North Dakota State University

Academic progress is measured by grades and credits earned. Students receive acknowledgment for high academic achievement and are given early warning when they become academically deficient.

Academic Honesty and Integrity

The primary responsibility of the students, faculty, and administration is to create an atmosphere where the honesty of individuals will not be questioned.

Faculty members are responsible for providing guidelines concerning cheating and plagiarism at the beginning of each course, and should use precautionary measures and security in cases where cheating is likely to occur.

Students are responsible for submitting their own work. Students who cooperate on oral or written examinations or work without authorization share the responsibility for violation of academic principles, and are subject to disciplinary action even when one of the students is not enrolled in the course where the violation occurred. Students have the right to be informed when they are suspected of violating academic principles and have the right to a fair opportunity to refute them.

Faculty has the prerogative of determining the penalty regarding prohibited academic conduct in their classes. Faculty members may, among other sanctions, fail the student for the particular assignment, test, or course involved. Penalties may be varied with the gravity of the offense and the circumstances of the particular case. In this situation, the student may not drop the course in question without the permission of the instructor.

Faculty members will report the incident to the department chair, dean, and registrar. In the case of the graduate students, the graduate dean also will be notified. In cases of repeat offenses, higher sanctions, up to and including suspension or expulsion may be recommended by a dean and upheld by the provost and Committee on Academic Standards.

For complete information regarding academic honesty and integrity, student expectations, disciplinary sanctions, appeal procedures, and hearing guidelines, refer to www.ndsu.edu/academichonesty.

Dean's List

To be eligible for inclusion on the Dean's List for any given semester, a student must have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.50 during that term while completing at least 12 semester hours (nine hours during the summer) in graded coursework using grades that carry honor points. The student may not have any grades of Incomplete for the semester. The Dean's List is only maintained for undergraduate students and professional (Pharm.D.) students.

Academic Standing

To be eligible to register continuously without conditions, a student must maintain good academic standing. The following scholastic standards, relative to completed credits and institutional grade-point average, determine a student's academic standing:

Records of all students are examined at the end of each grading period. Students failing to meet the scholastic standards are subject to review by the University Committee on Academic Standards. Academic standing relates to the following:

Grading Period

NDSU has three grading periods (terms) per academic year: fall semester, spring semester, and summer session.

Grade-Point Average (GPA)

Semester or term GPA refers to the grade-point average for any given grading period. Cumulative or institutional GPA refers to the composite grade-point average for all courses and grading periods completed at NDSU.

Academic Warning

An academic warning is to alert a student that the semester GPA for the most recent term was below the minimum required for good standing for the student's classification. An academic warning does not appear on the official academic transcript. Students are notified of their academic warning status via official NDSU email. An academic warning is issued for the following:

1. A freshman whose institutional GPA is less than 1.75 upon the completion of the first term of residence at NDSU.
   
   
2. A student who transferred in good standing whose institutional GPA is deficient upon completion of the first term of residence at NDSU.
   
   
3. A student who has been in residence two or more terms and has an acceptable institutional GPA, but whose semester GPA is deficient.

Academic Probation

An academic probation is a formal warning that a student's institutional GPA is below minimum standards for the student's classification. Students placed on academic probation may enroll for no more than 16 credits for the following semester or 12 credits for the following summer session without permission of the college dean. An academic probation does not appear on the student's official academic transcript (fall 2005 and later). An adviser hold will be placed on the student's record, and may only be removed after the student has met with his/her adviser. Students are notified of their academic probation status via official NDSU email and letter sent to the 'Homes' address as listed in Campus Connection.

Academic probation is issued for the following:

1. A student who entered the grading period in good standing and has been in residence two or more terms, but whose institutional GPA is deficient for the student's classification.
   
   
2. A student who entered the grading period on academic warning and whose institutional GPA is deficient for the student's classification.

Continued Probation

Continued probation is a formal extension of the initial academic probation status and is issued when the institutional GPA is still below minimum, but adequate progress is made by attaining the minimum GPA for the term for student classification. Students placed on continued academic probation may enroll for no more than 16 credits for the following semester or 12 credits for the following summer session without permission of the college dean. Continued probation does not appear on the student's official academic transcript (fall 2005 and later). An adviser hold will be placed on the student's record, and may only be removed after the student has met with his/her adviser. Students are notified of their continued probation status via official NDSU email and letter sent to the 'Homes' address as listed in Campus Connection.

Continued probation may be issued for the following:

• A student who entered the grading period on academic probation and whose institutional GPA is still deficient for the student's classification, but the semester GPA is at or above the minimum. A continuance may be granted to a maximum of three (3) consecutive probationary terms.

Academic Suspension

Academic suspension is issued when the academically deficient student does not demonstrate an improvement in his or her institutional GPA. Registration for the following full semester or for summer courses that do not begin prior to the start of the standard eight week session will be canceled. A student may not be considered for readmission for two grading periods following an academic suspension (includes summer). An academic suspension appears on the student's official academic transcript. Academic suspension will be issued after two or more terms in residence for the following:

1. A student who entered the grading period on either probation or continued probation whose semester GPA and institutional GPA are both deficient for the student's classification.
   
   
2. A student who entered the grading period for a third consecutive probationary term and whose institutional GPA is still deficient for the student's classification.

Students who are suspended are notified of their suspension status via official NDSU email and letter sent to the 'Homes' address as listed in Campus Connection.

Suspension Appeals

A student who has been suspended may appeal the suspension if there were extraordinary circumstances beyond their control and if supporting documentation is provided. An Appeal for Exception to Academic Suspension form is available online and must be submitted to the Office of Registration and Records no later than one week prior to the semester start date (or the first day of the standard 8-week summer courses) following the imposition of suspension. If approved, the student has one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to minimum academic standards for their classification.

Suspended Students

NDSU honors suspensions of other institutions. Further, students suspended from NDSU or any other institution may not transfer coursework into NDSU that was completed during the suspension period unless prior approval, through an appeal process, has been granted. Transfer and returning students who fail to report all previous college work are subject to dismissal or loss of credit or both. Courses previously completed at NDSU may only be repeated at NDSU, with the exception of Tri-College courses (see Repeated Courses section for more details).

Readmission

To be considered for readmission, suspended students must sit out for at least two grading periods (includes summer) and file a Reactivation/Petition for Readmission form to the Office of Registration and Records at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester in which readmission is sought. If the petition is approved by the Committee on Academic Standards, the student may register, but will be readmitted on probation. Students who have been enrolled in courses at another institution since leaving NDSU must arrange for an official transcript to be sent to the Office of Registration and Records before readmission will be considered. However, courses/grades earned from another institution during the two-semester suspension period will not be considered for transfer unless prior approval is granted through an appeals process.