Academic Standing and Progress

The University expects each undergraduate (frosh, sophomore, junior, senior, or special student) to maintain a level of academic achievement consistent with University standards and to make reasonable progress toward the completion of a chosen curriculum.

The policies and regulations outlined below define the minimum academic standards of the University. Any College of the University may set a higher standard for admission, retention, or graduation from a degree program.

Good academic standing. The definition of good academic standing includes University standards for satisfactory academic progress during a semester. Academic standing is determined twice each year, once at the end of the fall semester and once at the end of the spring semester. It is not determined at the end of Summer Session or Winterim Session.

A student is in good academic standing at the end of a semester if all the following conditions are met:

1. The student’s resident GPA is 2.00 or higher.
2. The student has earned a semester GPA of 2.00 or higher. 

NOTE 1: An excessive number of withdrawals from courses may impact students’ eligibility for acceptance into certain major programs and most types of financial aid. All students should therefore consult their advisors before withdrawing from courses.

Academic Concern. An Academic Concern is the first formal notification that a student has failed to meet one or more of the requirements for good academic standing. The notation “Academic Concern” is placed on the student’s unofficial record at the end of the first semester in which any one or more of the following conditions apply:

1. The student’s resident GPA at the end of the semester is less than 2.00.
2. The student’s semester GPA is less than 2.00, but 1.00 or higher. (See Probation, below.)

Students may only be placed on Academic Concern once, the first time standing has dropped below Good. (See Probation, below.) Students who receive this notification must immediately consult their advisor(s) or the associate dean of their college, so that they may obtain support in achieving academic success. 

Academic Probation. Students will be placed on probation if one or more of the following conditions apply:

1. After receiving one Academic Concern, students do not achieve good academic standing at the end of any subsequent semester.

2. At the end of any semester, the student has a semester GPA of less than 1.00.

The period of probation is one semester. Students must regain good academic standing by the end of the probationary semester in order to continue in the University. They will be removed from probation upon regaining good academic standing. Students may be placed on probation multiple times should their academic standing require it.

Academic Suspension. A student will be suspended from the University if at the end of a semester of probation, the student has not regained good academic standing.

A student who has been suspended is ineligible to continue in the University for the period of one semester. Any degree-seeking student who wishes to return to the University after the expiration of the suspension must make formal application for readmittance through the Admissions Office. Special Students who wish to return to the University after the expiration of a suspension need to reapply. Readmittance cannot be guaranteed. If the student is readmitted and does not regain good academic standing by the end of the first semester after readmittance, a second suspension of one semester will be incurred.

Appeal of Academic Suspension. A student who has been suspended for academic reasons may request a review by a faculty committee of the College in which the student was enrolled. If the student can show that extenuating circumstances existed, the committee may recommend to the Associate Dean of the College that the student be reinstated.

Students on suspension may attend the UW-Eau Claire Winterim and Summer Sessions (including the Three-Week Summer Session) as a special student for the purpose of improving their academic records. A suspended student may not enroll as a special student at UW-Eau Claire during the fall or spring semesters until the suspension has expired. A student suspended from UW-Eau Claire may encounter difficulty in attempting to enroll at another institution.

New frosh and transfer students are admitted with no standing.

Policies applying to transfer students. Academic standing is computed based only on grades in courses taken at UW-Eau Claire (resident GPA). (see also Grade Point Requirements, under University Graduation Requirements).

The credits transferred from other colleges and universities are used to determine the classification of a student as freshman, sophomore, etc. Transfer credits are not used, however, in computing the UW-Eau Claire resident GPA which determines the student’s academic standing in subsequent semesters at UW-Eau Claire (see also Grade Point Requirements, under University Graduation Requirements).

Forgiveness of Earlier Academic Record

Returning adult students who have completed university-level course work at UW-Eau Claire or elsewhere five or more years prior to seeking admission or readmission to UW-Eau Claire may be eligible for forgiveness of the earlier academic record. Forgiveness means that grades earned five or more years earlier will not be used in the computation of the total GPA at UW-Eau Claire, although such grades will continue to appear on the student’s official transcript. Upon admission or readmission to UW-Eau Claire, students should meet with their advisors to discuss whether repeating courses or seeking forgiveness is the better alternative for them. If the decision is to seek forgiveness, the following conditions will apply:

1. Students must not have been enrolled in an institution of higher learning for at least five continuous years prior to admission/readmission to UW-Eau Claire except for completion of courses which were a precondition for admission/readmission.
2. After admission/readmission, students must earn a GPA of 2.50 or higher in the first 12 credits, which count toward the minimum degree requirements at UW-Eau Claire before applying for forgiveness.
3. The request for forgiveness must be approved by the student’s advisor, the Department Chair if the student has declared a major, and the Dean of the College in which the student is enrolled. The approved request will be forwarded to the Registrar.
4. If forgiveness is granted, all courses taken five or more years prior to admission/readmission (and the grades received) will continue to appear on the student’s record, but the student’s total GPA will be based solely on credits earned after admission/readmission to UW-Eau Claire.
5. If forgiveness is granted, all credit hours with a grade of “D-” or above earned five or more years before admission/readmission, up to a maximum of 30, may be used to satisfy degree requirements even though they are not included in the student’s total GPA.
6. Forgiveness of grades earned five or more years before admission/readmission may be granted only once.

Both the academic forgiveness policy and application form are available on the Registrar’s website.