University of the People monitors students’ academic performance to ensure satisfactory progress toward a degree. All students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00. Review of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) applies only to Degree Seeking Students.

Satisfactory Academic Progress is evaluated at the end of every term, and active students who earn a letter grade in at least one course, excluding “W,” are notified in writing by the Office of Student Affairs of their academic standing within one month of every evaluation point. Students who withdraw from the institution during a term when they are issued a letter grade of A through F will receive a letter from the university verifying their final academic standing at the time of their withdrawal from UoPeople; this will remain on permanent file with the University.

The University reserves the right to place students on Academic Warning, Academic Probation, Probation Continued, and Academic Suspension, and reserves the right to remove students from Academic Warning, Academic Probation, Probation Continued, and Academic Suspension based on their academic performance and degree program, notwithstanding the Academic Standards.

Good Standing

Students maintaining a minimum CGPA of 2.00 are in good standing.

Academic Warning

Students who had been in good standing in the previous term and whose minimum cumulative GPA drops to below 2.00 at the end of the current term are placed on Academic Warning. Students on Academic Warning who meet or exceed a 2.00 cumulative GPA during the subsequent term return to good standing.

Students on Academic Warning are encouraged to be in contact with their personal Program Advisor.

Academic Probation

Students who had been on Academic Warning in the previous term and whose minimum cumulative GPA continues to be below 2.00 at the end of the current term are placed on Academic Probation. Students on Academic Probation that meet or exceed a 2.00 cumulative GPA during the subsequent term return to good standing.

Students on Academic Probation are encouraged to be in contact with their personal Program Advisor.

Probation Continued

Students on Academic Probation who failed to achieve a CGPA of 2.00 at the end of the preceding term but who did earn a 2.00 GPA or better are placed on Probation Continued. They may stay on Probation Continued as long as they earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 in each subsequent term until their CGPA reaches a 2.00. If students on Probation Continued fail to achieve a 2.00 GPA, they are dismissed from the University.

Degree Seeking Students on Probation Continued are encouraged to be in contact with their personal Program Advisor.

Academic Dismissal

Students who had been on Academic Probation or Probation Continued in the previous term and whose minimum cumulative GPA continues to be below 2.00 at the end of the current term are dismissed from the University. In some cases, and at the sole discretion of the academic department, Degree Seeking Students only may instead be placed on Probation Continued status or Academic Suspension.

Academic Dismissal is a permanent separation from the University, and means a student may not enroll in any succeeding term unless given permission by the Student Affairs Committee pursuant to the appeals process.

Academic Dismissal Appeals

Dismissal appeals are available only for Degree Seeking Students.

Students who have encountered unexpected or extenuating circumstances that significantly prevented them from completing their academic requirements are eligible to request reconsideration of the dismissal decision by submitting a written appeal to Student Affairs no later than thirty days from the dismissal notice. Students who do not request an appeal within the 30-day deadline forfeit their right to appeal.

The appeal should include a clear description of the basis of the appeal, students’ reflections about their own academic difficulties at the University, and evidence of probable academic success if permitted to return to the University. Students should also submit any documentation of mitigating circumstances contributing to their poor academic performance. The appeal must include the student’s action plan with a clear description of how they will overcome the difficulties moving forward.

All appeals should be sent to the student’s Program Advisor, who will sent the appeal to the Office of Student Services at student.services@uopeople.edu for the English programs and student.services@ar.uopeople.edu for the Arabic Division and will then be directed to the Student Affairs Committee. Once the appeal is submitted, students will receive a confirmation email from their program advisor and a final decision about the appeal will be sent within six weeks of the submission of their appeal. Decisions rendered by the Committee are final and binding.

When an appeal is granted, the student will be required to sign a contract for Improved Academic Performance with the Program Advising Office within a week or will not be permitted to return to their studies. Only once the student has signed the contract, the Office of Student Services will process the student’s reinstatement. Please note: once a student has successfully been re-enrolled after dismissal, any later academic dismissal from the University is final and cannot be appealed.

Dismissed students whose appeals are denied and who wish to return to their studies at UoPeople are required to apply for Academic Renewal as a Degree Seeking Student after being out of residence from the University for a minimum of five consecutive terms. Out of residence refers to the number of terms that a student has been inactive at the University— either unenrolled from the institution and/or enrolled at UoPeople without completing any course work in the intervening terms (that is, enrolled and inactive). For more information on Reinstatement, see ‘Matriculation Policies’ under Chapter 16 below.

Progress

Program goals set the overall direction for each program, providing the blueprint to determine course and student level learning outcomes. Course learning outcomes are defined for every course in every degree program, and specify in concrete, measurable terms the knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or attitudes to be developed. The university’s Outcomes Assessment Plan (OAP) ensures term and annual evaluation of student learning outcomes, persistence, progression, performance, and completion.

The university employs the Carnegie system for awarding academic credit as a means of tracking student achievement. It is university policy and practice that every semester credit hour that is awarded is equivalent to approximately 45 hours of student engagement over the course of the 9-week term (15-17 hours spent in active academic engagement, 30-35 in independent and preparatory work).

The university employs Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) monitoring to evaluate the progress of every student at the end of each term, and active students who earn a letter grade in at least one course are notified in writing by the Office of Student Affairs of their academic standing within one month of every evaluation point. Students who withdraw from the institution during a term when they are issued a letter grade of A through F will receive a letter from the university verifying their final academic standing at the time of their withdrawal from UoPeople.

Outcomes

The university collects data to produce annual reporting on student enrollment, persistence, and graduation. Alumni are surveyed annually to record employment and salary updates.

Satisfaction

The annual student survey, as well as other surveys that the university conducts, collects student satisfaction data, including their satisfaction with the university and whether the program met their expectations.