Academic Standing

A student’s GPA is figured by dividing the total number of hours attempted into the total number of grade points earned. When a student’s cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0, they are placed on academic probation. Excessive probation or continued probation without improvement can lead to the student being declared academically ineligible.

Academic Probation

The minimum grade point average required for any degree at Butler is 2.00. Therefore, any student whose cumulative GPA is below 2.00 is considered “on probation.” A student’s grade point average is figured by dividing the total number of hours attempted into the total number of grade points earned.

Excessive probation, or continued probation without improvement, can lead to the student being declared academically ineligible. Therefore, a student on probation should take all available measures to improve their standing. One usually helpful step is to reduce the academic load; by concentrating on fewer courses, a student increases the amount of study time available to devote to each and thus improves the chances of earning the desired grades.

Practices on restricting loads for students on probation vary from college to college. The restrictions are designed not to hamper the student but rather to protect the student’s academic eligibility.

Academic Ineligibility

Any student whose academic record does not demonstrate satisfactory progress toward a degree may be declared academically ineligible. A declaration of ineligibility is not an attempt to deny any rights or privileges or to punish a student for unsatisfactory performance. It is, rather, an attempt to prevent a student from spending additional time and money without strong prospects for earning a degree.

A student runs the risk of being declared ineligible if the student:

  • Has gone as many as 24 points on probation in two or more semesters.
  • Has remained on probation for more than two semesters without making any significant reduction in the amount of probation.
  • Has completed 90 semester hours without achieving the required 2.0 grade point average.
  • Has failed to earn a specified average during any given session after having been informed that such an average would be required.
  • Has begun a session on probation and has finished with a lower cumulative average than that carried at the beginning of the session.
  • Has been granted renewed eligibility and has failed to satisfy the stipulation under which readmission was authorized.
  • Has been admitted on probation or as a transfer student and has failed to earn a 2.00 average during the first two semesters at Butler.

A student declared academically ineligible will not be readmitted to Butler until at least one full semester has elapsed. If, after an absence, the student feels that the problems that led to the academic difficulty have been solved, the student may petition for renewed eligibility by writing a letter to the dean of the college in which they were enrolled. This letter should be submitted at least 30 days before the start of the session for which the student wishes to enroll.

The petition will be presented to the administrative committee of the college, which will consider both the student’s record and the evidence presented in the letter to determine whether or not another opportunity to enroll seems warranted. A student who has taken any academic work elsewhere during the absence from Butler also must present a satisfactory transcript for all such work in order to be readmitted. If the administrative committee concludes that the student has a reasonable chance to redeem the earlier record and earn a degree, it may grant renewed eligibility—ordinarily with the stipulation that the student must earn a 2.50 average during the first two semesters of further work and must then continue to reduce the probation through subsequent semesters, in order to remain eligible.