Degree Requirements
To earn a bachelor’s degree, a student must attain an overall QPA of at least 2.0, as well as a 2.0 in the major. Students in Education, Social Work, and Nursing must attain an overall and major QPA of 2.5. He or she must also successfully complete all requirements as prescribed in his or her particular program. At least half of the courses in a student’s major must be taken at Niagara University. Niagara allows study abroad courses to satisfy part of the last 10 courses with the approval of the dean.
Certain majors may have a higher grade point average requirement for retention in the major, e.g., education, social work and nursing. Retention in the major is determined by the appropriate department and college.
| Semester | Satisfactory Academic Progress | Academic Alert | Subject to Academic Dismissal |
|---|---|---|---|
| At completion of this full-time semester or its equivalent1 | A student who earns this cumulative grade point average and this number of credits is making satisfactory academic progress | A student who earns a cumulative grade point averag or successfully completes the number of credits in the stated range is on alert | A student who falls below this cumulative grade point average or these completed credit hours is subject to academic dismissal2 |
| GPA/Credits | GPA/Credits | GPA/Credits | |
| 1 | 2.00/12 | 1.00-1.99/6-11 | 1.00/6 |
| 2 | 2.00/24 | 1.25-1.99/18-23 | 1.25/18 |
| 3 | 2.00/36 | 1.50-1.99/30-35 | 1.5/30 |
| 4 | 2.00/48 | 1.70-1.99/42-47 | 1.70/42 |
| 5 | 2.00/60 | 1.90-1.99/54-59 | 1.9/54 |
| 6 | 2.00/72 | below 2.00/66-71 | 2.00/66 |
| 7 | 2.00/84 | below 2.00/78-83 | 2.00/78 |
| 8 | 2.00/96 | below 2.00/90-95 | 2.00/90 |
| 9 | 2.00/108 | below 2.00/105-107 | 2.00/105 |
| 10 | 2.00/120 | below 2.00/108-119 | 2.00/108 |
| Action | None required | A student must sign a satisfactory academic progress (SAP) contract and must earn a 2.0 semester grade point average during the semester on alert | A student may appeal the dismissal using the guidelines outlined in the Niagara University catalog |
- 1
Equivalent full-time semester: 15 transfer credits equal the equivalent of one full-time semester and a total of 15 credits accumulated by part-time enrollment equals the equivalent of one full-time semester.
- 2
The first time a student falls into this range, the student will be placed on academic warning. If a student falls into this range another time, s/he may submit an appeal to the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) committee for reinstatement. If the appeal is accepted by the committee, the student will be placed on academic probation.