Academic Warning Reports are sent to students who are doing D or F work in any course before the last day to drop a course. Faculty also have the option of providing students with constructive feedback relating to their attendance and the quality of their work. Academic Warning Reports are due on the 30th class day.
At the end of each semester the University shall determine whether a student is in Good Academic Standing, on Academic Probation, or subject to Academic Dismissal. Some schools and colleges may have exceptions to the Good Academic Standing, Academic Warning, Academic Probation and Academic Dismissal policies listed below.
Good Academic Standing
To be in Good Academic Standing a student must not be on Academic Probation or subject to Academic Dismissal.
Academic Warning
A student whose semester grade-point average (SGPA) or cumulative grade-point average (CGPA) falls below 2.0 shall receive an Academic Warning. All students who receive an Academic Warning must meet with their academic advisor prior to the following semester. The advisor may require a reduced course load.
Freshmen who receive a mid-term grade of D or F in any course shall receive an Academic Warning and must meet with their academic advisor within two weeks of the distribution of mid-term Academic Warnings.
Academic Probation
Students other than first-semester freshmen whose UM cumulative grade-point average (CGPA) in University of Miami courses is below the following levels shall be placed on Academic Probation.
| Credits earned* | CGPA |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 33 credits | 1.7 |
| 33-64 credits | 1.8 |
| 65-96 credits | 1.9 |
| More than 96 credits | 2.0 |
* Total credits earned including work taken elsewhere and accepted by the University of Miami.
First-semester freshmen who have a semester grade-point average below 1.3 shall be placed on Academic Probation. In addition, students who fail to make satisfactory progress toward meeting the degree requirements specified by their School or College may be put on Probation by the Academic Standards Committee of the School/College. Students on Academic Probation must meet with their academic advisor prior to the following semester and shall be restricted to a 13-credit load.
Academic Dismissal
A student who remains on probationary status after two consecutive semesters on Academic Probation shall be subject to Academic Dismissal. A student who has been on Academic Probation for one semester and has a CGPA below 1.0 shall also be subject to Academic Dismissal. The decision to dismiss shall be made by the Academic Standards Committee of the School or College in which the student is enrolled. If a decision is made not to dismiss, the student shall be on Academic Probation.
Students who wish to appeal their Academic probation or dismissal for academic reasons, must do so in writing to the School or College Academic Standards Committee within thirty days of the notice of dismissal. Those who have been dismissed for academic reasons shall not be considered for readmission to any school or college at the University until at least two regular semesters have elapsed since their dismissal.
Please note: the procedures listed in the Faculty Manual, which were changed this past year, take precedence over those in the Bulletin.
The Faculty Senate Student Affairs Committee (FSSAC) has responsibility for undergraduate student academic appeals. The FSSAC includes faculty representatives from all undergraduate schools as well as three non-voting ex officio representatives: a graduate and undergraduate student representative and the University ombudsperson. The FSSAC reviews undergraduate student academic appeals that have not been resolved at the department, school, or college levels. As noted in section II below, the FSSAC hears cases only after they have gone through the departmental and college process. The processes are the same for grade and non-grade appeals except as noted below.
I. Time Constraints
Appeals must be filed within a year of the occurrence of the academic action resulting in the appeal and prior to the completion of all degree requirements or withdrawal from the University. Exceptions to this deadline may be permitted by the FSSAC for good cause.
Each level of appeal should aim to review the appeal and arrive at judgment within a two month period from the date the appeal reaches them. The entire process should be completed within one year.
II. Order of Appeal
A student appeal regarding a faculty or administrative academic action must be addressed to the following entities or persons in this order:
III. Materials for an Appeal
When bringing an appeal, the student must state in writing issues s/he wishes to have considered. The appeal must include:
IV. Other Notes and Special Conditions
The following symbols are used:*
| A | Excellent attainment |
| B | Good attainment |
| C | Fair attainment |
| D | Poor attainment (earns credit but may not fulfill requirement for a major) |
| F | Failure (effective Fall 1995) |
| W | Course dropped on or before the last day for withdrawing from classes as published in the official calendar of the University. Credit can be earned only by successful repetition of the course. |
| I | Incomplete work in passing status with the instructor’s permission to complete the course. An “I” will be assigned only if the instructor is satisfied that there are reasonable non-academic grounds for the student’s incomplete work.** An “I” is not intended to be assigned in order to permit a student to repeat a course without registration or to permit a student to do additional work in order to improve upon grades earned during the semester. The student who receives an “I” must complete the course with a passing grade within the time frame specified by the professor of the course but not longer than the end of one calendar year, or prior to graduation, whichever occurs first. An Academic Dean may approve an extension initiated by the course instructor. An “I” not completed prior to the student’s graduation shall be changed to an “IE” or “IF” by action of the student’s Academic Dean.* |
| IP | Denotes in progress grade assigned upon satisfactory completion of the first-semester of a two-semester sequence, with the final grade for both courses to be submitted at the end of the second semester of the sequence. Please note that all “IP”s must be converted to a letter grade or “IF” at graduation. “IP” will also be converted to “IF” upon any departure from the University for a period in excess of one year.***** |
| IF | Symbol indicating that an “I” grade was not appropriately completed.**** The symbol “IF” is equivalent to an “F” when computing a student’s average. |
| CR | Grade signifying that credit only is awarded based on a “C” average or better. |
| NC | Grade signifying that no credit is awarded based on a course average below a grade of “C”. |
| NG | Symbol assigned by the Office of the Registrar indicating that the instructor has not reported the student’s grade. For a student to receive credit for the course, the instructor must report a passing grade prior to the student’s graduation, or by the end of one regular academic semester, whichever comes first. An Academic Dean may approve an extension initiated by the course instructor. An “NG” not replaced by a passing grade, or by a “W”, prior to the student’s graduation shall be changed to an “F” by action of the student’s Academic Dean.*** |
GRADE POINT AVERAGE
The grade point average is used to determine:
• class rank
• graduation and honor eligibility
• good standing, probation, and dismissal status
• scholarship eligibility
Your official grade point average is based only on the work you have completed at the University of Miami. The only exception to this policy is for determining whether a student qualifies for honors or has met the minimum grade point requirement at the time of graduation. For graduation purposes, cumulative grade point average is defined as either the average of all grades earned at the University of Miami or the combined average of all graded work taken at the University of Miami and elsewhere whether or not the transfer work is accepted toward a degree at the University of Miami, whichever is lower.
Quality points per credit are awarded as follows:
| A+ | 4.00 |
| A | 4.00. |
| A- | 3.70. |
| B+ | 3.30 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B- | 2.70 |
| C+ | 2.30 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C- | 1.70 |
| D+ | 1.30 |
| D | 1.00 |
| E (Prior to Fall 1995) | 0.00 |
| IE** | 0.00 |
| F (Effective Fall 1995) | 0.00. |
| IF | 0.00 |
Courses marked with an “IE” or “IF” count as credit attempted but are not counted in credits earned and do not carry quality points.*** Credits marked CR are counted as credits earned but are not counted in credits attempted and do not carry quality points. Courses marked with the symbols I, IP, W, NC, and NG do not carry credits attempted, credits earned, or quality points.
The grade point average is determined by dividing the total quality points earned by the total credits attempted.
Military service credit, some foreign university credit, correspondence course credit, credit by examination, etc., are not awarded quality points and do not enter the computation of the grade point average.
* Faculty Senate legislation #2000-24(B)
**Faculty Senate legislation #83032(B)
***Faculty Senate legislation #85001(B)
****Faculty Senate legislation #85005(B) and #97001(B)
*****Faculty Senate legislation #2001-29(B)
The Honor Code, initiated at the request of the Undergraduate Student Body Government, ratified by student referendum, approved by the Faculty Senate, by the President of the University, and administered by students, protects the academic integrity of the University of Miami by encouraging consistent ethical behavior among its undergraduate students. The Code provides standards that prohibit all forms of scholastic dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and falsification or misrepresentation of experimental data. The Code covers all written and oral examinations, term papers, creative works, assigned computer related work, and any other academic work done at the University by an undergraduate student.
All undergraduate students are responsible for reading, understanding, and upholding the Honor Code. Signed pledges are required for written work submitted for evaluation, but the absence of a signed pledge does not free a student from the ethical standards required by the Code. Procedures for dealing with infractions of the Code, including provisions for appeals, are printed in the text of the Honor Code. Copies may be obtained from the Office of the Dean of Students or from the office of the Undergraduate Student Body Government, or on-line at www.miami.edu/honor-council.
In keeping with the traditional prerogatives of university faculties, nothing in the Code infringes on the faculty’s assignment of grades undertaken in a class. Instructors are informed when students have been found guilty of infractions involving their classes. Courses in which students have been failed for academic dishonesty may neither be dropped nor repeated under the terms of the freshman repeat rule.
The Dean’s List
The Dean’s List is composed of those undergraduate students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program and have attained high scholastic achievement for the semester. To attain the Dean’s List, a student must, for the semester:
The Dean’s List will be announced by each college and school at the end of the semester. The Office of the Registrar will post this achievement to the student’s permanent record.
The Provost’s Honor Roll
The Provost’s Honor Roll is composed of those undergraduate students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program and have attained a high scholastic achievement for the semester. To attain the Provost’s Honor Roll, a student must, for the semester:
The Provost’s Honor Roll will be announced by the Provost’s Office. The Office of the Registrar will post the achievement to the student’s permanent record, and distribute the Provost’s Honor Roll Certificate.
The President’s Honor Roll
The President’s Honor Roll is composed of those undergraduate students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program and have attained the highest possible scholastic achievement for the semester. To attain the President’s Honor Roll a student must, for the semester:
The President’s Honor Roll will be announced by the Office of the Registrar who will post the achievement to the student’s permanent record, and distribute the President’s Honor Roll Certificate.