Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

Academic Status

CLASSIFICATION

Classification is based on the number of St. Olaf total credits completed by and only on October 1, as follows:  

 
As of August 1, 2014
Sophomore: 8.0-16.75 credits
Junior: 17-24.75 credits
Senior: 25 or more credits

A student is only reclassed to senior status if the student intends to graduate in the year in which reclassification to senior status occurs.

Because reclassification is completed only once each year, it is important that all work completed at another institution be transferred to St. Olaf before the reclassification process begins. A student’s classification may affect “room draw,” choice of residence hall, registration, or other benefits.

Students who graduated from high school six or fewer months prior to entering St. Olaf as “new students” are first-year students and may not, as the result of Advanced Placement, Cambridge A Level Exams, International Baccalaureate, high school, post-secondary, and/or college summer courses, claim sophomore status for any purpose.

CLASS RANK

Each graduated senior is ranked in his/her class according to cumulative grade point average (GPA). Class rank is recorded on the permanent transcript for those students whose names appear in the Commencement program in May of a given year.

Participators in Commencement are ranked according to their cumulative GPA after spring semester of the senior year. Rank is not changed even if further St. Olaf course work is used to complete degree requirements or used by diploma graduates for additional credits.

Class rank is also computed for non-seniors at the end of each academic year, but it is not recorded on the transcript. Class rank is available upon request at the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising. Picture identification is required.

ACADEMIC PROBATION

A student may be placed on academic probation, or be continued on probation, with:

  1. A cumulative grade point average of 1.80 or below in the first year, 1.90 or below in the sophomore year and 2.00 or below in the junior and senior year, or
  2. Two or more grades of D, F, N, or U in any semester, or
  3. Fewer than two and one-half courses of C- or better during a semester, or fewer than five and one-half courses of C- or better during an academic year.

Parents of financially dependent or consenting students are notified when students are placed on academic probation.

A student on probation may not participate in an Interim exchange program. Students may apply to a St. Olaf sponsored off-campus program while they are on probation, but ordinarily a student who remains on academic probation may not participate in an off-campus program. Approval by the director of International and Off-Campus Studies is required for a student on academic probation to participate in an off-campus program. Students on academic probation may not serve in an executive role in a student organization, and students continuing on probation may be asked further to curtail extra-curricular activities. Institutionally controlled gift assistance or financial aid may be reduced if a student is placed on academic probation.

College decisions involving probation are not subject to appeal.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

A student may be dismissed if the student is on probationary status and fails to achieve minimal academic progress. Minimal academic progress is defined as that combination of course completions and grade points that suggest the probable completion of graduation requirements in four years with at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average. Such progress is expected to approximate the following scale:

As of August 1, 2014
Cumulative GPA of 2.00 after the completion of 25 credits
Cumulative GPA of 1.90 after the completion of 17 credits
Cumulative GPA of 1.80 after the completion of 8 credits

Normally a student is not considered for dismissal unless s/he has been on probation for at least one semester. The college reserves the right, under extraordinary circumstances, however, to dismiss a student who has not been on probation.

There is usually a waiting period of one year prior to consideration of an application for readmission following dismissal.

Decisions resulting in academic dismissal or the placement of a student on academic probation are made by the Academic Standing Committee, which includes the dean of students (chair), the other two class deans, members of the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising, student accessibility specialists, the director of Financial Aid, the director of Student Support Services; the learning strategies specialist (Academic Support Center), the director of Multicultural Affairs, and one member of the faculty, appointed by the dean of students.

The college notifies the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) of financially dependent or consenting students when academic dismissal occurs.

Students placed in dismissal status may appeal the dismissal decision to an appeals board composed of the dean of the college, the vice president of student life, and the registrar. The appeal must be made in writing and sent to the Dean of Students Office within seven days of the date of receipt of the dismissal letter. The decision of the appeals board is final.