Continued Enrollment Student:  Following a first academic suspension, a student must separate from JMU for at least twelve months/one year unless they have an appeal for continued enrollment granted by their major college.  A student who has their continued enrollment appeal granted is permitted to conditionally enroll at JMU for the semester/term immediately following their academic suspension; enrollment after the semester/term immediately following their academic suspension, and every semester/term thereafter, is dependent upon a student continuing to meet the continued enrollment conditions specified by their major college.   

Re-entry Student: A degree-seeking JMU student who has been absent from the university for at least a semester and who wishes to return to his/her studies at JMU seeks to re-enroll though the process of re-entry.  Re-entry for a student with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 is not guaranteed, but contingent upon review by an academic review committee. Review may result in denial or conditional re-entry.  A student who is granted conditional re-entry is permitted to conditionally enroll at JMU for a specified amount of time; enrollment past the specified amount of time is dependent upon a student continuing to meet specified re-entry conditions.

Transfer Equivalent Option: A student not in good standing who returns to JMU after a separation of two calendar years, and who maintains a 2.0. GPA for their first, graded 12 credit hours at JMU, is eligible to apply for the transfer equivalent option. This option allows a student the same quality point status of a transfer student admitted to the university. That is, a student's new GPA will initially be earned in the first, graded 12 credit hours taken upon re-entry. 

Academic Standing: Determined by a student’s cumulative grade point average and total hours for standing.

Academic Good Standing: Cumulative grade point average of 2.0 and above.

Academic Notice:  A student with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above who earns a semester/term GPA below 2.0 is given a "academic notice".  Academic notice alerts a student to the consequences of continued poor academic performance and is communicated to the student and the student's adviser.  Academic notice does not appear on the student's permanent academic record, and the transcript notation for the semester/term will reflect " Academic Good Standing."

Academic Probation: Academic probation is an indication of serious academic difficulty and applies when a student's cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0.  A student who is placed on academic probation at the end of a semester/term may enroll for the following semester/term; however, a student on academic probation will be restricted to a course load of no more than 13 credit hours each semester until their cumulative grade point average is a 2.0 or above,

Academic Suspension Threshold:  A student will be placed on academic suspension alert or academic suspension if that student's cumulative grade point average falls below the academic suspension threshold for a student with their total number of hours for standing.

Academic Suspension Alert:  A student will be placed on academic suspension alert if:

• their cumulative GPA is below the academic suspension threshold at the end of their first semester of enrollment at JMU
• their cumulative GPA is below the academic suspension threshold at the end of a summer session, but their academic status was greater than academic suspension at the end of the immediately preceding spring semester
• their cumulative GPA is below the academic suspension threshold at the end of a fall semester, and they have no prior academic suspensions

A student who is placed on academic suspension alert may enroll for the following semester/term; however, a student on academic suspension alert will be restricted to a course load of no more than 13 credit hours each semester until they reach academic good standing.  The university might also require students on academic suspension alert to confer regularly with their academic advisers, participate in academic skills development programs, and/or utilized specific JMU academic resources.

Academic Suspension:  A student will be placed on academic suspension if:

• their current term of enrollment is greater than the first term of enrollment and their cumulative GPA is below the academic suspension threshold the end of a spring semester.
• their cumulative GPA is below the academic suspension threshold at the end of a summer session, and their academic status was academic suspension at the end of the immediately preceding spring semester. 

As a rule, academic suspension will be invoked at the end of spring semester (and summer session for students who attend summer session); however, in exceptional cases where academic performance is persistently unsatisfactory, or in cases where students fail to meet continued enrollment conditions, the university may choose to suspend students at the end of fall semester.

Academic Dismissal: Permanent dismissal from the university occurs after three suspensions.

Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA): Computed by dividing the total number of quality points earned at JMU by the total number of credit hours attempted at JMU.

Total Hours Attempted: Cumulative hours a student has attempted while enrolled at JMU. Does not include credit hours transferred to JMU, credit hours earned by departmental exam, AP, IB credit, or credit hours for courses taken on a credit/no credit basis.

Total Hours Earned: Cumulative hours a student has earned. Includes credit hours transferred to JMU, credit hours earned by departmental exam, AP, IB credit hours for courses taken on a credit/no credit basis.

Hours for Standing: All hours attempted at JMU + credit hours transferred to JMU + credit hours earned by departmental exam, AP, IB credit + credit hours for courses taken on a credit/no credit basis.

Quality Points: The numerical value assigned to a grade.