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Academic Probation

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Academic Probation:

  1. What is it?
  2. What happens when you're on probation?
  3. If I'm on probation, is my record hurt forever?
  4. Why should I work with someone about these problems? Shouldn't I solve my own problems?


  1. What is it?
    For LS&A students, having a term average below 2.0 results in probation. If you go on probation, you are required, in your next registration, to complete all courses on time and to have an average for that term which is better than 2.0. Being on probation means that you should be consulting an academic advisor and/or an Academic Standards Board member. You need to work with staff about why you earned some low grades and what you need to change (the kinds of courses you take, or your study routine, and so forth) to do better.
  2. What happens when you're on probation?
    If you meet the conditions (courses done on time, term average better than 2.0), you are safe. If the cumulative average is below 2.0 in this situation, you're continuing on probation, but still, you've guaranteed your freedom to continue. It's only when you fail to meet the terms of probation that you might be dismissed (which means that you can't enroll again in LS&A until the Academic Standards Board says you can).
  3. If I'm on probation, is my record hurt forever?
    The word "probation" is not on your official transcript, so no one is labeling your record as a problem. But probation, of course, results from some low grades, and those are in your average forever. If you take the probation seriously, identify and resolve your problems, and perform better, then you can bring the average up. After all, in most cases the low grades are resulting from something other than poor aptitude. The problems aren't necessarily easy to fix, but most of the time they are fixable.
  4. Why should I work with someone about these problems? Shouldn't I solve my own problems?
    First, you will solve your own problems (no one else really can). But you should seek help because you'll solve them faster that way. Academic advisors and Board members have much more experience of the University than you do, and you need to collect information about available resources. Also, they have much more familiarity with addressing academic problems than you have -- based on the fact that you got in here, you probably have not had many problems which resulted in low grades-- so they have more ideas about the nature of problems and of possible solutions. You should view academic advising contact as an important step toward improving your situation.

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