While some students received good news when their final grades were posted in December, others found themselves in tricky situations witah the University, such as being placed on probationary or drop status.

Section 3-110-D in the student code defines probationary status for undergraduates as a warning that students need to improve their academic performance or they may be given drop status. When a student is on probationary status, they can enroll with conditions.

Students can also regain good standing with the University by improving their grades.

“We always recommend that students on probation make contact with their department adviser. We have advisers in the LAS college office that are available to talk to students to help them get on the right path,” said Gretchen Pein Baloun, assistant dean in LAS. “We have student workshops, a life and career design lab that helps students who are struggling with their choice of major and the counseling center has time management workshops for students, so there’s a lot of help available across campus.”

Primarily, students are put on probation status due to their cumulative GPA, but they may also be on probation if they are not making progress toward their declared major or if their major GPA is too low.

The minimum GPA a student has to earn to regain good standing depends on their profile and cumulative GPA.

The student code states that a student whose cumulative average is 1.75 to 1.99 inclusive is placed on a 2.25 probation, meaning the GPA needs to be above 2.25 to regain good standing. A student whose cumulative average is less than 1.75 is placed on a minimum 2.33 probation. 

Colleges reevaluate a student’s academic standing at the end of the semester after final grades are posted, and every college has a different process for this.

“When a student meets the minimum GPA requirements, their academic status is automatically adjusted to ‘good standing.’ In cases where there are other probation conditions in addition to a minimum GPA, the college reviews the student’s progress in the end-of-term academic review,” said Ivan Favila, assistant dean and director in Engineering, in an email.

For students who view their final grades and see they have received a drop status, this status is not final because it is computer assigned. Colleges review academic standing for students with drop status and may change their status to probation, Baloun said.

Section 3-110-D of the student code states students who earn less than a 1.0 term GPA, students on probation who do not meet the minimum probation level, students who do not make progress toward their degree and part-time students who do not complete the conditions of admission are dropped.

However, these drop rules can be waived if the college determines the student’s status should be changed to probationary status.

“The Academic Review Committee conducts a holistic review of the individual student’s academic record, academic advising history, and other particular circumstances known of the individual. The decision to enforce the drop status is often difficult; however, it is made with the student’s best interest in mind,” Favila said.

For students with a drop status, there is a petition process where students can identify extenuating circumstances that prevented them from succeeding academically. Students must document these circumstances before the review committee meets to decide the student’s final status.

If a student is dropped from a college, they can apply for readmission after they have spent at least two semesters outside of the University, Baloun said.

“The College of Engineering welcomes students to continue their studies on campus once they have carefully examined the causes of their academic struggles, demonstrated the ability to manage them and shown a high likelihood of being successful upon re-entry to Illinois,” Favila said.

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