Difference between Academic Probation and Academic Suspension

This was always one of my favorite topics to discuss with a student when I was working on campus. Academic Probation is a warning sign that a student may be struggling, and it’s impacting their academic performance. Typically, this means that they earned a 2.0 GPA or lower. It’s an opportunity for awareness and course correction around study habits and/or executive functioning.  They may be required to attend an academic support event or meet with a Student Success Coach. No matter, if that warning sign is ignored there will be consequences.

One of those consequences may be Academic Suspension. This means removal from the university due to low academic performance. Decisions are made at the end of every semester, which can sometimes really put a damper on the family holiday or summer break. The good news is that Academic Probation can be corrected at that institution. If it’s not, this is when it becomes Academic Suspension. This indicates that although the university warned the students to get it together, they couldn’t achieve the required GPA necessary to get back in good academic standing. Once on Academic Suspension, the student is blocked from registering. And depending on the institution, they may be removed for only one semester or up to a year.

Academic Probation isn’t a hole you can dig out of without change. And Academic Suspension is not something you can pretend that doesn’t exist. This is when the university declares: since you didn’t take action to get back in good standing, we’re taking action to let you know you can longer be a student on our campus.

Now, every college and university rolls out these policies differently including how they are titled. I know some universities that do two levels of Academic probation (i.e. Academic Probation 1, Academic Probation 2, etc.) before then goes to “Academic Suspension” status. I am aware that some universities will automatically dismiss a student from campus after one semester if they get below a certain GPA. That’s a little less common, but it could be a rude awakening for a first semester student who didn’t know that policy existed.

No matter the sequence of policies on your campus, students need to understand what is required of the them to get back [and stay in] good academic standing.

For questions or comments contact Joanna.