The Academic Standing Board monitors the academic performance of all undergraduate degree candidates at the end of each fall and spring semester.  The Board seeks to ensure that students are making appropriate progress toward earning their degrees in terms of their grades and number of credit-hours earned each semester.  All degree candidates begin their academic careers in good standing.  Those who fail to meet the requirements to continue in good standing, as defined below, are ordinarily placed on academic probation for the following semester in order to signal the need to improve their academic performance and to help them develop plans for improving their academic performance and returning to good standing.  Those who fail to meet a minimum set of academic standards defined below or who have two consecutive semesters in which they do not meet the requirements of good standing are ordinarily separated from the university for a period of two academic sessions, including the summer session.

Good Academic Standing

Full-time First-Year and Transfer Students in the First Semester

In order to maintain good academic standing at the end of the first semester at Case Western Reserve University, a full-time (i.e., enrolled in at least 12 credit hours at the end of the drop/add period) first-year student or new transfer student must:

1. earn a semester grade point average of 2.000 or higher AND
2. earn a minimum of 9 credit hours in that semester.

Full-time Students after the First Semester

Following the first semester of the first year, full-time students (i.e., those enrolled in at least 12 credit hours at the end of the drop/add period) will be in good standing provided they:

1. earn a semester grade point average of 2.000 or higher AND
2. earn a minimum of 12 credit hours in that semester.

Part-time Students

Part-time students (i.e., those enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours at the end of the drop/add period) will be in good standing if they earn a semester grade point average of 2.000 or higher.

NOTE: Any student with incomplete grades at the end of a semester may be placed on “probation (incomplete)” or made "ineligible to register," as described below.

Academic Probation

Students who, at the end of any semester, fail to maintain the standard of performance required for good standing as specified above will be considered for academic probation. Academic probation is meant to provide a supportive framework for helping students improve their academic performance and continue to make progress toward earning their degrees.

While probation is the ordinary response to academic records that do not meet the criteria for good standing but fall short of consideration for separation (see below), it is not an automatic process. Students being considered for probation will be given the opportunity to prepare a statement explaining the circumstances that interfered with their ability to meet the criteria for good standing. This is the student's opportunity to appeal probation. If a student thinks they should not be placed on probation, the statement should include an explanation of how the final record for the semester reflects responsible behavior by the student (such as withdrawing from courses because of personal circumstances that led to too few credit-hours being earned) and suggests that the student will not need the framework of probation to continue on track toward earning a degree. Based on review of the student's statement and the academic record, the Academic Standing Board will decide to place a student on probation or to take no action.

In order to continue for the next semester, students placed on probation are required to review their course schedules with their four-year advisors in the Undergraduate Advising Support Office before the end of the drop/add period. While on probation, students are ineligible to represent the university in intercollegiate activities and may not hold an elective or appointed office or chair a committee in any campus organization. In addition, they may not earn degree credit for work completed at another college or university during the period of probation without special permission.

Regardless of whether a student is placed on probation or no action is taken, students who did not meet the criteria for good academic standing will be expected to perform at a level that will return them to good standing at the end of the next semester. If they fail to return to good standing at the end of the following semester, they will be considered for separation from the university for at least two academic sessions, including the summer session.

A full-time student who is considered for academic probation and subsequently enrolls as a part-time student will not be reviewed for further academic action until they have completed sufficient semesters to total at least 12 credit hours. At that time, the student will be reviewed on the basis of a composite of those semesters.

Similarly, a student who is considered for probation as a part-time student will not be reviewed for further academic action until they have completed sufficient semesters to total at least the number of credit-hours attempted in the semester for which the student was initially considered for academic probation. At that time, the student will be reviewed on the basis of a composite of those semesters and will be expected to have earned at least the number of credit-hours attempted in the semester for which they were considered for probation.

The Academic Standing Board's decision to place a student on academic probation or to take no action is part of a student's record at Case Western Reserve University recorded on the internal unofficial/advising transcript, but it is not recorded on the official transcript.

Probation (Incomplete)

A student's status will be Probation (Incomplete) if they have Incomplete grades which would result in the student's being placed on academic probation if those Incomplete grades were converted to F’s. Once the Incomplete grades are converted to final grades, the student shall be restored to good standing or considered for academic probation following the standards and procedures outlined above. In order to continue for the next semester, a student whose status remains Probation (Incomplete) is required to review their course schedule with their four-year advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Support Office before the end of the drop/add period.

Separation

Students who fail to meet the criteria for good academic standing for two consecutive semesters will be considered for separation from the university for at least two academic sessions, including the summer session.

Also, full-time students at the end of their first semester at Case Western Reserve University will be considered for separation if they:

1. earn a semester grade point average less than 1.000 AND
2. earn fewer than 9 credit hours in that semester.

After the first semester, full-time students will be considered for separation on the basis of a single semester's record if they:

1. earn a semester grade point average less than 1.000 OR
2. earn fewer than 9 credit hours in that semester.

Part-time students will only be reviewed for separation on the basis of two consecutive records that would lead to their consideration for academic probation.

While separation is the ordinary response to academic records of the kind just described, it is not an automatic process. Students being considered for separation will be asked to prepare a statement explaining the difficulties that interfered with their ability to earn a satisfactory record. This is the student's opportunity to appeal separation. If a student thinks they should not be separated, the statement should include an explanation of why the Academic Standing Board should have confidence in the student's ability to return to good standing at the end of the next semester and should outline the plan the student has established for ensuring academic success. Based on a review of the student's statement and the academic record, the Academic Standing Board will decide to separate the student, to place or continue the student on academic probation, or to take no action. In order to continue for the upcoming semester, students placed or continued on probation are required to review their course schedules with their four-year advisors in the Undergraduate Advising Support Office before the end of the drop/add period.

Academic separations are recorded on both the unofficial/advising transcript and the official university transcript.

Students separated for reasons of academic performance may not earn transfer credit for work completed elsewhere.

Re-enrollment after Separation

Students who have been separated because of poor academic performance may petition to re-enroll after two academic sessions, including the summer session, have elapsed.  Students who re-enroll after academic separation will retain all credits and quality points earned before separation, and the cumulative grade point average will be continued, including all grades earned before and after separation.

Permanent Separation

A second academic separation following review by the Academic Standing Board will ordinarily be permanent.

Ineligible to Register

Students will be declared “ineligible to register” when they have Incomplete grades which would result in the student being considered for separation if those Incomplete grades were converted to F’s. These students will be required to finish the incomplete courses with grades that justify their retention before they will be allowed to continue for the next academic session, unless they successfully petition the Academic Standing Board for permission to enroll.

Summer Enrollment at CWRU

Students will not be reviewed for academic action at the end of the summer session, except that a student on academic probation as of the end of their last completed fall or spring semester will be returned to good standing at the end of the summer session if they have completed at least 6 credit hours at Case Western Reserve University with a summer grade point average of at least 2.000.