Success Planning Program

1. Enroll in 12 Credit Hours

During the fall and spring terms, all Illinois students are required to take a minimum of 12 Illinois credit hours.

2. Earn a Good Academic Standing GPA

The GPA required to recover a student's academic standing depends on their level of academic standing:

• 1A - Earn a 2.0 GPA
• 1B - Earn a 2.25 GPA
• 1C - Earn a 2.33 GPA
• Drop Status - Take 12 credit hours at another institution and earn a 3.0 GPA or higher

Use the GPA Calculator to get a more exact caluclation.

3. Complete the Success Planning Video Module

The Success Planning Video Module is a confidential space where students learn about academic standing requirements.    Students will be guided through the Gies Self-Evaluation to reflect on wellness areas of Student Success:  Eat, Sleep, Connect, Create.   Students will also complete the Mentee Availability Form to schedule required Study Tables and Community Meetups with their mentors.   Students who do not complete the module will have a hold placed on their account until they meet the requirement.

4. Attend Study Tables

Study Tables are available to all Gies students. They provide 1:1 guidance with a Peer Mentor and Peer Tutor. Mentors help students outline their academic plans using Self-Help Guides. Tutors help students with direct instructional problem solving. Success Planning students are required to attend one Study Table per month and complete the guide of the month with their mentor:

Guides of the Month (Fall/Spring):

September/February

• Weekly To-Do List
• Five Day Study Plan

October/March

• Exam Planning

November/April

• SMART Goal Setting
• Effective Student Skills - The Silent Study

5. Community Engagement Meet-ups

Connect with your college through the Academic Wellness Challenge. All mentees are encouraged to attend a Gies Community Engagement Meet-up once a semester. Meet-ups includes college services, sessions, activities and events hosted by college offices: Undergraduate Programs, Career & Professional Development, Access and Community, Margolis Information Lab.

Earn tickets for each event you attend for a chance to win one of the Grand Prizes Gies Gear Baskets! Winners will be selected in December.

6. Attend Required Advising

Students are required to meet with an advisor three weeks before course registration. Express Advising will not meet the advising requirement.  The Gies Academic Advising Team helps students clarify academic, personal and professional goals. The team helps students identify resources and partners in advocacy. All Success Planning students have an advisor assigned to their recovery semester. Required Advising is determined by the following criteria :

• Fall only - First Year Freshmen - Attend Spring Semester Planning
• Fall only - First Year Transfers - Complete Major Course Planning
• Incomplete early Business Core - Meet with Leslie Lewis
• 1A with complete early Business Core - Any available undergraduate advisor

Academic Standing Policy

Students are considered in good standing if they have met minimum performance criteria – as judged by the cumulative GPA and major GPA – and they are progressing toward a timely completion of their degree requirements.

Low GPA Warning

Low GPA Warning status serves as a warning that poor academic performance or failure to complete requirements in a timely fashion may jeopardize future enrollment status at and graduation from the University of Illinois. Warning levels identify a specific grade-point average which students are expected to earn in their next semester of enrollment on a minimum of 12 graded credit hours.

If students achieve a GPA level required by their warning, but their cumulative GPA remains below 2.00 and they are not deficient in meeting other academic eligibility and progress requirements, they will be approved to continue on Low GPA Warning , until such time as they have achieved Good Academic Standing.

As long as students are on warning status, they may not elect the credit/no credit grading option for any course. Low GPA Warning status may not be cleared by attendance at another institution. The warning rules are listed below. Students may also refer to the Student Code.

A student may be placed on (or similarly, removed from) a warning status at any time that the Gies College of Business judges that the student's scholastic record warrants such action.

Rules for Low GPA Warning

Beginning Freshman

• Code 1A: beginning freshman who does not earn at least a 2.00 (C) University GPA in the first semester is placed on a 2.00 Low GPA Warning for the next term in which that student is registered.

Students Other Than Beginning Freshmen

• Code 1A: A student whose cumulative University GPA is 2.00 or better and who does not earn at least a 2.00 average in any semester or summer session is placed on a 2.00 Low GPA Warning for the next term in which the student is registered.
• Code 1B: A student whose cumulative University GPA is 1.75-1.99, inclusive, is placed on a 2.25 Low GPA Warning.
• Code 1C: A student whose cumulative University GPA is less than 1.75 is placed on 2.33 Low GPA Warning .

Code 1G, 1H, 1P, 1T College-Academic Warning levels assigned at academic progress review.  

For Gies students, a 1P standing is assigned to students with a major GPA below 2.0 and students who are not making adequate progress in their degree (i.e. incomplete early Business Core coursework... Econ, Math, CS 105 or STAT 107, ACCY 201/202, BADM 210/211 and FIN 221).  Students on 1P Warning are required to meet regularly with academic advising.

Academic Drop

Drop rules are based on University semester GPA, University cumulative GPA, or combined all-University cumulative GPA and transfer GPA (used only if the transfer average is below 2.00). The applicable GPA will depend on the student's current status and whether the student has completed work elsewhere. These drop rules may be waived when the Gies College of Business judges that the student's scholastic record warrants such action.

• Code 17: A student who fails to earn at least a 1.0 (D) University GPA in any academic semester (not including summer session) will be dropped.
• Code 17: A student on Low GPA Warning who fails to meet his or her established warning level will be dropped, unless he or she has achieved at least a 2.00 or better University GPA for that semester, and his or her cumulative GPA is at least a 2.00.
• Code 18: A student who fails to make satisfactory progress toward a degree or who fails to complete the conditions of admission or continuation will be dropped.

Only students dropped under Code 17 may appeal a Drop Status (see below).

Re-entry After Academic Drop:  Students dropped from the Gies College of Business are not automatically eligible for re-entry.  Students who have been dropped due to academic performance must take at least 12 credit hours of coursework at another institution and earn at least a 3.0 GPA before they apply to re-entry. This will aid in the committee's decision for the re-entry process.  Beginning the fall 2019 semester, information regarding drop status and appeals will be communicated to your Illinois email account. More information regarding drop status can be found here.

Re-entry Application: Gies College of Business students who have been away from the university for more than two semesters or have been academically dropped from the university must complete a Re-Entry Application.  Review additional information about the re-entry process.

We are committed to the academic success of each of our undergraduates. We also understand that there are many reasons students enter the Low GPA Warning process. These can include personal, financial, health, family, or other issues. Our goal is to help you identify the factors that are relevant to you and to help you address them. If you feel that your success was impeded by your health, please consider a retro medical withdrawal. More information can be found here: https://odos.illinois.edu/community-of-care/resources/medical-withdrawal/.

Appealing an Academic Drop Status

Students who are dropped from the College for academic deficiencies are informed of this action in a formal letter from the College. Students who are eligible to appeal this drop status (Code 17) will be explicitly informed of this option and given information about the process and deadline.

Students who have been dropped and re-enter in the preceding semester, or whose academic records show deficiencies so severe as to create a doubt of degree completion, are placed on "special drop" status (Code 18) and are not permitted to appeal. Some students are furthermore denied any additional consideration for re-entry to the Gies College of Business.

GPA Calculator

Learn how to understand your GPA and calculate what it may be in the future.

GPA Calculator

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The University is required by federal regulations to ensure that all enrolled students are making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward their degree. SAP is monitored through the Office of Student Financial Aid. If you have recently received a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Notification from The Office of Student Financial Aid, please following these steps:

1. Complete students sections A, B, and C (with a real signature) on the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal. Upload a PDF copy of your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal HERE to Gies College of Business to complete section D.
2. Upload a PDF copy of your Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal HERE to Gies College of Business to complete section D. (Tip:  Complete a course planning form to share you plan for timely graduation)
3. Allow 3-5 business days for completion of forms. Once they are complete you will receive the finished copy to your Illinois email address.
4. Upload to Self-Service

Review the policy about SAP on the website of the Office of Student Financial Aid - Satisfactory Academic Progress.