Undergraduate Students
An undergraduate student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average upon review of satisfactory academic progress. The required minimum cumulative institutional grade point average is:
| Number of Credits Completed | Cumulative GPA minimum |
|---|---|
| 0 - 32 | 1.80 |
| 33 or more | 2.00 |
Pace: Students must successfully complete 67% of U of I credits attempted each term to maintain satisfactory progress toward a degree and be eligible to receive financial aid. Pace is evaluated after each year and is measured against the cumulative number of courses attempted. Students will be required to complete an academic plan if the number of completed credits is insufficient to meet the pace rule. For example, see Summary table 1 as an illustration of the pace requirement:
Summary Table 1 – First Academic Year – Student Withdraws Fall Semester
| Semester | Fall | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| Attempted credits | 12 | 12 |
| Completed credits | 0 | 12 |
| Completion rate | 0% | 100% |
| cumulative attempted | 12 | 24 |
| cumulative completed | 0 | 12 |
| Completion rate | 0% | 50% |
Pace: After the first year, this student has completed only 50% of the courses attempted and is placed on financial aid probation (suspension). To meet the 67% pace rule for U of I and regain financial aid eligibility, this student would need an academic plan that followed the course load as outlined below. As you can see, if a student gets behind on the 67% pace rule, it can take more than a semester to get the total number of completed credits to 67% and meet the pace requirement. See Table 2 below.
Summary Table 2 – Example 1 – Second Year
| Semester | Fall |
|---|---|
| Attempted credits | 12 |
| Completed credits | 12 |
| Completion rate | 100% |
| cumulative attempted | 36 |
| cumulative completed | 24 |
| Completion rate | 67% (66.66%) |
*Student has regained Satisfactory Academic Progress by completing 67% of cumulative attempted courses.
As illustrated above, the minimum number of courses this student would have to attempt and pass the next term is 12 credits. If this student failed to complete 100% of the courses attempted after the initial suspension, then an additional term or terms would be needed to get back on pace and regain financial aid eligibility. In this scenario, the student would be required to submit an academic plan detailing the number of courses needed each term to get back on pace for her/his degree.
All attempted credits for the summer, fall, and spring semesters will be combined and successfully completed credits must meet the pace completion rate of 67%. Any transfer credits from Study Abroad, National Student Exchange or any other outside courses are also evaluated to ensure they are accepted toward a student’s degree requirements.
*(F’s, zero credits, repeats (E), audits (A), withdrawals (W/WU), No-passing (NP) are not included in the earned hours) Remedial courses are not included in a student’s pace calculation.
Successful completion is defined as receiving earned credit as defined by the U of I Academic Policy. For students receiving federal financial aid, attempted credits will be defined as the number of credits enrolled for as of the tenth day after the start of each term. This date is the U of I census date for financial aid evaluation purposes. For students not receiving federal financial aid, attempted credits will be defined as attempted hours recorded at the end of the semester in the Registrar’s system.
A student is allowed to have attempted up to 150% of the required credits for a degree. Attempted credit hours are defined as the number of attempted credits in the Registrar’s system, or the number of earned credits, whichever is higher. The total number of credit hours required to obtain a Bachelor’s degree varies from one program to another. Most require 120 credits and a student is allowed 150% of the minimum required credit hours for a total of 180 credits. Others require 128 credits for a maximum attempted credit hour limitation of 192 credits. Once a student reaches the 150% mark for their specific program, they are no longer making satisfactory academic progress. Students in the Bachelor of Architecture program are allowed 150% of the 173 credits required for the five-year degree for a total of 260 credits. Most students working on a second bachelor’s degree will be allowed a total of 260 undergraduate credits. Hours may vary depending on the programs of study and whether U of I or non-U of I credits were earned.