Academic Proficiency Standards

ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY AND PROBATION

The academic proficiency policy defines the academic standards students must meet to be considered academically successful at NMU. Poor progress toward a degree can sometimes impact eligibility to remain at NMU and possible financial aid resources. Students with an NMU GPA at, or above, 2.00 are considered in Academic Good Standing. Students with a GPA below this level will be placed on probation and may have to meet certain semester GPA requirements to remain at NMU. Students are asked to sign a Warning or Academic Probation Agreement Form that further outlines the details of their probation.

Students are notified of their academic status in their MyNMU grade report at the end of each semester. Any questions regarding academic proficiency should be referred to the Student Success Office.

Levels of Proficiency

Good Standing	Students with a minimum overall NMU GPA of 2.00 or higher are considered to be in good standing. The NMU GPA only includes grades earned in NMU classes and does not include transfer, advanced placement, or other Non-NMU grades.
Warning Probation	Students with an NMU GPA that falls below a 2.00, but is at least 1.70, will be placed on Warning Probation. Students who fail to attain good standing may remain on Warning Probation or be placed on Academic Probation.
Academic Probation	Students with an NMU GPA that falls below a 1.70 will be placed on academic probation and must meet certain semester GPA requirements to remain enrolled at NMU (see chart below). Students who fail to meet these requirements will be suspended from the university. Students remain on Academic or Warning Probation until they attain good standing (2.00 overall GPA).
Immediate Academic Suspension	New freshman and transfer students who have 8 or more credit hours and a GPA of 0.00 in their first semester of enrollment will be suspended immediately.
Academic Suspension	Any student on academic probation who fails to attain specific semester GPA requirements (see chart below) will be suspended from the university.
Academic Dismissal	Students who have previously been academically suspended from NMU, re-enter, and do not meet specific semester GPA requirements (see chart below) again, will be dismissed from the university.

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.

Academic Probation Standards

This table provides a quick reference to the semester GPA that students on academic probation must attain to remain at NMU.

Overall Earned Credit Hours at Time of Grading	Semester GPA Necessary to Remain at NMU
Less than 28 credit hours	1.70 semester GPA or higher
28 to less than 56 credit hours	1.80 semester GPA or higher*
56 or more credit hours	2.00 semester GPA or higher

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

Length of Suspensions/Appeals

All academic suspensions from NMU are for one calendar year. Suspended students have the right to appeal to return early.

Students who are academically dismissed from NMU may not appeal for one calendar year from the date of their dismissal and an appeal must be approved by the Admissions and Academic Policies Committee before the student may re-enter the university.

All appeals are presented to the AAPC by the academic proficiency officer in the Student Success Office, who can be reached at 906-227-2971. It is important for students to discuss their appeal with this staff member.

Important Financial Aid Information

A student's financial aid eligibility at NMU, at the time they are suspended or dismissed, is immediately voided. To have eligibility restored, a student must either:

Successfully appeal to return early from a suspension or from a dismissal. Eligibility will be restored without the student filing an appeal with the Financial Aid Office, or
After waiting one calendar year to return from a suspension, file an appeal with the Financial Aid Office, and have the appeal granted.