Academic Policies & Procedures
Campus Policies
Graduate Credit Hours
Graduate-level courses are often completed for personal enrichment; the credits are generally not applied to the undergraduate degree program. However, with prior approval, a maximum of 6 graduate credit hours may be applied to the B.G.S. The application of more than 6 graduate credit hours must have the dean’s approval.
Remedial Course Work
Remedial courses are not college-level courses and therefore do not count toward the B.G.S.
Academic Standing of Students
Candidates for Degrees in Good Standing
Students are considered to be candidates in good standing for a general studies degree when they have:
- been officially admitted to degree status by the Office of Admissions.
- earned a minimum academic GPA of 2.0 for the last semester’s work.
- earned a minimum after-admission GPA of 2.0.
- earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.
Graduation Certification
Candidates for graduation initiate the certification process by filing an Intent to Graduate form. For the specific procedure, students should consult with their General Studies Degree Program counselor at the time they enroll for their final semester/course.
Degrees Awarded with Distinction
The School of Continuing Studies recognizes outstanding performance in course work by awarding degrees with three levels of distinction: distinction, high distinction, and highest distinction. The level of distinction is determined by the overall GPA of each graduating class.
In order to graduate with distinction, students must have successfully completed 60 graded Indiana University credit hours for the B.G.S. Remedial courses and courses taken on a pass/fail basis are not counted.
Dean’s List
General studies students are placed on the School of Continuing Studies Dean’s List when they have:
- Completed—after admission to the School of Continuing Studies—at least 12 credit hours of graded course work. (Grades of FX, I, P, R, S, and SAC are not counted in the 12 credit hours.) The course work must have been completed during the previous academic year (from August 1 to July 31). Note: Independent study courses must be completed by August 31 for Dean’s List consideration.
- Earned a minimum GPA of 3.5 for applicable credit hours. For part-time students, all course work completed during the previous academic year (from September 1 to August 31) is included in calculating the GPA. For full-time students, one semester (or both summer sessions) in which a minimum of 12 credit hours is completed may be considered in calculating the GPA.
Students placed on the Dean’s List receive a letter and certificate signed by the dean and the division representative.
Academic Probation
Students are automatically placed on academic probation whenever their GPA for a full-time semester or a 12 credit hour unit of work is below 2.0. Students’ academic performance—and the academic performance of students who have been admitted on probation—will be evaluated upon completion of an additional 12 credit hours at Indiana University. Students will be removed from probationary status if their GPA for these 12 credits is at least 2.0 and if their cumulative GPA is at least 2.0. If a probationary student’s GPA for the additional 12 credits is 2.0 but the cumulative GPA remains below 2.0, probationary status will be continued for another 12 credit hour unit of work; the cumulative GPA must be raised to at least 2.0 during this time, or probationary students will be dismissed (see below).
Dismissal
Students are subject to academic dismissal when they fail to make satisfactory progress toward their degree. Students will be dismissed whenever their GPA for a full-time semester or a 12 credit hour unit of work is below 1.0 and their cumulative GPA is below 2.0.
Probationary students will be dismissed if their GPA for the additional 12 credit hour unit of work is below 2.0. Students whose probationary status has been continued for a second 12 credit hour unit and who fail to achieve a cumulative GPA of 2.0 will also be dismissed.
Readmission to the School of Continuing Studies
The director of general studies may consider petitions for readmission from students who have been dismissed. The director may recommend reentrance without delay if warranted by exceptional circumstances and if the director believes the student will make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Students dismissed a second time may not be admitted for the next regular semester, but they are eligible to submit a petition for readmission after at least one regular semester has elapsed.
Academic Forgiveness
Upon successful completion (minimum GPA of 2.0) of 12 credit hours in the General Studies Degree Program, the following policies take effect:
- At a student’s option, grades of D or F earned at Indiana University five years or more before admission to the School of Continuing Studies may be deleted from the internal School of Continuing Studies record. The cumulative GPA on the Indiana University transcript will not change.
- Students may request forgiveness of an unsatisfactory semester or 12 credit hours of part-time work at Indiana University if the semester/12 credit hours is/are within a five-year period before admission to the School of Continuing Studies. Although all Indiana University courses remain on a student’s permanent record, the school can exclude all credits attempted and grade points earned during this unsatisfactory semester/12 credit hours when computing a student’s School of Continuing Studies GPA.Note: If students exercise this option, none of the grades and credits earned during the unsatisfactory semester/12 credit hours may be applied to a general studies degree. Therefore, students are advised to consult with their General Studies Degree Program counselor about this policy’s advisability.
Note: Although the options above allow unsatisfactory grades to be removed from the School of Continuing Studies’ internal record, the grades remain on the official record maintained by the Indiana University Office of the Registrar.