Probation, Dismissal, Suspension, and Expulsion Reporting and Student Processing
- Becky Strain
Probation – Student is placed on Probation, Academic Warning, or Prewarning
Dismissal – Student is dismissed from their program
Suspension – Student is suspended from their college
Expulsion – Student is expelled from the university
Shortly after the end of the semester the Registrar will receive an end of term report from each college listing the Probations, Continued Probation, Dismissals and Suspensions, along with any pending appeals and the date the appeals will be heard. Probations and warnings may not be on every report, but instead entered on XSAC along with the dismissals and suspensions. Expulsions, non-academic and academic, are entered on SPRO with comments and reported to Registrar by email for processing. Expulsions may be done after, or during a semester depending on the situation. Non-Academic expulsions typically relate to conduct, such as Honor Code violations.
When we begin receiving the reports a Google Sheet is created to track processing. The End of Term Dismissals and Suspensions spreadsheet allows us to track whether or not a student submits an appeal, if and when it is approved, or denied; when they have been removed from professional classes, as well as A & S classes; if a curriculum change form was received; what program or college the student changed to; to ensure Student Terms has been updated; along with Registrar comments noted. This is a link to the Fall 2023 spreadsheet to provide a sample of how tracking is done. Probations are not recorded on the Dismissal and Suspension spreadsheet because they do not require processing the student out of classes, nor ending their program.
The spreadsheet is shared with several areas on campus including, Residential Life, Financial Aid, One Card, and all Registrar staff. This enable those areas to adjust their records accordingly. Column heading for the report: 2023 FALL - END OF TERM DISMISSALS AND SUSPENSIONS
XSAC – STUDENT ACADEMIC ACTIONS / sample of actions and entries
Academic Standing of a Student
Excerpt from the General Catalog:
A student's academic standing is determined by the ratio of the total number of quality points to the total number of credit hours attempted in all work at Valparaiso University, except courses graded S/U. Thus, a student who makes an average mark of C (2.000 quality points per credit hour) throughout the course of 124 semester hours will have 248 quality points, 124 credit hours, and a standing of 2.000. The standing for a semester's work is understood to be the ratio of the number of quality points earned to the number of graded credit hours completed. Standing is also referred to as the grade point average. Both cumulative and semester GPAs are factors in determining a student's academic standing. At least a 2.000 GPA is required for good academic standing. Criteria vary by college and program. Please refer to the applicable sections of the general catalog for additional details.
Academic Deficiency / Probation
Excerpt from the General Catalog: In the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, and College of Nursing and Health Professions, students whose cumulative resident grade point average falls below the requirements of their college and program (at least 2.000) are considered academically deficient. Such students may be denied the privilege of continuing their studies at the University unless they succeed in improving the quality of their academic work to the satisfaction of the faculty during the following semester. The dean of each college establishes procedures to give students who are academically deficient timely warning of their being denied continuation of their studies. The GPA requirement varies by college and program. Please refer to the applicable sections of the general catalog for additional details.
College deans review the student’s academic record and use established procedures to give students a warning by placing them on Academic Probation. Academic probation usually lasts for two semesters, giving the student an opportunity to increase their GPA. If the student is not successful, they are subsequently dismissed from their program, or suspended from the university.
Dismissal From a Program / Low Scholarship
Excerpt from the General Catalog: Whenever, in the judgment of an academic dean, students who are academically deficient would benefit from an interruption of their work in a particular college of the University, the dean will notify the students in writing that they have been dismissed and will specify the period of time for which they have been dismissed and the conditions which they must satisfy in order to be readmitted.
Students who do not meet the progression standards for their program, depending on the college and the program, may remain in their current College, but must change their program as a means of the dismissal. Not all colleges allow students to change programs within their college in lieu of a dismissal. Colleges that allow academic deficient students to transfer programs within their college require Registrar to note their transcript. If the College of Nursing and Health Professions were to dismiss a student from a BSN program, but allow them to change to a program such as Health Care Leadership, the transcript would read Dismissed CON, Readmitted to CON – See SACS sample.
The dean will sometimes suggest that the student attend a community college to take classes and work toward improving their GPA prior to being readmitted. Students who are readmitted after a suspension or dismissal may receive a conditional readmission, outlined by the dean of their college, or program director, and summarized in their readmission approval notification.
Academic action such as probation can be taken by a college for any student failing to meet the college's academic standards regardless of whether they have full-time or part-time enrollment status.
Progression Standards vary among colleges and programs. Most are academic, but some programs have progression standards that are related to conduct, communication, excessive absences, general behavior, along with conforming to a code of ethics. Failure to meet expectations can result in corrective action, dismissal, or probation, depending on the nature of the issue.
SACS – Student Academic Standings
Comments are coded on SACS and reflect on the student’s transcript for the semester in which they were dismissed. This student was suspended from the College of Arts and Sciences and would have to be readmitted to return.
This is a student who was dismissed from the College of Business and admitted into the College of Arts and Sciences
Semester Academic Suspension:
Students who do not meet the progression standards are subject to suspension from their college. A list of academic suspensions is submitted to the Registrar at the end of each semester for processing. Students are allowed to appeal and given a deadline to do so from the College. Suspended students may have the opportunity, as deemed by the dean of their college, to transfer to another professional college or the College of Arts and Sciences, provided they meet the admission guidelines for that college. The college of Arts & Sciences may accept a student with a low GPA, but choose to place the student on academic probation during the first semester.
SPRO/SACP/SPSH – Student Program Status History
Expulsions from the University
Each student enrolling at Valparaiso University must accept the rules, regulations, and procedures as found in the university catalog and on the General Counsel website.
Conformity to the traditions and regulations of the university is expected. The university reserves the right to suspend or expel a student at any time when, in the judgment of its authorities, that action is deemed to be in the best interests of the institution.
The student-initiated Honor System has a long history at Valparaiso University and is a strong distinguishing characteristic of the institution. It is in every way consistent with the highest principles of Christian ethics and morality. In sanctioning the Honor System, the university presumes that students are able and willing to accept the duties and responsibilities of honorable conduct for the sake of the Valparaiso University community. All entering students must agree that they understand the Honor System and are aware that all of their academic work must be submitted under their signature and that they have done this work in agreement with the Honor Code. The statement "I have neither given or received nor have I tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid" must be written out and signed on all written work.
Under the Honor System, all written examinations of any length are taken in an atmosphere free from the surveillance of a proctor, unless specifically requested. Every student has the responsibility to keep academic work free of dishonesty; that is, neither to give nor to receive unauthorized aid. All students must report to the Honor Council any violation of the system of which they become aware. Students are required to sign a pledge on all work submitted for academic credit as indicated above.
The Honor Council is an educational, preventive, remedial, and judicial body with the duty of maintaining the Honor System in the academic community. The council hears Honor Code cases and then makes decisions about whether or not a student has violated the code and assesses any penalties. The council is composed of students and faculty. The students are chosen by the incumbent members subject to the approval of the president of the university, and the faculty members are elected by the faculty.
Suspensions can be a result of two honor code violations during the student’s attendance at the university. Multiple honor code violations result in the student being expelled.
Non-Academic Expulsions and Suspensions
Non-academic disciplinary action is communicated to Registrar primarily by Student Life, Dean’s office, and/or General Counsel and is normally conduct related. The Judicial Board is a part of Student Life and is involved in all expulsions.
If the student being suspended or expelled and is still enrolled in the current semester, they are administratively withdrawn from their classes. Their program is coded SU for non-academic suspension. Comments should be placed on SACP detailing the duration of the suspension.
Expulsions are permanent and students are not allowed to return.
COLLEAGUE PROCESSING
Student in professional colleges who are being dismissed are taken out of their professional classes upon receipt of the dismissal notification to the Registrar. An X is used to remove them in the event Student Accounts has run the billing process. They are temporarily allowed to remain in the rest of their classes until it is determined if they will be changing colleges, or programs. They will be given a date in which to submit a curriculum change form. If it is not received by the deadline, they are removed from all courses and their program coded accordingly. Because dismissals and suspensions are normally done after the semester has ended, students are normally registered for the subsequent semester. Summer is an exception and Registrar will be notified if the student is allowed to continue with summer courses. They may be working towards increasing their cumulative GPA.
RGN
Type RGN into the Form Search field in Colleague. Look up the student by name or ID number.
SRGC
F2 or detail on each course that the student is being deleted from.
Status Field – Enter a X into the status field. The X status will ensure that the student is not billed.
Date Field - Input the date recorded by the dean’s office as the official dismissal date.
F9 or ‘Save’ once to return to the RGN screen.
Perform the same for each class that the student is registered for.
F9 or ‘Save All’
STRS – Student Terms Summary
Type STRS into the Form Search in Colleague. Look up the student by name or ID number or insert @.
Detail into the terms in which the student was registered and deleted (X) from. Page down in the Term Status/Date field. Ensure that there is a X in the term status and update the date to the official dismissal date.
F9 and go to the next term if necessary and update in the same manner.
F9 or ‘Save All’
SACS – Student Academic Standing
Enter: ‘Term’ into the Type Field
Leave the ‘Academic Program’ blank
‘U’ (or appropriate academic level) into the Academic Level Field
Appropriate dismissal code into the Academic Standing Field
Formal dismissal date as indicated by the college dean into the Date Field.
Semester in which the student was dismissed into the Term Field.
SPRO – Student Program
Detail on the student’s active program and input D for Dismissed using the appropriate dismissal date.
Log the dismissal on the Google sheet, pending the student’s possible transfer to another college, or into another program. The student must submit a signed and approved curriculum change form to transfer.
Students suspended due to honor code violations
Students who are suspended due to honor code violations, should have a “Suspended” SU code (non-academic suspension) notation in the Program Status field on SACP and a notation should be entered on the comments screen (not printed comments). Press F9 or Save to end the program and advisor/s.
At the bottom of the SACP page:
Students suspended by Student Life (non-academic suspension)
Students who are suspended for non-academic reasons should be withdrawn from classes and processed using the SU code (non-academic suspension) on SPRO. Comments should be placed on PERC detailing the duration of the suspension. Student Life will enter the appropriate holds for readmission and registration. If the student is being readmitted call Student Life for approval to move forward and they will release the hold/s.
Check PERC for appropriate holds.