Academic Notice

If you are placed on Academic Notice, L&S recommends taking the following steps:

• Make a plan. Review our Causes of Academic Difficulty and Helpful Policies and Resources pages to find support resources and think critically about the challenges you have faced. An L&S College Adviser can help with this process and with strategizing your class schedule for your academic notice term. An L&S College Adviser can also help you understand the grades you will need to earn in order to transition to good standing.
• Read all emails from L&S (check your spam folder)
• After you receive your midterm grades (or at any point you have concern about keeping up in classes), make an appointment with an L&S College Adviser. Discuss your progress and any challenges you may be encountering.
• Toward the end of the semester, if you are concerned you may not transition to good standing, meet with an L&S College Adviser to discuss your options and write a Continue Academic Notice Letter (see below). It can be helpful to schedule a meeting before important deadlines if you would like to discuss academic options (see the homepage for key deadlines for the current term). 

To transition to Good Standing, you will need to earn a minimum 2.0 term (semester) GPA and a 2.0 cumulative UC GPA by the end of the next Fall or Spring semester of enrollment (academic notice term). An L&S College Adviser can help you understand the grades you will need to earn if you need to raise your GPA to a 2.0. Additionally, you may use the GPA calculator offered by UC Berkeley Residential Life to calculate your GPA.

During an Academic Notice term, all courses that can be taken for a letter grade must be taken for a letter grade. You are still allowed to enroll in courses that are only offered as Pass/No Pass.

Students will need to be enrolled in a minimum of 13 units, unless approved for a Reduced Course Load. If you use your Late Change of Class Schedule petition while on notice to drop a course and this puts you below 13 units, L&S will approve a Reduced Course Load for you. However, if you are on Academic Notice, you may wish to discuss using your Late Change of Class Schedule petition with an L&S College Adviser.

Continued Academic Notice (CAN) students must consult with an L&S College Adviser before using a Late Change to Class Schedule petition to see if it will violate your CAN conditions. See below for more information on Continued on Notice status.

If you believe you will not transition to Good Standing

1. Meet with an L&S College Adviser. If you are worried that you may not meet the GPA requirements to transition to Good Standing by the end of your notice term, we encourage you to meet with a L&S College Adviser as soon as possible to discuss the factors impacting your academic progress and any options you may have available to you.
2. Submit a Continue Academic Notice Letter. You have the option to write a “Continue Academic Notice” letter to the Academic Standing Review Committee. This is an opportunity for you to provide additional information about why you were unable to transition to Good Standing, actions you have taken to transition to Good Standing, and steps you would take if granted an additional semester to transition to good standing. Students on Academic Notice should receive an email near the end of the semester for more information on this. See our Continued Academic Notice Letter page for guidelines and samples. 

If you do not transition to Good Standing, a review will take place to determine if you will be required to take a break from UC Berkeley. This is called being “Subject to Disqualification” It is important to know that “Disqualification” does not mean that you are “kicked out” of UC Berkeley permanently. The goal of Disqualification is to give you space to resolve challenges so that you can ultimately return and graduate.

REVIEW PROCESS

Your academic history will be reviewed. Trends toward improvement are taken into account. Additionally, trends that show struggles in particular subjects or major directions are identified. If you could potentially graduate in the next semester, this will also be noted. Any relevant advising notes will also be considered.

Ultimately, the review committee attempts to determine whether continuing into the next semester at UC Berkeley is likely to help you improve your academic situation or if taking time away from UC Berkeley is the best next step for overcoming your challenges.

You have the option to write a “Continued Academic Notice” letter to be considered in this review. This is an opportunity for you to provide additional information about why you were unable to transition to Good Standing, actions you have taken, and steps you would take if granted an additional semester to transition to Good Standing Academic Notice. See our Continued Academic Notice Letter page for guidelines, samples, and deadlines.

We understand that waiting for a decision creates anxiety. We notify students of decisions as soon as the academic standing review process completes, which typically takes a few weeks once grades have been finalized and academic statuses have been assigned by the Office of the Registrar.

Possible outcomes

After this review, you will receive one of three decisions:

1. You will be disqualified and will plan to meet particular criteria before you can be readmitted to another Fall/Spring semester at UC Berkeley. See the Disqualification page for detailed information.
2. You will have Continued Academic Notice (CAN) status for the next semester. This status will come with more oversight than your first term on Academic Notice and you will have extra obligations. See FAQ below on CAN status for more information.
3. Your decision will be pended or conditional. This is less common than the first two decisions. This may occur if a student is Subject to Disqualification after Spring semester and a decision is pended until Summer grades are recorded, but it also may relate to committing to a new major direction.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students are reviewed first due to impacts to visas. If you are on a visa and subject to disqualification, it is important to talk with Berkeley International Office right away to discuss plans to depart the U.S. or transfer your I-20.

If you have Continued Academic Notice status, you will have the same terms for transitioning to Good Standing as before (earning semester and cumulative GPAs of a 2.0 by the end of the next Fall or Spring semester) as well as the same grading option restriction. However, you will have additional criteria to follow.

The first step will be a mandatory appointment with a specific L&S College Adviser. You will receive outreach from L&S Advising to let you know who you will meet with. We strive to make this appointment an encouraging and supportive experience, with the primary goal being to review and approve your semester schedule and to discuss any other requirements for your CAN semester. These are your CAN terms and may include that you follow through on connecting resources, follow up with an L&S College Adviser, or other terms that are related to your particular challenges. This should provide you with guidance and support toward reaching your academic goals. 

LATE ACTION

If you are on Academic Notice, you are still eligible to submit a Late Change of Class Schedule petition for late adds, drops, or variable unit changes. You may also use late actions to drop below your minimum unit allowance, as late actions are considered approved Reduced Course Loads. Please speak with Financial Aid to discuss any impact to your financial aid package should you drop below your minimum units.

REQUESTING AN INCOMPLETE

You can request an Incomplete while on Academic Notice. Incompletes for a given course should only be granted if you are currently passing the course, have completed the majority of the coursework, the instructor of record is willing to grant the Incomplete, and all timelines for grade reporting are met. You will still need to follow the standard guidelines to resolve, extend, or freeze an Incomplete. If you have been granted an Incomplete, you will still be able to transition to Good Standing provided that your semester and cumulative GPAs are above a 2.0 with the remaining letter grades you earn during the Academic Notice semester.

WITHDRAWAL

You can withdraw from the semester while on Academic Notice. When you readmit, you will be readmitted on Academic Notice and the same terms will apply to transition to Good Standing. Readmitting on Academic Notice requires a meeting with a L&S College Adviser, so we recommend making time for that process before the readmission deadline. 

GRADUATION

You can graduate while on 1.5 term Academic Notice if your cumulative GPA is 2.0 or higher. You cannot graduate if your cumulative GPA is less than a 2.0, as this is the minimum college GPA required in order to graduate. Additionally, we recommend that you check with your undergraduate major adviser to ensure that your major GPA meets department requirements.

Transcripts

While Academic Notice and Subject to Disqualification statuses show up on the administrative transcript, it will not be reflected on a student’s official transcript.

Summer Session

UC Berkeley summer session courses have the ability to positively raise your cumulative GPA. However, Summer Session grades do not have the ability to transition you to Good Standing. In order to transition to Good Standing, you must complete a standard Fall or Spring semester while meeting the terms of Academic Notice. Similarly, you cannot be placed on Academic Notice solely due to Summer Session grades.