Academic Standing

Academic Probation • Dismissal for Unsatisfactory Academic Performance • Satisfactory Academic Progress • Eligibility for Financial Aid • Eligibility to Register

All students are expected to monitor their grades each semester and to be aware that term grade point averages below 2.0 are unacceptable and put them at risk of dismissal if the unsatisfactory work continues the following semester.

The university notifies students about academic probation or unsatisfactory academic performance in writing. However, when incomplete or missing grades prevent the advising office from making a decision about academic standing, it may not be possible to send a timely notice to the student. In these cases, decisions about academic standing and dismissal will be based on the final grade report, whether or not previous letters regarding academic standing have been sent to the student. Also, a student who has ceased to keep up with his/her studies may be dismissed or suspended from the university even when satisfactory academic standards have been met in previous semesters.

Academic Probation [Top]
At the end of each semester, the Office of Engineering Advising (EN) and the Office of Academic Advising (AS) review the records of all undergraduate students to evaluate the academic progress of each student. A term grade point average of 2.0 or above in a program of at least 12 credits is required for good academic standing. Students who fail to attain this minimal level of performance will be placed on academic probation. A letter informing a student of this status and the terms of academic probation are sent to the student in January (for fall performance) or June (for spring performance). A copy of the letter is also sent to the parent(s). Students with a term grade point average below 2.0 should consult with an academic advisor about their academic standing, even if they have not received a letter from heir advising office.

The terms of academic probation are as follows: Students must complete at least 12 credits in the next semester, with a minimum G.P.A. of 2.0 and a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0 or above. In making the G.P.A. calculation, incomplete grades (I) will be calculated as failures (F). In addition, any grade in a satisfactory/unsatisfactory course may be taken into consideration.
Students on academic probation may be restricted from registering for the maximum course load. Engineering students on academic probation are permitted a maximum of 14 credits during the probation semester.

Dismissal for Unsatisfactory Academic Performance [Top]
Decisions about the academic status of students on academic probation are made at the end of each semester by the Academic Review Committee. A student on academic probation who has not met the terms of probation will be dismissed from the university for a minimum of one semester and a summer.

When a student is dismissed from the university, several university offices are notified and several important consequences follow.

• Registrar’s Office: cancels the student’s registration for the next semester and authorizes a refund of tuition paid for that semester;
• Office of Student Financial Services: suspends financial aid and work-study aid to the student;
• Housing Office: cancels the student’s housing contract if the student is in university housing;
• Office of International Student and Scholar Services: performs duties as required by U.S. federal regulations regarding persons not eligible to study at the university.

The terms for readmitting a student who has been dismissed for academic reasons are established by the Academic Review Committee. The readmission process is described in the dismissal letter. Students who have been dismissed should discuss the process with their advising office.

Students who receive prior approval to complete courses at another college or university during the period of dismissal are subject to the university’s 12-credit limit on the number of transfer credits that can be applied toward graduation.

Satisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory academic progress refers to minimal standards for grades and cumulative credits required to remain in good academic standing. Eligibility for financial aid is linked to satisfactory academic progress.

Eligibility for Financial Aid
All students who are eligible to register are also eligible to apply for financial aid.

However, students should be aware that JHU scholarship funds are awarded for a maximum of eight semesters. Under some circumstances, a ninth semester of scholarship may be awarded on appeal. Federal and state aid may be available for additional semesters.

Eligibility to Register
Each semester, students are expected to pass at least 12 credits with a grade point average of at least 2.0. Students who fall short of these criteria will be placed on academic probation. Failure to meet these minimal standards for two consecutive semesters will make a student ineligible to register and result in academic dismissal for a minimum of one semester and one summer.

Students are also expected to accumulate total credits at the rate of at least 12 credits per semester. Students who fall behind in credit accumulation will be subject to the academic probation and dismissal policies stated above. In addition, if a student falls behind in credit accumulation by 24 or more credits, that student will be ineligible to register and will be dismissed from the university for failure to make satisfactory academic progress. Repeated courses count only once toward the cumulative credit requirements.

An academic appeals committee will consider student appeals of these decisions. The appeals committee will have the authority to rescind a decision to dismiss a student and/or to establish new satisfactory progress terms for individual students who have fallen behind in credits.

Minimal Satisfactory Credit Accumulation Table

*Students should earn an average of 15 credits per semester to earn 120 credits in 8 semesters.

While students are required to maintain full-time status by registering for at least 12 credits, rare circumstances may lead to a student receiving permission to register for less than 12 credits in a given semester because of illness, disability, or other unusual circumstances. Less than full-time status may affect some types of financial aid.

Academic progress will be reviewed at the conclusion of each regular term (fall and spring). Incomplete or missing grades may prevent timely notification to the student. A student’s academic performance during the summer term or intersession will not affect his/her academic standing except that credits and grades will count in the cumulative measures.

Semesters need not be consecutive. Leave of absence semesters do not affect academic standing. If a student studies abroad or attends another approved program off campus, the semesters attended at the other institution are counted in the assessment of whether the student is making progress toward his/her degree the same as if the student had attended Johns Hopkins.

For transfer students, satisfactory academic progress will be based only on work done after matriculation at Johns Hopkins in accordance with the eligibility-to-register requirements above.