Academic Standing

Academic standing is a measure of performance in completed courses. You must maintain a 2.0 UCSC GPA in both current and cumulative courses in order to remain in good academic standing.

If your UCSC term or cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 at the end of any term, you will be placed on a form of academic notice for the next term. The Office of the Registrar and your college will contact you if you are placed on academic notice. You will need to work with your college and major advisors to determine the best way to return to good academic standing. Be sure to take full advantage of the many learning support services available at UCSC.

If your UCSC GPA for any term falls below 1.5, or if you are on academic probation and your cumulative GPA at the end of a term is below 2.0, you are also subject to disqualification. This means that your enrollment at UCSC may be barred for a specific period of time, or you may be disqualified indefinitely from attending the University of California. In many cases, a specific study plan can be developed with your college that will enable you to remain enrolled at UCSC. 

Financial aid's satisfactory academic progress policy (FASAP) is separate from the Academic Standing policy, and defines additional GPA and progress requirements for remaining eligible to receive financial aid. Information can be found on the Undergraduate Academic Progress and Financial Aid Information website.

Academic Notice

Academic notice is a serious call for you to take a careful look at your workload, study habits, choice of program of study, priorities, and motivation. The strategies for improving your academic standing differ depending upon the causes of your academic difficulty and whether the difficulty is a short-term problem in one term or whether it arises from a longer term pattern. Getting good advice from academic counselors will help you get back on the road to good academic standing. However, failure to actively address the problem may lead to a further decline in your academic standing to the point where you become subject to disqualification from the university.

Academic Disqualification and Barred Enrollment

If your academic standing declines to the point where you are subject to disqualification, your college will review your case and decide to take one of the following actions:

• to bar your enrollment for a specified period of time with conditions on your readmission;
• to disqualify you indefinitely from further enrollment in the university;
• to waive your barred enrollment or disqualification for a term, based upon indications that you may be able to improve your academic standing. In this case, your status is called “Academic Notice —Subject to Disqualification.”

Students who are given “Academic Notice — Subject to Disqualification” status may still enroll in classes, and live in university housing.

If you are barred or disqualified, that fact is entered on your permanent academic record. Your financial aid is cancelled, and you cannot continue to live in university housing. You are not eligible to audit or attend classes during the regular academic year. You may not receive a degree while you are on barred or disqualified status.

Appealing Disqualification or Barred Enrollment

If you are subject to barred enrollment or disqualification, your college will notify you of the decision of the academic standing review committee regarding your status as soon as possible after the end of the term. The letter informing you of this decision will specify the time frame within which an appeal will be considered. If there is information relevant to determining your academic standing which you believe the academic standing review committee was not able to take into account, you may provide that evidence in a written appeal to your college provost. Students who appeal will receive written notification of the college’s decision. If you do not appeal by the appeal deadline, the decision of the review committee will take effect immediately.

Readmission After Barred Enrollment or Disqualification

If your college bars your enrollment for a fixed period, it may also stipulate certain conditions on your readmission to UCSC. For example, students who are subject to disqualification at the end of their first year may be barred for one full year. In addition, the college may require the student to complete the equivalent of a year’s coursework at another institution (for example, a community college) earning a certain GPA before the student can be readmitted to UCSC. In other cases, the readmission condition might not require additional coursework but would require a change of major or that personal or medical issues be addressed (courses taken outside of UCSC will not be used to improve your UCSC GPA).

Readmission after indefinite disqualification is more difficult. Generally students are indefinitely disqualified only after they have fallen into very serious academic difficulty. Readmission is approved for disqualified students only when there is reason to think that they have addressed the sources of their original academic difficulty and then only after more than one year has elapsed since their disqualification.

Readmission after barment or disqualification is not guaranteed, and will be carefully reviewed by the faculty at your college before being approved. In either case, you must make formal application to UCSC for readmission, observing the deadlines stated in the Academic and Administrative Calendar. Any conditions for readmission should be addressed in your application. See the section on Readmission.