Coterminal Academic Progress
Policy Statement
Beginning with the first graduate quarter, also referred to as the matriculation quarter, coterminal students have an active graduate career and an active undergraduate career. Coterminal students are responsible for enrolling in courses each quarter, and assigning them to the appropriate career. Courses assigned to the graduate career count towards the master’s degree and courses assigned to the undergraduate career count towards the bachelor’s degree. Students in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) may not enroll in more than a total of 20 units for the quarter across both careers. Students in the graduate coterm tuition group (COTG) may not enroll in more than a total of 24 units for the quarter across both careers. Students appointed to a 20-hour (50%) teaching and/or research assistantship may not enroll in more than 10 units.
Coterminal Academic Progress
Effective AY 2022-2023, the Faculty Senate approved the establishment of academic statuses and conditions thereof for coterminal students who do not meet the University's minimum standard for satisfactory academic progress.
Prior to the conferral of the undergraduate degree(s), a coterm student’s academic progress is monitored by the office of Academic Advising, under the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) as a designee of the Faculty Senate Committee on Undergraduate Standards and Policy (C-USP) and its Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP), and in conjunction with the student’s advisors and the graduate program. After conferral of the undergraduate degree(s), the student’s degree progress is monitored by the graduate advisor and graduate program.
Coterminal students must maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative undergraduate (UG) grade point average (GPA), a minimum 3.0 cumulative graduate (GR) GPA, unless otherwise specified by the graduate program, and a quantitative unit requirement based on tuition group for satisfactory academic progress. In addition, a minimum 2.0 cumulative UG GPA is required for conferral of the baccalaureate degree, and a minimum 3.0 cumulative GR GPA is required for conferral of the master's degree, unless otherwise specified by the graduate program. All courses taken during a quarter, whether enrolled in the undergraduate or graduate career, are used to assess whether minimum academic progress standards, including number of units enrolled and number of units earned, have been met. Courses which have been transferred from the undergraduate to the graduate career are calculated as part of the graduate GPA, and vice versa.
Students in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) and students in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) are evaluated according to the respective standards below:
COTU (Students are expected to enroll in at least 12 units [with a flat-rate tuition]):
Must earn at least 9 units of 12-or-more units attempted; maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative UG GPA; and maintain a minimum 3.0 Cumulative GR GPA, unless otherwise specified by the graduate program.
COTG (Students may enroll in either 8, 9, or 10 units [at the associated graduate tuition rate]; or in 11-or-more units:
Must earn at least 8 units of 11-or-more units attempted OR earn at least 6 units of 8, 9, or 10 units attempted; maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative UG GPA; and maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GR GPA, unless otherwise specified by the graduate program.
A coterminal student in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) who earns fewer than 9 units, or less than a 2.0 cumulative UG GPA, or less than a 3.0 cumulative GR GPA; or a coterminal student in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) who earns fewer than 8 units of 11-or-more units attempted or fewer than 6 units of 8, 9, or 10 units attempted, or less than a 2.0 cumulative UG GPA, or less than a 3.0 cumulative GR GPA, will be placed on coterminal academic notice. (Students with documented disabilities who have been approved for a Reduced Course Load or Graduate Petition for Part-Time Enrollment, should contact the Office of Accessible Education for additional information.) Additionally, a student may be placed directly on coterminal academic probation or coterminal academic suspension (both further defined in this section) without first being placed on coterminal academic notice if the student had a prior coterminal academic notice status.
Students in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) with either a coterminal academic notice status or a coterminal academic probation status are required, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), to earn a minimum of 12 units of new course work with a minimum 2.0 quarterly UG GPA by the grade submission deadline, and also achieve and maintain a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0 in order to attain a satisfactory academic progress status.
Students in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) with either a coterminal academic notice status or a coterminal academic probation status are required, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), to earn a minimum of 8 units of 11-or-more-attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10-attempted of new course work by the grade submission deadline, and also achieve and maintain a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0 in order to attain a satisfactory academic progress status.
The C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) may stipulate otherwise by acting upon a request for fewer units (i.e., Reduced Course Load or Graduate Petition for Part-Time Enrollment).
For students in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU), a Stanford Summer Session quarter may count (upon request) toward the above conditions for coterminal academic notice or coterminal academic probation if 11 or more units are earned.
Full-time enrollment varies for coterminal students. All students registering for fewer than 12 units should consider the effects of that registration on their degree progress, visas, residency requirements, varsity athlete status, and their eligibility for financial aid and awards or their eligibility for or deferment of student loans, as well as their eligibility for on-campus student employment.
All undergraduates validly registered at Stanford are considered to be in good standing for the purposes of enrollment certification and athletic participation.
Units are granted for courses completed with grades 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' 'D,' 'Satisfactory' ('CR' or 'S'), and 'L.' Courses graded 'N' are counted provisionally as units earned, provided the student enrolls in the continuing segment of that course the following quarter. When the course is completed satisfactorily, the student receives all units for those enrollments. No units are granted for a course in which the student receives an 'I' or a 'GNR' ('GNR' replaced the '*' effective Autumn Quarter 2009-10) until the course is completed satisfactorily and the final grade reported. No units are granted for a course in which the student receives a 'W'.
Students who receive all 'W's as the result of a Leave of Absence (either voluntary or involuntary) are subject to Academic Progress policies.
The C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP), in its discretion, is empowered to place conditions on students with an academic progress status (e.g., coterminal academic notice, coterminal academic probation, etc.) with regard to enrollment and participation in programs and activities. In addition, students with a coterminal academic notice status require approval in advance from Academic Advising, Residential Education, the graduate department/program and the Overseas Studies Program office or Stanford in Washington Program office or Stanford in New York or Stanford at Sea in order to participate in Stanford's Overseas Studies Program or Stanford in Washington Program or Stanford in New York or Stanford at Sea; while students on other statuses (e.g., coterminal academic probation, etc.) are ineligible to participate in these programs.
Students receiving federal student aid funds must maintain satisfactory academic progress standards that may be more strict than those outlined here. See the Financial Aid Office website for details.
Coterminal Academic Notice
A student in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) who earns fewer than 9 units by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or who has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic notice.
That student shall be removed from academic notice if, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), the student earns a minimum of 12 units of course work with a minimum 2.0 quarterly UG GPA by the end of the grade submission deadline, and also achieves and maintains a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0. A student may also be removed from academic notice at the discretion of the C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) or its designees as a result of a review of individual records.
A student in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) who earns fewer than 8 units of 11-or-more- units attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10- units attempted by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or who has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic notice.
That student shall be removed from coterminal academic notice if, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), the student earns a minimum of 8 units of 11-or-more- units attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10- units attempted of course work by the end of the grade submission deadline, and also achieves and maintains a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0. A student may also be removed from coterminal academic notice at the discretion of the C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) or its designees as a result of a review of individual records.
Coterminal Academic Probation
A student in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) who, while on coterminal academic notice, earns fewer than 12 units by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or earns a quarterly UG GPA of less than 2.0, or has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic probation.
That student shall be removed from coterminal academic probation if, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), the student earns a minimum of 12 units of course work with a minimum 2.0 quarterly UG GPA by the end of the grade submission deadline, and also achieves and maintains a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0. A student may also be removed from coterminal academic probation at the discretion of the C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) or its designees as a result of a review of individual records.
A student in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) who, while on coterminal academic notice, earns fewer than 8 units of 11-or-more- units attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10- units attempted by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic probation.
That student shall be removed from coterminal academic probation if, in the next quarter of enrollment at the University (excluding Summer), the student earns a minimum of 8 units of 11-or-more-attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10-attempted of new course work by the end of the grade submission deadline, and also achieves and maintains a cumulative UG GPA of at least 2.0 as well as a cumulative GR GPA of at least 3.0. A student may also be removed from coterminal academic probation at the discretion of the C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) or its designees as a result of a review of individual records.
Coterminal Academic Suspension
A student in the undergraduate coterminal tuition group (COTU) who, while on coterminal academic probation, earns fewer than 12 units by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or earns a quarterly UG GPA of less than 2.0, or has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic suspension.
A student in the graduate coterminal tuition group (COTG) who, while on coterminal academic probation, earns fewer than 8 units of 11-or-more- units attempted or 6 units of 8,-9,-or-10- units attempted by the grade submission deadline in the most recent quarter of enrollment, or has a cumulative UG GPA of less than 2.0 or a cumulative GR GPA of less than 3.0 may be placed on coterminal academic suspension.
In addition, and on occasion, a student may also be placed on coterminal academic suspension directly from coterminal academic notice or coterminal academic probation; or may be placed on coterminal academic suspension without first being placed on coterminal academic notice or coterminal academic probation if the student has had a prior coterminal academic notice or coterminal academic probation status.
VPUE will collaborate with the graduate department/program in the deliberation of any academic suspension. Additionally, it should be noted that academic departments and programs already hold authority to dismiss candidates from their Master’s programs through the Guidelines for Dismissal of Graduate Students for Academic or Professional Reasons Policy. As such, any decisions made by the academic department/program to dismiss a coterminal student from the Master’s program would supersede or supplant the VPUE coterminal academic review process.
While students placed on academic suspension for the first time are suspended for one year, students placed on academic suspension a subsequent time may be suspended for up to three years.
Students suspended for one year are not eligible to enroll for four quarters (including Summer Quarter) following the quarter in which the coterminal academic suspension was issued. Students suspended for up to three years are not eligible to enroll for up to twelve quarters (including Summer Quarter) following the quarter in which the coterminal academic suspension was issued.
Students are expected to complete their coterminal academic suspension in full. As well, until reinstatement, students who are suspended are ineligible for the privileges associated with registration, privileges that include living in University housing, participating in voluntary student organizations, and involvement in any activity for which enrollment is a requirement. Finally, students who have been suspended are not permitted to audit.
The C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP) or its designees, in its discretion, may impose conditions of the coterminal academic suspension, and/or to a return from the coterminal academic suspension.
Reconsideration of Coterminal Academic Suspension
Students who receive a coterminal academic suspension and believe they have information that presents relevant and compelling material previously unknown to the Subcommittee or its designees, such that reconsideration for immediate continuation of their studies without a break in enrollment is suitable, should meet with the assigned Undergraduate Advising Director (UAD), and the UAD/Coordinator for Coterminal Advising, from the office of Academic Advising, under the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), as well as representatives from the relevant academic department/program to discuss their circumstances. Students with such relevant circumstances may submit a Request for Reconsideration of Coterminial Academic Suspension. Granting such requests is at the discretion of the Subcommittee or its designees, in consultation and collaboration with the academic department/program, and may be based on factors or considerations regarded as relevant including the demonstrated or perceived likelihood for immediate academic success. Requests for reconsideration submitted after the deadline are not accepted. A student may also grieve an academic suspension under the Student Academic Grievance Procedure.
An academic suspension may not be substituted, in part or in whole, by a Leave of Absence.
Returning from Coterminal Academic Suspension
In order to request re-enrollment after the suspension period has completed, students are required to submit an application for reinstatement by way of a properly endorsed Request to Register in Undergraduate Study form; students must also contact and work with their academic department/program with respect to any requirements or forms for graduate reinstatement. Instructions, including deadlines for requesting to return, should be obtained from the office of Academic Advising, under the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE). The C-USP Subcommittee on Academic Progress (S-AP), or those designated by the Subcommittee, acts upon all requests concerning academic progress and its statuses, including a Request to Return and Register after completion of the academic suspension. The Subcommittee or its designees, in consultation and collaboration with the graduate department/program, may determine whether the application for reinstatement to return will be approved or not, and/or the conditions a student must meet in order to return. Request to Return and Register decisions are at the discretion of the University and may be based on activities while away from campus, the perceived potential for successful completion of the program, as well as any other factors or considerations regarded as relevant to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education or the subcommittee or its designees.
Students who return from a coterminal academic suspension receive the academic progress status "coterminal academic probation", and must adhere to and comply with the policies above and elsewhere related to that status upon their return. Questions concerning academic progress or requests to return should be directed to the office of Academic Advising, under the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE).
Students returning from coterminal academic suspension should also contact appropriate campus offices, such as Housing and Financial Aid, regarding those offices' deadlines and procedures.
Notification (Academic Progress)
Written notification that a student is on coterminal academic notice, coterminal academic probation, or coterminal academic suspension is sent to the student, to the student's academic adviser(s), and to other relevant university offices and individuals as soon as possible after the close of the quarter. Students also receive written notification of the outcome of their Request for Reconsideration of Coterminal Academic Suspension, or their Request to Return and Register after completion of their coterminal academic suspension. Current student status, such as whether a student is enrolled or not, is considered Directory Information for the purposes of FERPA at Stanford, and Stanford may provide either parent(s) or guardian(s) with written notification of a change in student status. Provided that a student consents, or the student is a dependent for income tax purposes, Stanford may also provide either parent(s) or guardian(s) written notification that the student is on coterminal academic notice, coterminal academic probation, coterminal academic suspension, or Leave of Absence (either voluntary or involuntary). Other FERPA exceptions may also apply.
Contact Information
The office of Academic Advising, under the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE)