Warning or Academic Probation - Academic and Career Advisement Center

NOTE: If a student is suspended or dismissed, and subsequently returns to NMU, the student will not be placed on WP; if the student’s NMU GPA remains below 2.00, they will be placed on AP, regardless of the GPA.

Read the following information carefully: A student at Northern Michigan University is academically removed from attendance in one of three ways:

1. a new freshman or transfer student who earns a 0.00 Grade Point Average (GPA) in their first semester of enrollment (eight credits or more) is academically suspended
2. a student on academic probation who does not meet specific GPA requirements is academically suspended
3. a student who returns to NMU after being academically suspended previously then fails to meet specific GPA requirements, is academically dismissed.

Note: Typically, all state-funded four-year colleges and universities honor the terms of academic suspensions and dismissals; a student suspended or dismissed from one Michigan four-year institution will usually not be allowed to enroll at another Michigan four-year institution.
 

Pre-registered courses will be dropped for students who have been Academically Suspended or Dismissed.
 

For important information on suspensions/dismissals go to: 

• Notebook Computer Return

If you feel that an error has been made in recording the grade for one or more of your classes, you should contact the instructor(s) directly to pursue any appropriate grade change(s) or the Records Office at (906) 227-2258.  Unless there is an error, your suspension/dismissal remains in effect.

Length of Suspensions and Dismissals

• Academic Suspension – A student is academically suspended for one calendar year. After one calendar year, the student may, after completing the appropriate re-entry procedure, re-enroll at NMU. If a student feels they have extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness) that may have affected their ability to achieve a required GPA, the student has the option to appeal the length of the suspension and may return earlier than one calendar year, if the appeal is granted.
• Academic Dismissal – A student that is academically dismissed is indefinitely removed from NMU and may not appeal their dismissal for one calendar year. The student can only re-enter NMU after being granted an appeal.

Appeal Procedures

Students may appeal the length of an academic suspension to be allowed to re-enter earlier than one calendar year and may, after one calendar year, appeal to return to NMU after being dismissed. Appeals for students suspended or dismissed are heard by the Admissions and Academic Policies Committee (AAPC) of the Academic Senate. The decision of the appeal body is final. To file an appeal, students must:

• Fully complete all sections of the Academic Suspension/Dismissal Appeal form; a paper copy is available upon request. Incomplete appeals, including those lacking appropriate documentation, will not be considered.
• Include extenuating circumstances leading to the suspension/dismissal, detailing how the problem has been resolved.
• Include any supporting documentation, letters of support (letters of support from relatives will not be included in the appeal), transcripts of coursework completed elsewhere since leaving NMU, etc.

Academic Suspension or Dismissal Appeal Form

Send, mail, e-mail or deliver the completed form and any supporting documentation to:

Academic Proficiency Officer
Northern Michigan University
Student Success Department
1401 Presque Isle
Marquette, MI  49855
success@nmu.edu
phone: 906-227-2971
fax: 906-227-1751

For questions or further information, please feel free to contact the Student Success Office.

Appeal Deadlines and Meetings - No appeals submitted after the established deadlines will be considered.

NOTE: The AAPC conducts regularly-scheduled meetings throughout the fall and winter semesters. Appeals submitted, therefore, during the academic year may be reviewed at one of the regular meetings instead of being heard as listed below.

*A student suspended in August (at the end of the summer session) may not be able to meet the appeal deadline for the fall semester as outlined above.

Important Financial Aid Information

Appeals approved by the Admissions and Academic Policies Committee (AAPC) for students suspended or dismissed under the Grade Point Average standard will be accepted as approved for financial aid eligibility.* If a student does not successfully appeal the length of their suspension and returns to NMU after the conclusion of their one year suspension period, they must successfully appeal through the Financial Aid Office to again receive financial aid.

*In the event a student has lost financial aid eligibility due to Credit Hour Pace or Maximum Credit Hours, an AAPC or GPC appeal will not automatically reinstate a student’s financial aid eligibility. An Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal will also be required.

•  Appeal for Reinstatement of Financial Aid form

You are strongly encouraged to seek services from professionals in the Counseling and Consultation Services office, a personal physician, etc.

Any student whose overall NMU grade point average is below 2.0 is placed on academic probation (AP). 

At the end of the semester, once grading is complete and grades become official, you will see your academic status online with your grades. If you are a student new to academic probation, you will receive an e-mail stating your academic standing and requesting you to complete the academic probation agreement.

The academic probation agreement is a form you are asked to sign either online or in paper form in the Academic and Career Advisement Center, Hedgcock 3302. You are asked to sign it to:

• acknowledge your AP status; and
• be aware of the academic standards you must attain for the semester to prevent suspension.

If you do not sign the academic probation agreement, there is a hold that will remain on your account preventing any future course registration. You will be held to the terms of the agreement, even if you do not sign it.

Absolutely not. It is your warning that you need to turn things around or you will be unable to graduate from NMU.

Other than your academic adviser and selected University staff, the only one who knows that you are on AP is you and anyone you tell. It is also unlikely that the faculty teaching your courses will know--unless you tell them.

That is completely up to you. Once a student attains/regains at NMU GPA of 2.00 or above, they will be released from probation.

Once your overall NMU GPA is above a 2.0 (C average), you will be considered in good standing.   

* If enrolled in only one course, the student must attain a 2.00 Semester GPA or higher (1.80 GPA can only be achieved through an average of grades from more than one course).

If you fail to earn the required Semester GPA (based on your number of GPA credits at the end of the semester) you will be suspended. If you have already been suspended once, you will be dismissed.

Academic suspensions usually last for one year.  Students with extenuating circumstances that caused them to be suspended can appeal to the Admission and Academic Policy Committee (AAPC) for the right to return early. Unless these circumstances are clearly beyond the student’s control, the student’s situation has completely changed, or the student has spent successful time at community college, appeals are rarely granted. After a first suspension, a student is able to return after one year by filling out a re-entry update form and then meeting with the academic proficiency officer.

Community college and/or gainful employment are the recommended choices for dismissed students looking to return to NMU. Being granted an appeal is the only way you will be allowed to attend NMU again.

A complete appeal requires the following: 

• a completed appeal form answering all questions;
• relevant documentation of any circumstances noted in the appeal (doctors report, death certificate, newspaper clippings, etc.);
• any letters of support you can secure from professors, advisers, supervisors, etc; and
• transcripts from any school in which you were enrolled since leaving NMU.

Incomplete appeals will not be presented to the AAPC.

The AAPC’s job is to make tough decisions on situations like yours. If your appeal is denied,  it is not meant to be a punishment; the AAPC wants to make sure that you will be successful, since if you are suspended again, you will be finished as a student at NMU. Unless there is new documentation, new and different circumstances not considered previously, etc, all decisions made by the AAPC are final.

Academic and Career Advisement Center
3302 C.B. Hedgcock
Phone: 906-227-2971      
Email:  acac@nmu.edu