Academic Standards

Academic Standing

In addition to making satisfactory academic progress to maintain financial aid eligibility, students must also meet an additional set of academic expectations in order to remain in good academic standing with the university. Failure to meet these standards will result in academic probation, academic suspension, or dismissal from the university.

Maintaining Good Academic Standing

Academic standing is assessed at the end of each academic standard term. To remain in good academic standing, undergraduate students enrolled in three or more credit hours in a given term must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students whose cumulative GPA falls below 2.0 will be placed on probation. Students whose cumulative GPA remains below 2.0 after the subsequent term will be permitted to continue on probation as long as the term GPA is 2.0 or higher. Students are removed from probation when the cumulative GPA reaches 2.0. A student on probation who earns a term GPA below 2.0 will be placed on suspension.

Academic Probation

Academic probation indicates that a student is not in good academic standing and is subject to suspension if the student’s work does not reach a satisfactory level. Students remain on academic probation until the cumulative GPA reaches the minimum level of 2.0, as long as each term GPA is 2.0 or higher.

Academic Suspension

Academic suspension indicates that a student is not in good academic standing and has been dismissed because the student’s work has not reached a satisfactory level. Academic suspension must be appealed in writing before a student may continue in a subsequent term.

Appealing Academic Suspension

Upon academic suspension, a student who wishes to resume studies must first appeal the suspension in writing. The appeal must be received and reviewed prior to the beginning of the term following the student’s suspension. The Provost and an appeals committee will review the student’s letter of appeal, along with the student’s academic history and overall academic performance.

Continuously enrolled students whose appeals of academic suspension are granted will resume their studies on probation. Any student who discontinued studies for one term or more and who departed the University under academic suspension must appeal the suspension before being readmitted. Upon readmission, students who have discontinued enrollment for less than one year will be subject to the requirements in the catalog in effect at the time they were first admitted to the University.

Students who discontinued studies for more than one year will be subject to the requirements in the catalog in effect at the time of their return.

Note: Students will be notified of their academic suspension by email and will be provided a link with guidelines for submitting the appeal online, including a specific date by which the appeal must be received. If a student’s appeal is not received by the date specified, the student will be dropped from all classes, and, if a resident, the student’s campus housing will be cancelled.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the foundation of any educational institution. Lindenwood University students belong to an educational community invested in the exploration and advancement of knowledge. Academic integrity is a critical part of that investment: all students have a fair opportunity to succeed, and as such, all students owe their classmates, instructors, administrators, and themselves the duty of scholarly and creative work untainted by plagiarism, dishonesty, cheating, or other infringements of academic integrity. In turn, instructors, staff, and administrators will also uphold these policies in order to promote student intellectual development and preserve the integrity of a Lindenwood degree.

As part of this educational community, students are always expected to familiarize themselves with the university’s policies on academic standards in the Lindenwood University Student Handbook and academic catalog and to adhere to these policies. Students are also encouraged to consult the resources of the university library and the Writing Center and Academic Success Center for assistance with compliance with academic standards, cheating, and lying or deception.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, lying or deception, or collusion.

• Plagiarism is the fraudulent presentation of another person’s ideas or work as the person’s own, or the presentation of the student’s own previous work as new or original. Whether by accident or design, does not properly acknowledge source(s) in any academic assignment, that person is stealing the ideas and effort of another.
• Cheating is giving or receiving unauthorized aid, help, on an assignment or other graded work. Regardless of where the aid comes from-e.g., cell phone, crib sheet, another student, online source, or AI language generator (when prohibited)-it qualifies as academic dishonesty.
• Lying/Deception refers to words, actions, or omissions directed to university personnel by a student to improve the academic or financial standing.

• Collusion is the unauthorized collaboration by students who have intentionally worked jointly on an assignment, examination, or other graded work that is to be completed partially or entirely out of the classroom, and passed it off as their own individual efforts, or where one student has authorized another to use their work, in part or whole, and to submit it as their own.

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty

The penalty for the first reported offense of academic dishonesty will be determined by the instructor and may result in a reduced or failing grade on the work/test, failure in the course, or other appropriate penalty. Upon a first report of dishonesty, the student is also required to complete an online academic integrity tutorial. A charge for the tutorial will be applied to the student’s Business Office account. For undergraduate students, a second offense will result in failure of the class, and a third offense will lead to expulsion from the university. Graduate students will be expelled after a second offense is reported. When failure of the course is the consequence for an undergraduate’s second offense, it is not permissible to drop the course to avoid that consequence.

Any questions concerning this policy should be directed to the Associate Provost, Academic Operations who maintains confidential records of academic dishonesty reports. These records are accessible only to limited personnel in the provost’s office and are not linked to the student’s academic or financial records at the university. To ensure compliance with NCAA policies, information about academic integrity cases involving NCAA athletes (to include only the student’s name, sport, charge and brief summary) will be shared with the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Success and Development.

Appeals

Appeals are not new or additional reviews and are not granted based solely on a student’s disagreement with an academic integrity decision. Ignorance and accident are not sufficient cause to overturn a dishonesty report. Students who wish to formally appeal an academic integrity case, may do so under specific conditions. Grounds for an appeal must be based upon one or more of the following conditions: 

• Procedural error: A procedural error(s) occurred during the original review process that may have impacted the outcome of the review.
• New information: Specification of new information, not available at the time of the initial review that, if introduced, may have altered the outcome of the review. A detailed account of the new information must be clearly described and be accompanied by supporting documentation
• Evidence of discrimination or bias on the part of the individuals making the decision, or an inability to consider the case objectively and completely.

The appeal form must be submitted within 7 business days of the receipt of the notification letter. In addition to the factual information requested, the appeal letter and accompanying form must include: 

• a statement explaining the grounds for the appeal; 
• relevant supporting information and documentation; and
• a statement of the desired outcome of the appeal request. 

Once the appeal is received: 

• The Associate Provost for Academic Operations and Student Success will review the appeal to ensure it is based on one of the acceptable grounds. However, if the student is facing expulsion, the appeal will be forwarded to the Academic Integrity Appeals Committee regardless of the grounds.
• If the Associate Provost determines there are not acceptable grounds for an appeal, they will notify the student.
• If the Associate Provost determines there are acceptable grounds for an appeal, they will convene the Academic Integrity Appeals Committee to consider the appeal. Copies of all pertinent documentation will be made available to the committee at the time of the review. Students should be aware that documentation that contains confidential student information will be viewed by the committee who will hold this information in strict confidence.
• The Academic Integrity Appeals Committee will review the documentation and make a determination to either uphold or recommend a modification of the original decision.
• The Associate Provost will notify the student of the outcome of the appeal within two weeks of receipt of the appeal.
• The decision to uphold or modify the original decision is final. 
• No student will be subjected to negative consequences or suffer retaliatory action as a result of filing an appeal.

Dismissal

The University reserves the right to dismiss a student who fails to adhere to University academic and social standards at any time. Students can be dismissed for any of the reasons outlined below:

(1) The student is unable to meet academic standards for the university or specific academic program. (2) The student’s continuance at the university is considered a danger to the student’s own health or well-being or the health or well-being of others. (3) Lindenwood University supports an environment of respect for the dignity and worth of all members of the Lindenwood community. Students may be dismissed for failure to uphold the social standards and regulations of the university. Violations include but are not limited to:

• Harassment
• Bullying
• Bias incidents
• Sexual misconduct
• The use of improper language
• Failure to respect campus authority
• Aggressive or inappropriate actions directed toward University employees, external partners of the University or other students
• Disruptive behavior within the campus or classroom setting
• Failure to adhere to any other relevant student conduct policy as outlined in the Lindenwood Student Guidebook.

Students dismissed from the University in the middle of a term will be withdrawn from the classes in which they are enrolled and will not be allowed to complete classes in which they received an Incomplete (I) grade in previous terms.

If expelled or dismissed from the University, a student is still responsible for all tuition, room, board, and other charges incurred for that term, subject to the withdrawal and refund policies set forth in the University Academic Catalog.

Academic Honors

Dean’s List

Following the end of the fall and spring semesters, the provost announces the names of undergraduate students who were enrolled full-time and achieved a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

General Honors

The Lindenwood faculty awards general honors to those undergraduate students who have completed all degree requirements with academic distinction. In order to be eligible for general honors, a student must have completed a minimum of 50 credit hours in residence at Lindenwood University. (Transferred credits and experiential learning credits do not count toward in-residence credit hours.) Students whose Lindenwood cumulative grade point averages fall within certain ranges are eligible for honors as follows:

The student who achieves a cumulative grade-point average between 3.70 and 3.85 receives the degree cum laude.

The student who achieves a cumulative grade-point average between 3.86 and 3.93 receives the degree magna cum laude.

The student who achieves a cumulative grade-point average of 3.94 or above receives the degree summa cum laude.

Service Learning Honors

Students who acquire 500 hours of qualified community service will receive a designation on their permanent academic transcript to recognize their achievement. In addition, they will receive special recognition in commencement publications and receive a service cord that they can wear at graduation. When entering Service Hours, it is critical that in the Description field, that you state exactly what you were doing. You must also include the name of the agency and a contact person so that the hours can be verified. Graduating seniors must have achieved 500 documented, approved hours by March 1 of each year to allow time for verification and inclusion in commencement publications (July 1 for August conferral; November 1 for December conferral). Click here to learn more about the criteria to satisfy the requirement. Contact the Office of Service Learning and Responsible Citizenship at servicelearning@lindenwood.edu if you have any questions.

University Honors Academy

The Honors Academy provides an enriched experience for undergraduate students who want to be part of an engaged community of scholars. The Academy challenges students to go beyond regular undergraduate requirements and cultivate depth and breadth in their education.

The Honors Academy offers undergraduate students from all majors a distinctive opportunity to be recognized for excellence in their coursework. Upon graduation, these students earn University Honors. Graduating with University Honors is the highest recognition Lindenwood awards at graduation. This achievement is announced at graduation and recipients wear Honors cords at commencement. “University Honors” also appears on the student’s diploma and transcript. Acceptance into the Honors Academy is by application only. First-year students, transfer students, current students, and returning students with minimum cumulative GPAs of 3.5 are eligible to apply. At time of application, current students are also required to have a minimum of four semesters left to degree to have ample time to complete the 24 Honors credit hours required for University Honors. Students must be formally admitted to Lindenwood University to apply for admission to the Honors Academy.

There are two types of Honors courses. In Honors-designated courses, every student is automatically enrolled for Honors credit. A student must earn a final grade of AH or BH to receive Honors credit in these courses. In addition, any undergraduate course may be taken for Honors credit with the permission of the instructor. To earn Honors credit in a regular undergraduate course, students and instructors must agree on a project that enhances the course and makes it equivalent to an Honors course. To earn Honors credit for this type of a course, students must complete the Honors Course Agreement and earn a final grade of A.

To graduate with University Honors, a student must earn at least 24 Honors credit hours at various course levels and have an overall university GPA of 3.5 or above. The 24 Honors credit hours may include up to 12 credit hours of Honors transfer credit. Acceptance of transfer credit toward the completion of a student’s Honors credit requirement is at the discretion of the Honors Academy

Honors Academy students who do not maintain at least a 3.5 University GPA and/or are not completing Honors courses or courses for Honors credit every academic year may be removed from membership at any time at the discretion of the Honors Academy.