Academic Notice and Disqualification

Requirement

All graduate students are required to maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in order to remain in good standing and to graduate. The overall GPA is different from a semester GPA. The overall GPA is your cumulative GPA that you earn starting from the first semester as a graduate student at SJSU. It is the GPA that takes into account the GPA earned for all previous semesters. The semester GPA is your GPA that is calculated on a semester-by-semester basis.

Academic Notice and At-Risk

If a graduate student is currently in good standing, and at the end of a semester their overall GPA falls below 3.0, they will be placed on “Academic Notice.” A status of Academic Notice indicates that the student is not performing to minimum graduate GPA standards and is at risk of being disqualified from the university.
 

iSchool students will only be eligible to file a Candidacy petition, participate in a 294 internship, enroll in INFO/MARA 289, INFM 211, or work as a graduate student assistant, when the CUM GPA is at 3.0 or above.

Completion of all Degree or Credential Requirements While on Academic Notice: Enrollment in at least one letter-graded course is required of graduate students in each Fall and Spring term that they are on academic notice. Once on academic notice, graduate students are subject to disqualification if they fail to earn a SJSU term GPA of 3.0 or better each semester until a SJSU cumulative GPA of 3.0 is again established. See: S26-7

TOOLS FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS

We are committed to helping you develop a clear path to graduation and supporting your academic success. If any time you feel that you are at risk of not graduating please reach out to the Student Support Specialist.

Students on academic notice will meet on Zoom with the Student Support Specialist at least three times in the following semester after academic notice occurs to develop a plan for academic success. The Student Support Specialist will reach out to students after academic standing & current semester grades are posted on MySJSU & transcripts per each semester calendar. 

Students are encouraged to take advantage of our self-paced workbook, Solutions for Success, and utilize the special academic notice calculator to project how taking a given number of classes with variations of expected grades would affect their cumulative GPA.

Administrative Academic Probation

Any student who does not successfully complete INFO 203 in the first 4 weeks of the semester will be placed on administrative academic probation. After a discussion with the Graduate Coordinator, a student may be allowed to retake INFO 203 if the student presents compelling reasons or has performed well in a first attempt  (B or above) in INFO 200 (the graduate writing class).  If the INFO 203 class is not passed on the second attempt, the student will be disqualified from the University. A hold will be placed on the student’s ability to register for other classes until INFO 203 has been successfully passed.

If an MLIS  student fails to make a B in each core class (INFO 200, 202, 204) the student is placed on administrative academic probation and is at risk of disqualification. If on a second attempt the student again fails to make a B the student will be administratively disqualified. 

Approximately two weeks before the end of Registration, MySJSU will allow MLIS students to enroll in a retake of a core course or elective. Check the SJSU Registrar’s Calendar for the specific date.

If an MLIS or MARA or Informatics student is awarded a NC (No Credit) grade in INFO 289 or MARA 289 or INFM 211 (the School’s culminating class) the student will be placed on administrative academic probation and is at risk of disqualification. If a second NC (No Credit) is awarded for the class the student will be administratively disqualified. 

Disqualification

A student can be disqualified on the basis of:

• overall GPA (see Academic and Administrative Notice – academic notice)
• Obtaining a No Credit in ISDA 101 or IDT 200 or  INFO 203. These are the required one unit classes that must be taken and passed by BS-ISDA, MS-IDT & MLIS students in the first semester.
• For MLIS students -failing to make a B in each core class (INFO 200, 202, 204) after two attempts (see Academic and Administrative Notice – administrative notice)
• For MLIS, MARA, and Informatics students – receiving a grade of No Credit twice in INFO 289 or MARA 289 or INFM 211.

Once a student is disqualified, they are no longer officially a matriculated student in the university. Disqualified students will be precluded from registering for future SJSU graduate courses either through Regular or Special Session, or through Open University.

Reinstatement

The School of Information does not normally reinstate students who have been academically disqualified from our graduate programs.

Students who believe their academic performance was affected by extraordinary, documented circumstances may submit a written request to the Graduate Coordinator asking that their circumstances be reviewed. Examples of extraordinary circumstances may include a serious medical condition, the death of an immediate family member, or another significant life event beyond the student’s control.

Submitting a request does not constitute a petition for reinstatement and does not guarantee that reinstatement will be considered. The Graduate Coordinator will review the information provided to determine whether the circumstances warrant further consideration under the University’s reinstatement policy.

If the Graduate Coordinator determines that further consideration is warranted, the student may be invited to submit a Graduate Petition for Reinstatement and supporting materials. These materials may include:

• A detailed explanation of the circumstances that contributed to the academic disqualification.
• Supporting documentation of those circumstances.
• Documentation that such conditions will no longer affect academic performance.
• A proposed plan for successfully completing the MLIS program.
• A proposed Reinstatement Course Plan (RCP) developed in accordance with University policy and the Graduate Coordinator.
• Any additional documentation requested by the School of Information to evaluate the petition.

As part of the School of Information’s reinstatement review process, students will normally be expected to demonstrate renewed academic readiness by successfully completing 9 units of undergraduate coursework through SJSU Open University, earning a minimum 3.3 GPA with no grade lower than a B. Before enrolling in Open University coursework, students should consult the Graduate Coordinator to ensure the proposed courses satisfy the School of Information’s academic readiness requirements. The Graduate Coordinator will review proposed coursework to determine whether it is appropriate preparation for future success in the MLIS program.

Reinstatement following academic disqualification is considered only when both extraordinary circumstances and convincing evidence of future academic success are demonstrated.

The purpose of this process is to ensure that any student who is considered for reinstatement has both resolved the circumstances that led to the academic disqualification and demonstrated a strong likelihood of future academic success.