Programs are responsible for monitoring the academic progress of their students, including through annual academic reviews. Factors that a program may use to assess academic progress include, but are not limited to, performance in course work, satisfactory and timely completion of all milestones as determined by the program, satisfactory progress in research, overall graduate and/or program GPA, and performance on qualifying, preliminary, and other examinations.
When students fail to meet these requirements, a program can recommend to the Graduate College that the student be placed on academic warning or dismissed (dropped) by the Graduate College. The Graduate College will review the recommendation. If it is determined that the student will be placed on academic warning, the Graduate College will communicate the length of the warning period and requirements for returning to Good Standing.
See Chapter 3.2 of the Graduate College Handbook for the full policy.
Background
Graduate College academic warning status is a significant indicator that a student is not making satisfactory academic progress. Students on academic warning status have certain restrictions, including not being eligible for credit/no-credit classes and not being able to hold assistantship or fellowship appointments without approval.
Timelines for Academic Standing Review
Academic standing based on program recommendation will be reviewed and determined once per academic term according to the timelines listed below.
| Term of academic standing | Deadline for program to submit recommendation to Graduate College | Target date for a decision on academic standing |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Reading Day, August 7, 2025 | August 21, 2025 |
| Spring | Reading Day, December 11, 2025 | January 9, 2026 |
| Summer | Reading Day, May 8, 2025 | May 23, 2025 |
Process
If a department intends to recommend that a student be placed on academic warning status, it is recommended that the program discuss these plans with the student in advance of the Reading Day deadline.
To start this process, the program will submit a recommendation for academic warning to the Graduate College.
This recommendation (with the above form) should include:
- A letter from the Executive Officer or Director of Graduate Study that describes the academic progress concerns and provides information about how these expectations have been communicated to the student
- Copy of the most recent annual academic review for the student
- Copies of departmental handbooks, letters/emails about expectations or other items that show how the department has communicated expectations to the student
- Implications on funding of academic warning status,
- Recommended academic warning length, and
- Specific academic expectations that the student is expected to meet to return to good standing.
After this recommendation has been received by the Graduate College, the Graduate College will notify the student that their program has recommended academic warning status and provide a copy of the entire recommendation package. The student will have five business days (excluding university holidays) to provide a written response to be considered as part of the Graduate College review.
The Graduate College will review the documentation provided by the program and the student before making a decision regarding the student’s academic standing for the upcoming term. The Graduate College may request additional information as part of the review. The Graduate College will communicate the decision to the student and the program including, if applicable, the length of the academic warning period and requirements for returning to good standing.
Appeal Process
The student has five business days (excluding university holidays) to appeal the decision on the grounds that the process was not followed in a manner that resulted in significant disadvantage for the student or new information is available that was not available at the time of the initial review. The written appeal should identify the grounds for appeal and provide any additional information to be included in the review. An appeal committee in the Graduate College will review this material and the information included in the initial review before reaching a decision. The appeal committee may request additional information as part of the review. The decision of the appeal committee is final.
Assessing Progress for Students on Academic Warning Status
When a student is on academic warning status based on program recommendation, the Graduate College will ask that the student and program develop an academic plan to provide guidance to the student in achieving the academic expectations. The Graduate College can provide support to the student and program in this process if requested.
During the final term of a student’s academic warning period, the department will be asked to provide an update regarding the student’s academic progress by the deadline within that term and a recommendation that the student be returned to good standing, dismissed from the program, or continued on academic warning. This recommendation should include a letter from the Executive Officer or Director of Graduate Study that describes the student’s academic progress and discusses whether milestones have been met. The department may also include letters/emails about expectations or other items that show how the department has communicated expectations to the student. If the department wishes to recommend that the student remain on academic warning status, the department must include specific academic expectations that the student is expected to meet to return to good standing. The Graduate College will send this recommendation to the student. The student will have five business days (excluding university holidays) to provide a written response to be considered as part of the Graduate College review.
The Graduate College will review the documentation provided by the program and student before making a decision regarding the student’s academic standing for the upcoming term. The Graduate College may request additional information as part of the review. The Graduate College will communicate the decision to the student and the program including, if applicable, the length of the academic warning period and requirements for returning to good standing.
The student will have the ability to appeal the decision using the appeal process described above.