1. Passing Grades A grade of “NC” requires academic counseling through the Student Success Center. The student is placed on “Academic Warning” for the following semester. A student who receives three NCs in any two consecutive semesters is ineligible to continue at the University after the semester in which the third NC took place, with no additional “Academic Warning” semester. Three NCs in one semester also leads to ineligibility to continue attending the University at the end of that semester.
2. Grade Point Average Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average, and graduates must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Repeated courses use only the higher grade. Transfer credits earned at other institutions are excluded from the GPA calculation. Once again, students who fall below the designated level are put on warning for the next semester.
3. Completion Rate Undergraduate students must complete two-thirds of instructional credits attempted within the current degree (excluding DC and REC courses). Unattended courses are removed from the student’s record and are therefore excluded. Grades of “W,” “NC,” “NCR,” “NP,” “I,” and “AU” are counted as credits attempted but not completed. Transfer credits are excluded from this calculation as a basis for eligibility to continue to attend the University.
4. Maximum Time Frame Undergraduate students may attempt a maximum of 150% of the number of credits normally required to complete their program. For example, an undergraduate degree requires 128 credits (including up to 16 Development of Consciousness credits), so undergraduates may attempt a maximum of 192 credits to complete their program, including transfer credits, double majors, and switching majors. A student who has 174 credits is placed on “Warning” status the following semester.

Appeal, Probation, Loss of Aid Eligibility to Attend, and Reinstatement

Appeals to loss of eligibility after the “Academic Warning” semester must be made in writing to the Academic Standards Committee through the Registrar within three weeks of students’ receipt of notification of their ineligibility.

Appeals will only be granted to students who can demonstrate that the circumstance leading to their inability to meet any one of these standards was unexpected and beyond their control, and that the problem is not likely to occur again. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on “Academic Probation” for the following semester, and must meet the standard by the end of that semester.

Reinstatement may be achieved after all of the four standards and any other specific conditions required of the student have been satisfactorily met by the end of the “Probation” semester.

Development of Consciousness (DC) Alert

Students are placed on DC Alert when they do not receive a passing grade in their Development of Consciousness course for any semester or have a very low group program attendance in the first half of a semester.

DC Alert is not listed on the student’s transcript but does require the student to meet with faculty from the Department of Development of Consciousness before registering for the next semester. At this meeting, a strategy is developed with the student to help them correct the situation. As part of this strategy, the student is required to pass their next semester’s DC course.

Students have until the registration for the next academic year to bring any NP grades in DC courses up to passing. If they have not, students may be required to wait to register for classes until this has been completed.

Suspension

Students are eligible for suspension from the University if they do not meet satisfactory academic progress as listed above, do not fulfill the terms of DC Alert, or if they violate the code of student behavior as outlined in the Maharishi University of Management Student Handbook. Also if they don’t pay their outstanding charges as mentioned above The Student Handbook describes the code of behavior, the procedures that are followed when a student is reported to have violated that code, the possible results of a behavioral infraction, the consequences of suspension, and the policy for an appeal of a decision. The Maharishi University of Management Handbook may be found here. A suspended student must apply for readmission through the Office of Admissions before returning to the University.

Additional Points for Graduate Students

Master’s programs — Some departments will not permit students to remain in a program if there is an accumulation of more than a specified number of graduate credits with lower than a “B” grade even though the overall Grade Point Average is 3.0. Students who fail to meet the standards set by the department may be required to withdraw at the end of any block.

Doctoral programs — These programs require a grade of “B” or higher in all courses. Doctoral students who are unable to meet the standard of doctoral quality work, as determined by the advisory committee, may be asked to withdraw at the end of any block. At the end of each semester, the advisory committee interviews all doctoral students to evaluate and discuss their progress in the program.

The content of this page was reviewed in September 2012.