placed
on academic probation for one semester. Failure to raise the
cumulative QPA to 3.000 in the following semester will result in
dismissal from the program. The receipt of one F (0.000) will
result in dismissal from the program.
Loyola Chicago
Students must maintain a grade-point average of not less than
3.00 (B) for all graduate-level courses and undergraduatelevel courses taken for graduate credit. If a student, with the
authorization of the Dean and graduate program, retakes a
course, the most recent grade earned for the course will be
used when calculating the student's grade-point average. As
indicated above, no student will be graduated with less than a
3.00 grade point average.
Students who fail to maintain a grade-point average of at
least a 3.00 may be placed on academic probation. In such
cases, if the student does not raise the grade-point average to
at least 3.00 during the next two consecutive terms in which
the student registers, the student will be dismissed for poor
scholarship.
Students who are near the end of their programs must raise
their cumulative GPAs to 3.00 in order to receive a degree.
Students will not be permitted to continue taking courses
after they have completed all of their program hours in the
hope of raising their cumulative GPAs.
Fairfield University
A student whose overall grade point average falls below 3.00 in
any semester is placed on probation for the following semester. If
the overall grade point average is again below 3.00 at the end of
that semester, the student may be dismissed. Any student who
receives two course grades below 2.67 or B- will be excluded
from the program.
Creighton
University
A graduate student who has been in good standing, but whose
cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 at the end of any term is placed
on academic probation. A student who fails to remove the
probationary status by regaining a cumulative 3.0 GPA within one
semester of full-time enrollment or its equivalent (8 credit hours)
will be dismissed from the Graduate School.
Temple University
To remain in Academic Good Standing in the University, a nonmatriculated or matriculated graduate student must achieve a
semester GPA of at least 3.0 for each semester and maintain a
cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all work completed at Temple
University.
Graduate students are required to maintain a grade-point average
of at least 3.0, and cannot be approved for the comprehensive
examination or graduation unless this average has been
maintained. Students whose GPA falls below 3.0 are notified by
letter that they are on academic probation, and are given one
additional semester to bring their GPA up to a 3.0; if they fail to
do so, they are dismissed from the university. Students who
succeed in raising their GPA above 3.0 for one or more semesters
after being on academic probation, but who in a later semester fall
below a 3.0 GPA for a second time, will be dismissed from the
university.
Villanova
University
Drexel University
Continuation in graduate studies requires satisfactory progress
toward a graduate degree. Evidence of such progress includes
maintenance of a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average
each term (individual departments may set higher standards for
determining satisfactory progress). The progress of each student is
reviewed each term. Failure to maintain the 3.0/departmental
minimum cumulative GPA will result in placement on probation.
Any student on probation must not only achieve a
3.0/departmental minimum cumulative average within two
successive terms following the term in which the deficiency
occurred, but must also maintain at least a 3.0/departmental
minimum term average in any term in which he or she is on
probation. Failure to meet either of these requirements will subject
the student to dismissal at the discretion of the Associate Vice
Provost of Graduate Studies. Graduate students must have a
minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA in order to graduate (again,
departments may set higher standards for graduation).
La Salle University
Every student in La Salle University’s graduate programs is
required to maintain a cumulative scholastic average of “B” (3.0).
In addition, a student whose academic performance falls below
this standard is subject to academic review by the director of the
appropriate graduate program. Depending upon the degree of the
academic deficiency, a student may be warned with regard to
academic standing or required to withdraw from the program. A
student with a cumulative grade point average below 3.0 is
automatically in academic jeopardy whether or not he or she
receives written notification of this status. A student must have a
cumulative average of 3.0 or better to graduate from La Salle
University. Note that a “B-” average does not satisfy this
requirement.