Academic Good Standing and Retention

Academic Good Standing requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA, and the following:

1. Students must earn a "C or higher" in each professional education course. Any course in this category with a grade of "C- or lower" must be repeated. If the course is part of a cluster or block, the course must be retaken before proceeding to the next cluster or block. If it is a non-authorized professional education course (not part of a cluster or block), it must be retaken before student teaching.
2. To student teach, students must attain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 in all required professional education courses and meet other student teaching requirements as specified by the program.
3. Candidates for the elementary, early childhood, and elementary-exceptional needs students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in subject matter courses within each of the following areas: mathematics, science, social studies, language arts, and fine arts.
4. Elementary students must attain a 2.5 GPA in the area of concentration.
5. Secondary and K-12 majors must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 in each content field. The only exception is mathematics majors who must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA.
6. To monitor student achievement and pinpoint areas of professional weakness, a system of “alerts” will be used. The purpose of the alert system is to identify students who, for nonacademic or dispositional reasons, may not be successful in teaching. When a student acquires an alert, the Associate Dean for teacher education will determine whether a professional standards committee composed of faculty should review the student’s case to recommend appropriate action. In most cases, some corrective action will be recommended, although such a review can result in termination of the student from the program. The intent of this system is to add an important source of professional judgment to the teacher education process. All decisions related to disciplinary action can be appealed by the student to the School of Education’s Grievance Hearing Committee.

Students are expected to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of beginning teachers. These expectations are set forth by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) and have been adopted by the Indiana Professional Standards Board.

Failure to meet the minimum standards results in academic probation or in dismissal from the School of Education.

Probation: At the close of each semester and summer sessions the academic progress of students in the School of Education is reviewed. Students will receive notification at their official univeristy e-mail address if they have been placed on probation and are or may be subject to dismissal. Upon receiving notification, the student on probation should see the SOE Academic Support Advisor as soon as possible. Students on academic probation have one semester to meet the minimum academic standards required.

Voluntary Withdrawal: If a student voluntarily withdraws from school while on probation, that student may reenter school on probation at any time. If the reason for probation is an unacceptable grade point average, the student may reenter in good standing if, by taking course work in other divisions or schools of Indiana University, grades have been earned that raise the cumulative grade point average to a minimum of 2.5.

Dismissal:  Students who are academically dismissed from the School of Education are placed on the all-university checklist, which means that they may not enroll in courses on any of Indiana University’s eight campuses.

Reinstatement: Students who have been academically dismissed are required to wait at least one semester (summer sessions not included) before applying for reinstatement. Applications for reinstatement are submitted to the Academic Standards Committee. Conditions concerning course load limits or related academic requirements may be required by the ASC if it is in the returning student's best interest.