The Faculty Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday (Oct. 15) to recommend the revision of the university's minimum eligibility standards. The vote was a result of a report by the Senate's academic policy committee.

The recommendation calls for the implementation of a two-tiered GPA cut-off before students are placed on either academic probation or suspension — a 1.8 GPA for students with less than 60 hours of credit (freshman and sophomores) and 2.0 for students with more than 60 hours (juniors and seniors). The current system has a multi-tier GPA system that ranges from a 1.5 for those below 35 credit hours to a 2.0 for those with at least 84 credit hours.

"(The current system) allows students to enter their junior year with a GPA below that necessary to graduate, at a time when their courses are likely to become even more difficult," the report stated.

Under this proposal, the academic warning criteria — which put students in this category if their GPA dips below 2.0 regardless of credit hours — will not change.

One of the reasons for the recommendation was to bring the eligibility standards in line with the Progress Toward Degree regulations, which were implemented this year. Those regulations call for students to matriculate into a degree program by the time they reach junior status (60 credit hours). The current eligibility requirements allow students with 60 hours to have a 1.8 GPA. Since intracampus transfers require a 2.0 cumulative GPA, a student can be in good academic standing while being placed on progress warning for not matriculating into a degree program.

The committee examined the possibility of recommending an across-the-board 2.0 requirement for all students, but decided to allow for some leniency. "A two-step regulation, rather than a 2.0 across the board, still gives students a chance to adjust to the challenges of college life that may have affected adversely their first year GPA by allowing them to stay in school during their sophomore year to achieve a 2.0," the report states.

The recommendation will now be forwarded to the provost office for their consideration.

Posted October 16, 2002

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