Skip to Main Content

ACADEMIC STANDING & RETENTION

ACADEMIC STANDING & RETENTION
Graduate Academic Standing & Retention
Professional Colleges Reinstatement
Graduate Leave of Absence

Undergraduate Academic Standing & Retention Introduction

Note: Effective Fall 2020, the following academic standing and retention standards will apply to all current, transfer, or returning undergraduate students.

All students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress for retention and continued enrollment at Florida State University. Satisfactory academic progress includes, but is not limited to, successful completion of credit hours and progression toward completing a degree. The University reserves the right not to retain students who do not demonstrate satisfactory academic progress.

A minimum Florida State University (FSU) cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (“C”) or better is required for graduation. Students must maintain this minimum GPA to remain in good-standing status. FSU's five academic-status categories are 1) Good Standing; 2) Academic Probation; 3) Academic Probation Continued; 4) Dismissed and 5) Dismissed, Reinstated on Academic Probation. Statuses of “Academic Probation,” “Academic Probation Continued”, or “Dismissed, Reinstated on Academic Probation” do not specifically prohibit a student from participating in extracurricular activities unless otherwise specified by University policy, rules, or by-laws governing the activity or organization.

In any term where a student 1) enrolls in classes having only “S/U” or “P/F” grade types; or 2) completes a full-term withdrawal; or 3) is a graduate student enrolled in undergraduate classes excluded from their GPA, the student will receive no quality points and a 0.00 GPA at the end of that term.

  • When a student’s circumstances meet any of the criteria outlined above, under the University’s retention policy the student’s standing in that academic career remains what it was as of their last term of enrollment in that career.

  • If a student’s circumstances meet any of the criteria outlined above during their first term of enrollment in the academic career, under the University’s retention policy the student will remain in good academic-standing status.

NOTE: Other criteria, including but not limited to 1) conditional admission; 2) academic degree progression or degree requirements; or 3) additional department or discipline-specific requirements may prevent a student from remaining in good academic standing.

Probation

Any time a student's FSU cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, the student will have a designation of “Academic Probation” placed on their transcript and the student will be placed on academic probation for their next term of enrollment at FSU. A student who has been placed on academic probation must enroll for not less than twelve and not more than fifteen letter-graded semester hours in their next term of enrollment after being placed on academic probation.

If the student fails to remove the probationary status by the end of the probationary term, the student's academic standing will be reassessed. Students who do not return to good academic standing after a semester on academic probation and who earn a term GPA of less than 2.5 will be dismissed from the university. Students on academic probation who do not return to good academic standing but who earn a term GPA of 2.5 or higher at FSU will have their academic standing reflected as “Academic Probation Continued”. A student may be on “Academic Probation Continued” for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Students who have not returned to good academic standing after two consecutive semesters of “Academic Probation Continued” status will be dismissed.

Students who earn less than 2.0 FSU cumulative GPA in their first semester at FSU or who must repeat a required college-level preparatory course will be required to enroll in SLS 1122, Strategies for Academic Success, or SLS 3140, Academic Success Strategies for Transfer Students. These are one credit-hour graded courses designed to help students develop the needed study skills to return to good academic standing. Students will be administratively enrolled in one of these courses during the following semester and are responsible for all tuition, fees, and textbook/supplies.

Students on academic probation who elect to enroll in a Florida public post-secondary institution (or in a regionally accredited institution within or outside the state) and who receive an academic Associate of Arts degree with an overall 2.0 average will have the probationary status and their previous Florida State University average excluded upon application for readmission, and will be guaranteed a maximum of sixty semester hours, with approval of the academic dean.

Dismissal and Reinstatement

Academic dismissal constitutes a separation of the student from the University for academic reasons. The dismissed student must consult his or her academic dean at the time of dismissal about criteria governing possible reinstatement to the University. Students are not eligible for reinstatement after two academic dismissals. Students dismissed because of low grade point averages (GPA) may be reinstated only with approval of the academic dean. Close consultation with the academic dean is required in order to determine if any of the following options are appropriate for a given student and his or her situation:

  1. Achieving the required minimum FSU GPA through online courses taken in the Flexible Learning Program offered by the State of Florida, Division of Colleges and Universities. Students must meet with their academic dean for approval to take courses in the Flexible Learning Program (correspondence coursework) and to determine the minimum GPA that must be earned in the course(s) to be eligible for reinstatement. Courses taken for this purpose will not earn credit toward the total degree hours. Students taking correspondence coursework are ineligible for financial aid. Grades earned in courses taken through the Flexible Learning Program will be applied to the student's FSU GPA;

  2. Attending and graduating with an academic Associate of Arts (AA) degree from a Florida public postsecondary institution (or a regionally accredited institution within or outside the state) with an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher, with approval of the academic dean. The student's FSU GPA will be reset to 0.00 upon readmission after earning an AA degree. In addition, the student earning an AA degree from a Florida public institution is guaranteed sixty semester hours when granted the GPA reset. Returning to FSU with an AA degree will not guarantee readmission to a specialized admissions major or a major where prerequisite coursework has not been met;

  3. Under extraordinary circumstances (with valid, accompanying documentation), when the GPA deficit is minimal, the student’s academic dean has the discretion to immediately reinstate the student under academic probation status. Should the dean choose this option, the student must then achieve, during the first term of reenrollment, a cumulative FSU GPA of 2.0, which would allow that student to return to good academic standing. Should the student fail to raise the GPA as described, he or she will be dismissed again.

  4. Consideration of the academic dismissal takes priority over any readmission application and must be resolved first. Students on dismissal are not eligible for readmission or the readmission appeals process unless they have first been reinstated by the academic dean. The academic dean is the final authority for reinstatement consideration when the student is not subject to the multiple withdrawal or dismissal policy. In cases where a student has multiple dismissals or withdrawals, the University Withdrawal/Reinstatement Committee will review the student's request for readmission and render a decision in consultation with the academic dean. Reinstatement by the academic dean does not constitute automatic readmission. Students who have been out of the University for more than three consecutive semesters (including summer) must go through the readmission process and meet University requirements and standards.

  5. All students who enter Florida State University for the first time are assured retention for their second term. Students may, however, be placed on academic probation at the end of the first enrolled term.

Students pursuing multiple degrees under different careers (i.e., graduate and undergraduate simultaneously) are subject to the retention standards of the career associated with each degree. Dismissal from one career does not automatically constitute dismissal from the second career when those careers are different (i.e., undergraduate and graduate, or Law and graduate).