Counseling and Career Center

For students who have worked hard in high school and earned exceptional grades, prepared and scored well on the ACT or SAT, and are paying for their education through summer jobs or the help of mom and dad, the prospect of now being tracked academically each semester or term they are enrolled may bring on a mix of feelings from intimidation to resentment.

The intimidation may come from the perception that students' academic performance is being reviewed each enrollment and that after a series of enrollments a student may actually be suspended if his or her GPAs have been below 2.0. Resentment may come from the belief that they are now adults and don't need monitoring of their academic performance.

Assisting Students Toward Graduation

Although the university has established academic standing policies for several reasons, the primary purpose is to assist students in their progress toward graduation.

• Students must have a 2.0 BYU cumulative GPA to graduate from the university; whenever a student's GPA falls below 2.0, the student is no longer on track for graduation and is at risk of not achieving a BYU degree.
• Students are advised in writing that they are on academic warning or probation when they fail to meet the 2.0 standard and are encouraged to develop a plan to improve their academic performance, increasing their chances of successfully completing a degree.
• The placement of a student on academic warning or probation frequently prompts students to make the changes necessary to become more successful academically and alerts the university that the student may need advisement, counseling or support to improve his or her performance.
• While on academic warning or probation, students have an opportunity to work with their advisement center and faculty members to develop strategies for success.
• Even when students are suspended, which means they are not permitted to enroll in day, evening or extension classes for at least twelve months, the purpose is for students to have an opportunity to evaluate the issues that contributed to their difficulties and develop more effective approaches for success.

Financial Resource Responsibility

In addition to the central focus of improving a student's academic performance and assisting the student toward a degree, the academic standing policies also assure the appropriate use of the student's and the Church's resources. Because of the Church's significant financial support to the university and its students, the cost of a BYU education for individual students has been kept at relatively low levels. The academic standing policies of the university play a role in assuring that the Church's funds are used in a productive effort as students progress toward graduation.