Academic Standards

Academic Policies

Students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science must abide by all college policies and procedures as outlined at www.colorado.edu/engineering/academics/advising-and-registration and www.colorado.edu/engineering/academics/policies. Students should refer to these websites often since policies, advising guides, and forms may be updated throughout the academic year.

Ethics

As members of the academic community, students have a responsibility to conduct themselves with the highest standards of honesty and integrity. These qualities are vital to the profession of engineering.

Academic sanctions (which can affect a course grade) and non-academic sanctions (which may include  suspension or expulsion) are imposed for the following acts, or intent to engage in such acts: plagiarism; illegal possession and distribution of examinations or answers to specific questions; the presentation of another student’s work as one’s own; performing work or taking an examination for another student; or the alteration, forging, or falsification of official records. This listing is not complete and includes only some types of academic dishonesty. Any student accused by a course instructor of academic dishonesty will be allowed to remain in the course until such time the student acknowledges an act of academic dishonesty or until a hearing has determined that an act of academic dishonesty has been committed. For additional information, see www.colorado.edu/engineering/academics/policies/honesty and the the Honor Code website at honorcode.colorado.edu. See also Academic Integrity and Student Conduct under Campus Policies in the General Information section of this catalog.

Academic Standing

To remain in good academic standing in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, a student must maintain satisfactory academic performance as measured by GPA criteria, and satisfactory academic progress toward completion of a bachelor of science degree in the college. For degree-seeking students matriculating at CU-Boulder fall 2011 semester or later, CU cumulative, semester, and major GPAs must all be at or greater than 2.250 (2.000 for students prior to fall 2011). Failure to meet these requirements results in the student being placed on academic probation and, if not corrected, on academic suspension. A student may be directly placed on academic suspension if retroactive grade changes lower his or her cumulative or prior semester GPA, or if the cumulative CU GPA falls below 1.000. Academic progress in this college is determined by grades and averages as reported and calculated by the Office of the Registrar.

Academic Probation

Academic probation is normally the first step taken by the college to express concern that a student is not maintaining satisfactory academic performance. Academic probation is an official warning that the student’s academic performance must improve or the student will be subject to academic suspension from the college. Once placed on academic probation, a student remains in that status the following two semesters* (summer term not included) of enrollment as an undergraduate student in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. 

Students Matriculating in the College in Fall 2011 Semester or Later

• Probation by the cumulative grade point average rule occurs if the student’s cumulative University of Colorado GPA is less than 2.250 but above 1.000. For the first semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA of at least 2.250. For the second semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA, and cumulative GPA, of at least 2.250. Summer term is not included.
• Probation by the consecutive semester grade point average rule occurs if the student has two consecutive semesters (summer term not included) at the University of Colorado with semester GPA of less than 2.250. For the first semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA, and cumulative GPA, of at least 2.250. For the second semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA, and cumulative GPA, of at least 2.250. Summer term is not included.
• If probation is due to both cumulative and consecutive semester grade point average rules, the student will be placed under the cumulative grade point average rule requirements.

Students Matriculating in the College Prior to the Fall 2011 Semester

• Probation by the cumulative grade point average rule occurs if the student’s cumulative University of Colorado grade point average is less than 2.000 but above 1.000. The student must raise his or her cumulative grade point average to at least 2.000 by the end of the next semester of enrollment and maintain that level for two consecutive semesters. Summer term is not included.
• Probation by the consecutive semester grade point average rule occurs if the student has two consecutive semesters (summer term not included) at the University of Colorado with semester grade point averages less than 2.000. For the first semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA, and cumulative GPA, of at least 2.000. For the second semester of academic probation, the student must attain a semester GPA, and cumulative GPA, of at least 2.000. Summer term is not included.
• If probation is due to both cumulative and consecutive semester grade point average rules, the student will be placed under the cumulative grade point average rule requirements.

While on academic probation, the student is required to enroll in and complete at least 12 credit hours per fall or spring semester in approved course work that meets engineering degree requirements. Course work taken beyond degree requirements in humanities, social sciences, and ROTC does not count toward this minimum course load requirement, and no courses may be elected with the pass/fail grade option. This requirement may be petitioned for exceptional circumstances; approval will lengthen the period of academic probation.

*NOTE: The normal period of academic probation in the College of Engineering and Applied Science is two semesters. However, if a student completes at least 12 graded credit hours of CU-Boulder engineering curriculum course work in the student’s first semester of academic probation (i.e., fulfilling all requirements specified in the previous paragraph above, along with no Incomplete grades), and the student’s semester GPA is at least 3.250, and the cumulative GPA is at least 2.250, the student’s strong performance allows him or her to come off of probation a semester early and be restored to good academic standing.

Academic Suspension

Students will be placed on academic suspension if, while on probation, they fail to meet the academic requirements associated with academic probation. A student will be placed directly on academic suspension if: (1) retroactive grade changes lower the cumulative or prior semester grade point averages, or if (2) the cumulative grade point average is below a 1.000. The College of Engineering and Applied Science takes the action of academic suspension on the premise that the student is currently unable to make satisfactory academic progress toward a bachelor of science degree. 

NOTE: If a new student at CU-Boulder achieves a cumulative GPA below 1.000 following his or her first semester of enrollment at the Boulder campus, this student will be placed on academic probation rather than directly on academic suspension. This exemption is only available to students following their first semester at CU-Boulder. A cumulative GPA below 1.000 at any other time will be cause for immediate academic suspension without a period of academic probation.

The conditions of academic suspension are:

• While a student is on academic suspension, and is still rostered in this college, the student may not enroll in any CU-Boulder Main Campus courses for any fall or spring semester. 
• The period of suspension is indefinite, but must be at least one academic semester (summer term not included) if it is the first suspension and two semesters (summer term not included) for the second academic suspension. NOTE: A third academic suspension is permanent and the student may not return to this college.
• If the student needs to improve his or her CU GPA in order to be eligible to return to this college, the following options are available:

• Students on academic suspension may not be enrolled in more than 16 credit hours at a time.

NOTE: Course work completed at institutions other than the University of Colorado will NOT affect the CU GPA.

Returning to the College from Academic Suspension

A student seeking to return to the college from academic suspension must have attained a cumulative University of Colorado grade point average of at least 2.250 (2.000 for students matriculating at CU-Boulder prior to fall 2011). (Note: Students may elect to complete course work at institutions other than the University of Colorado, but these grades will NOT be used in computing a student’s GPA.) Once the required CU GPA has been obtained, the student then needs to contact the college’s Assistant Dean for Students by e-mail or letter, requesting to return from academic suspension. The student must present convincing evidence of his or her ability to continue successfully and complete an engineering undergraduate degree program. The student also needs to let the college know the semester he or she wishes to return.

A suspended student, upon return to the College of Engineering and Applied Science, returns on academic probation for two semesters (summer term not included). If the student fails to fulfill the terms of that academic probation (cumulative GPA rule or the consecutive semester GPA rule), the student will be suspended once again. While a student may be suspended more than once, a third academic suspension is permanent. A student who has been permanently suspended may not return to the CU-Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Returning to a Different CU-Boulder College or School

If a student, while on academic probation or suspension, is considering transferring to another CU-Boulder college or school, he or she should follow that college’s Intra-University Transfer (IUT) policy and procedures (typically detailed on that college’s advising website). If the student elects to leave engineering, this college considers that the student has permanently changed his or her choice of academic major to one offered by the other school or college. Therefore, the student is not permitted to enroll in any courses taught by this college that apply only toward engineering degree requirements. If, at a later date, the student attempts to transfer back to engineering, the current college policy governing Intra-University Transfer (IUT) admission will apply. If an academically suspended engineering student is also a double degree student with another school or college at CU-Boulder, the student must drop engineering as a degree program if he or she will be enrolling in the other degree program while on academic suspension. The student may attempt to return to engineering in the future if desired; the current college policy governing Intra-University Transfer (IUT) admission will apply.