Academic Standing

This is an archived copy of the 2017-18 Catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.norwich.edu/.

Academic Standing and Class Level

Academic Standing, as determined by the Registrar's office, is separate from Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as determined by the Financial Planning Office.

Categories of Students for this Policy:

  1. Undergraduate Residential Program Students (referred to as Residential Program)
  2. Graduate Residential Program Students (referred to as Graduate)
  3. CGCS Undergraduate Degree-Completion Online Students (referred to as Degree-Completion)
  4. CGCS Graduate Online Program Students (referred to as Graduate)


Undergraduate Students

Academic Standing is determined by the Registrar at the end of each term after all grades have been entered for that term. 

Good Academic Standing

  1. To be eligible to enroll for classes, without restrictions, a student must be in Good Academic Standing. Students who have been placed on Academic Probation or Academic Suspension are not considered to be in Good Academic Standing.  Suspended students are eligible to enroll in classes only after Readmission has been approved. 
  • Summer Programs are an exception to this rule; see the Summer Programs section below.
  1. To maintain Good Standing:
  • Degree-seeking Residential Program students must maintain the minimum cumulative GPA, shown in the second column below, for the credit range shown in the first column. The first column represents, based the sum of Norwich attempted credits, PLUS credits accepted in transfer.
(1) Total of Credits (attempted plus transferred) (2) Minimum Accumulative Grade Point Average Required for Enrollment in Good Standing
0-17 1.60
18-34 1.80
35+ 2.00
  • Degree-seeking Degree-Completion students must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA.


​Academic Probation

  1. Students are placed on Academic Probation when their cumulative GPA falls below the minimum cumulative GPA required for Good Standing. The registrar’s office will send an email notice (copied to the student’s advisor) to students placed on Academic Probation within two weeks after all grades have been entered for that term.
  2. Being placed on Probation warns students that their academic progress is in jeopardy and places restrictions and conditions on their enrollment. Students placed on Academic Probation are allowed to register for classes for the subsequent term, with the conditions listed below:
    1. Residential Program students:
      1. ​Must complete an Academic Probation Contract with the Academic Achievement Center, AAC. The student must sign this contract by the end of the add/drop period. Failure to sign this an Academic Probation Contract by the end of the add/drop period may lead to Academic Suspension.
      2. Are restricted to 14 credits, plus one ROTC course, per semester.
      3. May repeat courses in which grades of C- or below were previously earned.
      4.  May not participate in extracurricular activities, such as varsity or club athletics or special interest clubs.
      5.  May not hold rank in the Corps of Cadets or hold additional Corps responsibilities.
    2. Degree-Completion students:
      1. ​Are restricted to 12 credits per trimester.
      2. May repeat courses in which grades of C- or below were previously earned.
  3. Students on Academic Probation are eligible to participate in limited Civic Engagement activities as approved by the AAC counselor and academic field trips and other appropriate academic activities scheduled as part of course requirements.
  4. Students who fail to adhere to the conditions of their enrollment while on Probation may be administratively Suspended prior to the conclusion of the semester.  This means the students will be withdrawn from all classes.


Academic Suspension

When a student is Academically Suspended, the registrar will dis-enroll the student from any pending course enrollments.

  1. Residential Program students will be placed on Academic Suspension after one semester on Probation, unless they either achieve Good Standing or earn a semester GPA of 2.0 or above while on Probation.
  2. Degree-Completion students must raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum required within 12 additional credits, from the part-of-term or session in which they were placed on Probation, or they will be Suspended from their program. 
  3. Residential Program students who have been placed on Academic Suspension, and have returned themselves to Good Standing by completing summer classes at Norwich University may, provided there are no financial or disciplinary barriers, return to the University.  These students are not required to submit a Readmission Application unless there has been a lapse in enrollment.
  4. Residential Program students who are  Academically Suspended and who did not achieve Good Standing during a summer session, or whose enrollment has lapsed, may apply for Readmission after  one full semester (Summer is not considered a full semester for Residential program students) of separation has been completed.  Suspended students who wish to be readmitted must: 
    1. Submit an Academic Suspension Readmission Application. The application should present information supporting the premise that the student will be successful if readmitted.
      1. The readmission decision of the CASD will be based on evidence that the student can academically succeed. 
      2. If a student's written Academic Suspension Readmission Application is denied, the student may request an appeal following standard appeal procedures.
  5. The application must be submitted before 4:30 p.m. ten working days before the first day of the semester in which the student wishes to be readmitted.  Degree-Completion students who are Academically Suspended may apply for readmission after one full trimester by submitting a letter to their Program Manager.


Summer Programs for Residential Program Students only

Summer Programs sessions do not count as semesters on Probation. This means:

  1. Students are not Academically Suspended following Summer, regardless of grades earned.
  2. Students who move from Good Academic Standing to Probation, following Summer classes, are on Probation for the Fall Semester.
  3. Students who entered Summer School on Academic Probation, but did not earn the minimum cumulative GPA listed above, will remain on Probation for the Fall Semester.
  4. Students who entered Summer School on Academic Probation and earned the minimum cumulative GPA for Good Standing are in Good Standing for the Fall Semester.


Graduate Students

To be eligible to enroll for classes, without restrictions, a Graduate student must be in Good Academic Standing. Graduate students who have been placed on Academic Probation or Academic Suspension are not considered to be in Good Academic Standing.  Graduate students placed on Academic Warning have no restrictions.  Suspended students are eligible to enroll for classes only after approved readmission.

To maintain Good Standing, degree-seeking Graduate students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 and may not earn more than six (6) credits of C/C+ grades.

Students in Good Standing are allowed to register without restriction. 

Academic Warning

Graduate students earning a grade of C or C+ in any course/seminar, regardless of the credit value of that seminar/course, and whose overall GPA is 3.0, or  higher, will be placed on Academic Warning as a warning that an additional grade of C or C+ will necessitate  Academic Suspension. Once placed on Academic Warning, students will maintain this status, if no other C or C+ grades are earned, until graduation, and will receive an Academic Warning letter at the end of each grading period.

Academic Probation

Graduate students who fail to earn the cumulative grade point average for Good Standing at the end of a semester are enrolled for the following semester on Academic Probation. Students have one full semester to  improve his or her cumulative GPA to a 3.0  If the cumulative the GPA falls below 3.0 in the final semester,  additional courses/seminars, or repeat courses/seminars  will be required for graduation.

Academic Suspension

  1. Graduate students who fail to achieve the cumulative grade point average for Good Standing within one full semester of being placed on probation, or who have accumulated more than six credits worth of C/C+ grades, shall be Academically Suspended from the University.
  2. Graduate students placed on Academic Suspension and enrolled in future classes will be dropped from these classes by the Registrar’s Office.
  3. Graduate students who are Academically Suspended may apply for Readmission after one full semester (Summer is not considered a full semester for Residential students) of separation has been completed. 


Grade Changes After Academic Standing Posted (for all students)

Grade changes entered for courses in the previous term affect Academic Standing for the previous term; but, no student will be Academically Suspended at mid-semester due to a grade change.


Class Levels

All students are assigned a class year level when admitted, or readmitted. Updating of class year will occur as Norwich credits are earned and transfer credits posted. Classification is based on the chart below.

Undergraduate Class Levels

Class Year First Semester Earned Credits Second Semester Earned Credits
Freshman 0-12 13-26
Sophomore 27-41 42-56
Junior 57-72 73-88
Senior 89-103 104+


Graduate Class Levels

Earned Credits          Designation
       0-11                           G1
     12-23                           G2
     24-35                           G3
     36+                              G4