Academic Standards and Regulations

Satisfactory Academic Progress and Status

Herkimer College is ranked among the top 100 U.S. community colleges for student success due to our impressive graduation and transfer rates.  We take academics very seriously and hold our students to high standards while giving them room to explore their interests and grow their knowledge, skills, and abilities. 

A student is considered to be making academic progress if he/she maintains a GPA of 2.0 or higher. A student’s academic status is determined by the student’s cumulative GPA AND the number of credit hours earned, compared to the number attempted on the chart below.These standards will not apply until a student has attempted a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours.

 * Attempted credits include all coursework in the student's academic history at Herkimer College, including transfer, remedial, failures, withdrawals and advanced placement credits.

Credits Attempted Compared to Credits Earned:

FAILURE TO MEET THE STANDARDS FOR SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS WILL AFFECT FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY.  Students should contact the Financial Aid Office for information.

Students with questions about academic standards and requirements can contact the Advisement Center at 315-866-0300 x8239 or submit information request.

Academic Warning

A student is placed on academic warning if his/her GPA is below 2.0. Students on academic warning are encouraged to revise their schedules. Specifically, all courses in which the student received Fs or Zs should be retaken. A student placed on academic warning may have accompanying constraints placed upon his/her participation in certain activities and/or course work (i.e. athletics, field work, Student Senate, etc.). In addition, a student should consider attending tutoring, counseling, and/or study sessions to help improve his/her level of academic performance. Students on warning may be permitted to register for up to 18 credits.

Academic Probation

Academic Probation is determined when a student does not earn the minimum number of credits to demonstrate academic progress, and/or the student's cumulative grade point average does not reflect satisfactory progress given the number of credits attempted.  (Refer to the Standards for Academic Progress chart).

At the end of the semester, students will be notified of Academic Probation student standing.  Students on Academic Probation will receive information explaining the process to follow in order to return for the subsequent semester.  If the deadline is not adhered to, the student will not be permitted to attend.

Students on Academic Probation will be required to meet with an Advisement Center representative to develop/revise a schedule to repeat as many courses in which the student received grades of F or Z as possible, and the schedule will not exceed 14 credit hours.

Academic Dismissal

A student will be dismissed when he/she fails to meet the minimum academic standards. A student who is dismissed is not eligible for federal financial aid.

1. Students who have been academically dismissed may only appeal the dismissal due to extenuating circumstances that may permit the student who fails to meet the aforementioned standards to continue at the College. Students who feel they can present satisfactory evidence of extenuating circumstances should file the Dismissal Appeal Form with the appropriate division immediately after receiving notification of dismissal. Appeal decisions will be made prior to the start of the next semester.

   A Financial Aid Appeal form may be requested from the Financial Aid Office for review of reinstatement of aid based on evidence of extenuating circumstances. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee makes final decisions of financial aid eligibility.

2. Students with more than one (1) dismissal may be readmitted, with restrictions, if they have not attended Herkimer College for at least six months from the date of dismissal.
3. Dismissed students who have not been enrolled for at least three (3) full years since their dismissal may be readmitted and may be eligible for the Second Chance Policy. Approval of the Second Chance Policy does not grant student’s eligibility for federal financial aid. A financial aid appeal may be granted for exceptional circumstances only.
4. Should a student feel unjustly denied readmission, he/she may petition in writing, within four (4) days of being denied readmission, to the Provost.  The final decision for academic reinstatement will rest with the Provost.

Audit Policy

A student who wishes to audit a course, on a space available basis only, must obtain permission from the instructor of the course and the appropriate associate dean. With permission of the instructor, the auditor may submit written work for feedback. The final grade of “AU” (audit) will be assigned and a record of the course being audited will appear on the student’s transcript.

A student wishing to change his/her status must follow the procedure for changing a course. Changing from audit to credit or credit to audit basis during the semester will not be permitted after the fifth instructional day of the semester or the beginning of the second class meeting for an evening, summer session, mini semester or shorter session course. Credit for an audited course cannot be established at a later date except by enrolling in the course for credit in a subsequent semester and satisfying all course requirements at that later time.

A part-time student auditor pays full tuition and fees for the course and attends under the same regulations established for full-time student auditors.

Students wishing to register for a class on an audit basis must contact the Registrar’s Office.

Separate receipts for payments of a class on an audit basis are given to students who are also registered in a class(es) for credit. This eliminates the problem of a person registered for nine credit hours and three audit hours becoming classified as a full-time student.

Senior Adult Auditors

The State Education Law has been amended to add that tuition may be waived for persons 60 years of age and older at community colleges who wish to audit credit courses. Guidelines for senior adult auditors are the same as those established for full-time student auditors in credit classes where space is available as determined by the institution. Auditing is limited to credit courses.