1.4 ACADEMIC STANDARDS
In order to preserve the integrity of the College as a community and center of learning, the College requires students to withdraw for three different kinds of reasons: when students fail to act in accordance with the standards of behavior established by the Senate and set forth in the Course of Study; or when students cannot remain without endangering their own health or that of other students; or when students have failed to make satisfactory progress toward the degree.
Satisfactory progress toward the degree is defined as maintaining at least a 2.0 cumulative average, and earning credit at the normal rate of four units each year.
- 1.4.1 The Academic Standards Committee
- 1.4.2 Committee Procedures
- 1.4.3 Committee Actions
- 1.4.4 Records of Committee Actions
1.4.1 The Academic Standards Committee
A standing committee of the faculty, the Academic Standards Committee, working in concert with the Dean for Academic Advising and the Associate Provost, is charged with the responsibility of reviewing cases of failure to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree.
1.4.2 Committee Procedures
At the end of each semester, as soon as possible after grades are reported, the Academic Standards Committee reviews the records of all students who fail to meet the standards defined above. The Dean for Academic Advising is responsible for reviewing the records of all students and reporting the names and records of deficient students to the committee. In considering each case, the committee usually examines deficiency reports from instructors and receives reports from the offices of the Dean of Students, the Dean for Academic Advising, and the Health and Counseling Center. In addition, the committee may ask for a report from the faculty advisor, as well as a written statement from the student. Tentative grades in year courses are considered by the committee. In its deliberations, the committee seeks to consider all pertinent information before making an evaluation of the student's failure to make satisfactory progress toward graduation.
1.4.3 Committee Actions
Based on the review outlined above, the committee is empowered to act as it may determine. The most common actions are listed below.
Letter of Warning: A letter explaining the deficiency and possible consequences if improved performance is not achieved in the following semester or year.
Conditional Enrollment: A letter setting conditions on continued enrollment at the College. Some of the more common conditions include: prohibiting students from taking more than four courses, requiring regular attendance, restricting extracurricular activities, and requiring review and approval by the committee of subsequent grades earned by the student. Students placed on conditional enrollment are not in good academic standing.
Advised Withdrawal: The committee may simply advise a student to withdraw from the College for a specified period of time. If the student declines this advice, the student will be placed on conditional enrollment.
Required Withdrawal: When it becomes obvious that a student will have little or no chance to graduate, or when some time away from Kenyon is clearly indicated, the student's withdrawal will be required. The committee may require withdrawal for a specific period, usually a year. The committee has the power to require withdrawal indefinitely or permanently.
1.4.4 Records of Committee Actions
Copies of letters concerning actions taken by the Academic Standards Committee are placed in the students' folders in the Registrar's office and the Dean of Student's office. Summary records of the committee's actions, which do not contain students' names, are maintained by the Dean for Academic Advising.
A note of the committee's actions is kept as a part of the student's permanent academic record, but it is confidential and not listed on the transcript with grades and course information. No indication that a student has received a letter of warning or has been placed on conditional enrollment appears on copies of the student's transcripts which are sent from the College. A student advised to withdraw or required to withdraw from the College is ordinarily given the opportunity to withdraw from the College voluntarily before being dismissed. This requires completion of a Declaration of Withdrawal form. The permanent record and transcript copies of such students will indicate that the student withdrew. If a student required to withdraw does not complete the form and withdraw voluntarily, the student's permanent record and transcript will indicate simply the date of dismissal, with no indication of cause.