Once you start taking classes at NIU, you must achieve a minimum grade point average (GPA) to stay at the university:
- Freshmen in their first semester must have a GPA of at least 1.60.
- All other undergraduates must have a GPA of at least 2.00.
Freshman Notice
First-semester freshmen who earn a cumulative GPA of 1.60 to 1.99 for all work completed at NIU will be placed on freshman notice. A student placed on freshman notice who does not earn a minimum cumulative 2.00 GPA by the end of their second term at NIU will be placed on academic warning.
Academic Warning
First-semester freshmen whose GPA falls below 1.60 for all work completed at NIU will be placed on academic warning. All other undergraduate students, except for first-semester freshmen eligible for freshmen notice, who do not maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 for all work attempted at NIU will be placed on academic warning. Students placed on academic warning are required to schedule an appointment with their assigned academic advisor to discuss an academic success plan for returning to academic good standing. Students on academic warning must attain a 2.00 cumulative NIU GPA by the end of their next term of enrollment. Students who do not attain a cumulative NIU GPA of 2.00 by the end of the next term of enrollment will become candidates for academic dismissal.
Academic Dismissal
Students who do not attain a cumulative NIU GPA of 2.00 by the conclusion of the enrolled academic warning term will become candidates for academic dismissal from the university. Students failing all courses for which they are registered for a single semester, including summer term, will become candidates for academic dismissal from the university.
To learn more about academic probation and dismissal, refer to the academic regulations in the undergraduate catalog.
If you have received an academic dismissal, you may appeal the decision by providing information to explain your situation and asking the university to let you stay. Learn more about the appeal process.