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Academic Policies and Procedures
Academic Probation
A full-time student is placed on academic probation if the cumulative GPA is:
1. below 1.600 at end of first semester;
2. below 1.750 at end of second semester;
3. below 1.900 at end of third semester; or
4. below 2.000 at end of any subsequent semester.
Students must improve their GPA in the following semester to above the probation level or face possible
dismissal.
Academic Dismissal
A student enrolled full-time at the beginning of the semester is dismissed for low scholarship upon
failure in any semester to earn six credits, if the GPA is less than 1.000 in any given semester, or if the
cumulative GPA is at a probationary level for a second consecutive semester.
Program for Academic Success (PASS) students are required to earn a minimum 2.000 cumulative GPA by
the end of their first academic year. PASS students who do not earn a cumulative 2.000 GPA will be dismissed.
A student enrolled part-time at the beginning of the semester is dismissed for low scholarship if the
semester GPA is less than 1.000 in any given semester and the cumulative GPA is less than 2.000.
Dismissed students who are allowed to remain or be re-admitted to the College shall be placed on
monitored probation.
Appeal for Academic Reinstatement
A student who has been dismissed for low scholarship may appeal for reinstatement in person to the
academic standing committee after one semester has lapsed. A student who is a second-semester
senior may appeal immediately. If the committee recommends to the office of the vice president for
academic affairs that readmission is appropriate and the vice president agrees, the student will be
placed on monitored probation, wherein the student must sign a contract which specifies restrictions,
requirements, and minimum academic achievement. It should be emphasized that a student on
probation may have to conform to more rigid requirements than the general student body. Students
who are reinstated must also complete the application process through the admission office.
Disruptive Behavior
Classrooms and laboratories are important venues where Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota carries
out its mission of teaching and learning; every participant in the learning community contributes to
this. The faculty are professionally trained in and institutionally accountable for maintaining a safe and
productive classroom environment that facilitates study, clarity of thought, focused attention, and
fruitful dialogue in an atmosphere free from distraction and disorder. Discourteous, disrespectful, or
disruptive student behavior is not tolerated. Examples of such behavior include but are not limited to:
• Speaking while the instructor or another person is talking;
• Words or gestures openly dismissive or contemptuous of another student’s or the instructor’s opinion
or contributions;
• Repeated questions or interruptions which interfere with an instructor’s or another student’s presentation;
• Overt inattentiveness (e.g., sleeping in class; loud yawning or other gestures indicative of disengagement
or boredom; reading the newspaper or other non-class material during class activities or presentations);
• Texting, reading or sending e-mails, or other use of a cell phone or pager in class;
• Refusal to comply with classroom instructions or laboratory safety protocols;
• Inappropriate or unwelcome words or gestures of physical affection.
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