Academic Status
FULL TIME/PART TIME STUDENT STATUS
Full-time and Part-time Status: A full-time graduate student is defined as one who has enrolled for a minimum of nine (9) semester credits. Full-time status is required to qualify for insurance coverage and for certain federal and state financial aid programs (contact the Financial Aid Office). Status is based on credit load. For enrollment verification purposes, the graduate student course load is defined as follows:
Full time - at least nine (9) credits per semester.
Three-quarter time - at least seven (7) credits per semester.
Half time - at least five (5) credits per semester.
The maximum graduate credit load is sixteen (16) credits per semester. Students wishing to exceed the maximum load must receive approval from the Director, School of Graduate Studies. Additional information applies for graduate students who are participating in a graduate assistantship. Please see Graduate Assistantships located on the School of Graduate Studies website.
RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS
The master’s degree requires a minimum of twenty (20) graduate credits completed through Bemidji State University. Individual programs may have on-campus residence requirements.
FIFTY PERCENT (50%) REQUIREMENT
According to MnSCU Policy 3.36.1.9, “At least one-half of the required credits in a master’s degree, exclusive of a thesis, capstone or similar culminating project, shall be credits restricted exclusively to graduate student enrollment.” Therefore, the graduate student’s course work must include a minimum of 50% of 6000-level credits, excluding those credits associated with a thesis, research paper, capstone, or similar culminating project.
TIME LIMIT
Graduate credits earned within seven (7) years before the confirming of the degree shall apply to the master's program. All course work, including transfer credits, greater than seven (7) years old is considered to be obsolete and may not be included in a student's program of study.
A high level of scholarship is expected of all students enrolled for graduate credit, whether or not they are pursuing a degree. Students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 ("B") for all course work attempted.
The academic progress of each student is reviewed by the Director, School of Graduate Studies, at the conclusion of each semester or summer term. Students who are not making satisfactory progress will be notified as follows:
Students who are provisionally admitted to the graduate studies program will be dismissed if they do not attain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 ("B") for the initial six (6) 6000-level graduate credits attempted. Students may petition the BSU Graduate Studies Committee, through the Director, School of Graduate Studies, for readmission (see Reinstated/Appeal Process in this section).
CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT
Students must register for at least 1 course credit for each semester until completion of the degree program. All requirements must be met to obtain a licensure or degree from Bemidji State University, it is quite possible that a student may have the required number of credits for a degree but has not finished all required components of the degree which necessitates continuous enrollment until all requirements are fully me and the student has successfully petitioned to graduate. Students must be registered during the semester in which the degree or licenses is conferred.
II. MINIMUM PERCENT COMPLETION
A student is required to obtain a 66.67% course completion rate. Credits accepted in transfer are added to the BSU attempted credits and BSU earned credits, the calculated total earned credits is then divided by the calculated attempted credits to determine the percent completion rate.
III. PROGRESS
Cumulative values are used in determining if academic progress has been met. Students not meeting the minimum grade point average or the minimum percent completion requirements will be notified of their academic progress status. Academic progress statuses include Academic Warning and Academic Suspension. See below for the criteria for each academic progress status.
IV. DETERMINATION OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS STANDING
Academic Warning
The first time a student fails the minimum cumulative grade point average requirement or the cumulative percent completion requirement during the semester, the student will be placed on ACADEMIC WARNING.
Students placed on academic warning are eligible for continued enrollment and are expected to make progress toward meeting the minimum cumulative grade point average requirement and minimum percent completion requirement.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACADEMIC WARNING
Upon conclusion of the warning term, if the student has meet BSU’s minimum cumulative grade point average and cumulative percent completion, the student’s warning status will be removed.
Academic Suspension
At the conclusion of the warning term, those students not meeting the minimum cumulative GPA or minimum cumulative percent completion requirement will be suspended for the minimum time period of one calendar year indicated below.
V. REINSTATEMENT/APPEAL PROCESS
Students suspended from Bemidji State University who wish to return following the period of suspension must submit a petition to the Director of the School of Graduate Studies. The petition should include information on the circumstances that affected past performance and a plan to be successful in achieving future academic progress goals. Readmission will be considered provided that certain conditions regarding academic deficiencies, as stated and designed by the student’s advisor and approved by the Dean of the College, are agreed to in advance and reflected in the subsequent registration.
Those students on suspension due to poor academic performance may submit a petition/appeal prior to sitting out the term of suspension if extenuating circumstances impeded their academic performance.
All petitions are submitted to the Records & Registration Office to be reviewed by the Student Programs & Admissions (SPA) Committee. In order to allow sufficient time to review the petition, it is recommended that appeals are submitted at least two weeks prior to the start of the semester for which the appeal is being requested.
Academic Probation
Students with an approved petition for academic reinstatement will be placed on academic probation. While on probation, the student will be required to meet the terms that are set forth in the approved petition.
CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT
Students must register for at least 1 course credit for each semester until completion of the degree program. All requirements must be met to obtain a licensure or degree from Bemidji State University, it is quite possible that a student may have the required number of credits for a degree but has not finished all required components of the degree which necessitates continuous enrollment until all requirements are fully me and the student has successfully petitioned to graduate. Students must be registered during the semester in which the degree or licenses is conferred.