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Home > Academic Deans > Academic Advising Handbook > The Academic Administrative Board
The Academic Administrative Board
Exceptions to Policies and Requirements, & Academic Deficiencies
The Academic Administrative Board (AAB)
At the end of each semester, every student's academic record is reviewed with respect to whether she is meeting the grade and credit requirements for graduation. The records are compiled by the Office of the Registrar and any student who falls below certain credit or grade standards relative to her class year is referred to the Academic Administrative Board for consideration.
The Academic Administrative Board is comprised of the Registrar, three faculty and the academic deans, and has the authority to warn a student about her credits or average, place her on academic probation, or (in consultation with the President) to suspend or require her to withdraw. The Board also oversees the honors program, selects Sarah Williston Scholars, grants exceptions to academic policies, approves academic leaves, and acts on petitions for change of grades.
Exceptions To The BA Degree Requirements
For a variety of legitimate reasons, students may request exceptions to the specified BA degree requirements or stated academic policies. Frequently such requests arise from differences in curricula between Mount Holyoke and other institutions at which students may study during their undergraduate program. In other situations the presence of a learning disability or a medical problem will justify a request for an alternative mode of satisfying a college requirement. Also, students who acquire credit deficiencies may request an exception to limitations for summer school or transfer credit. Petitions for these and other exceptions should be submitted in writing to the Registrar (who serves as secretary to the AAB).
Guideposts for Satisfactory Progress Toward Graduation
When student records are being evaluated and selected for consideration by the AAB the following standards are applied:
Grade Point Average
If the semester GPA or cumulative GPA falls below 2.00, the student will be brought before the AAB.
Credits
Credits are evaluated in terms of both the total accumulated and the number successfully completed for the semester. Students will be brought to the AAB if any of the following are true:
- She completes fewer than 12 credits in a semester, or she has two consecutive semesters of 12 credits.
- She has accumulated credits equal to, or fewer than, the number indicated below, by the end of each semester:
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Fall |
Spring |
| Senior Year |
108 |
127 |
| Junior Year |
72 |
92 |
| Sophomore Year |
40 |
56 |
| First Year |
8 |
24 |
Previous Action by the AAB
Any student who has had an official academic sanction from the previous semester, including those on probation, will be brought forward for consideration.
Usual Actions Taken by the AAB
Actions of the AAB are frequently influenced in individual cases by information from deans, advisors, faculty, the Health Center, or others who have worked closely with the student. In general, however, the following guidelines represent the starting point for action to be taken in regard to an individual student.
| Warn |
on semester average if between 1.76 and 1.99 |
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on cumulative average if between 1.90 and 1.99 |
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on total credits if up to 3 credits below standards indicated above |
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on two consecutive 12 credit semesters |
| Reclassify |
if total credits are more than 3 credits below standards indicated above |
| Academic Probation |
if cumulative average is lower than 1.89 |
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if semester average is 1.75 or lower |
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if semester credits are 8 or fewer |
| Continued Probation |
if a student fails to show significant improvement during the semester of
academic probation, she may be continued on probation for a second semester |
Suspend/
Required
To Withdraw |
if a student has been on probation, and/or shows extreme failure to meet academic standards, e.g., has a semester or cumulative average at or near 0, she may be suspended for a specified period of time, or required to withdraw from the college. In the case of suspension, the student is eligible for reinstatement, while required withdrawal requires the student to apply for readmission through the Dean of the College and AAB. If the student returns to Mount Holyoke she will be considered on probation upon her return. |
| Remove from Probation |
if a student completes 16 or more credits with a semester average comfortably above 2.00 she will be removed from academic probation. |
Academic probation is not intended to be punitive but rather to provide the student with structured academic counseling and support so she may attempt to evaluate the origins of her academic difficulties and address them. For this reason, students who are on academic probation are expected to meet regularly with one of the academic deans during the period of probation and instructors are asked to submit mid-semester reports for the students.
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