Mississippi State has made changes to its academic probation policy.
Under the new policy, freshmen who have less than a 1.5 grade point average will be put on probation, and upperclassmen must maintain a 2.0.
“When a student enters probation, they are restricted to 14 hours and their GPA must meet the required level of their classification,” said Jerome Gilbert, associate provost of Academic Affairs.
Students who allow their GPA to drop below the required level during probation will be suspended from the school for a full semester.
“We don’t want students to be suspended,” said Ruth Prescott, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs. “A student placed on probation must meet with a probationary adviser or academic adviser to pace the student, give them direction.”
The new policy, which went through multiple phases during the past four years and was passed through several councils, only applies to freshmen and first time students to Mississippi State. All students with established GPAs prior to August 2004 are still under the previous policy.
To graduate from MSU, a student’s cumulative GPA must reach a 2.0. The old system allowed freshmen to hold a 1.0, sophomores a 1.3, juniors a 1.7 and seniors a 1.9 without probation. However, since classes become gradually more demanding and strenuous, the chances of probation and suspension increase.
The new policy requires students pay more attention to their grades. The cumulative GPA requirements were raised to help students from falling under academic probation, Prescott said.