Academic Standing

The Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) is responsible for evaluating the academic standing of all College and IDP degree candidates according to the standards established by the Faculty. At the close of each term, normally within four weeks of grade posting in the fall and spring terms and as soon as grades are posted for the summer intersession, the AAC meets to review each student’s academic records to determine if the student meets the standards for good academic standing.

The standards for good academic standing that are reviewed are:

1.    a minimum cumulative GPA appropriate to semester since matriculation (see chart below);

2.   adequate progress towards degree completion as defined by the minimum number of credits accumulated since matriculation (see chart below);

3.   full-time enrollment (defined as attempting 4 or more course credits), unless authorized to drop below by an approved accommodation request or petition for reduced course load. Full-time enrollment is reviewed – and standing adjusted accordingly – following the end of Add/Drop in the fall and spring semesters.

Students who meet the three standards are considered to be in good academic standing, a designation indicating that the student has no current academic difficulties. Minimum number of earned credits and cumulative GPA required per semester to maintain degree progress and good academic standing at the College:

Degree Progress

For Individualized Degree Program (IDP) students, adequate progress towards degree completion is defined as completing, during the fall and spring term, of a minimum of two-thirds of the credits attempted.

A petition for a waiver of the four course-credit standard for College students must be submitted by the student in writing to the AAC before the end of the drop/add period. Each College student is expected to enroll in and complete an average of nine course credits each academic year in order to earn the credits required for graduation, although a student may complete only eight course credits and remain in good academic standing. Disclosure of the student’s status is governed by the published confidentiality standards as required by FERPA legislation and College policy.

A student whose work has not met the standards for good academic standing will receive an academic probation status on their advising transcript. A student on academic probation may be subject to the completion of a defined set of academic actions or may be required to withdraw from the College.

Financial aid recipients must check with the Office of Financial Aid regarding satisfactory academic progress standards and guidelines for continued eligibility of aid.

All attempted credits that appear on the transcript for the term are considered in the determination of good academic standing. Attempted credits include courses from which a student withdraws after the add/drop period, regardless of whether the withdrawal is within the W period or is a late withdrawal approved by the AAC. Attempted courses in which a student receives either a passing or failing grade are considered completed courses for the purpose of determining academic standing. Students may not receive credit for a course more than once, excepting only those courses that invite repeated enrollment (e.g., topics, independent studies, music lessons, etc.). A course for which a student has previously received credit may not be counted as an enrolled course, even though the repeated course itself may temporarily indicate an earned credit on the student’s transcript. Students are responsible financially for repeated and withdrawn courses.

A student studying away from Trinity in Hartford will have the record for the period of study away reviewed upon return and will be placed on probation at Trinity according to all the standards used in the determination of academic standing at Trinity.

Grades earned at Trinity and (beginning January 2019) Trinity-approved study away programs, Hartford Con- sortium for Higher Education, and the Twelve College Exchange (Amherst, Bowdoin, Connecticut College, including National Theater Institute (Moscow), Dartmouth, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Wheaton, or Williams-Mystic Seaport) are posted to the transcript and all academic credits are factored into the GPA. (NOTE: Students from the classes of 2022 and before who choose to opt out of home-school tuition for study away and be grandfathered under previous policy will be subject to the transfer credit policy for all courses taken on non-Trinity study away programs.)

Incomplete (IN) and No Grade Received (NGR) will place the student in a review status, pending receipt of a letter grade at which time academic standing will be reevaluated by the AAC. Pass/Fail grades are included in the assessment of academic standing. Remedial and English as a second language courses, and test-based credits (i.e., CLEP), are not offered nor accepted at Trinity.

*All students who are matriculated as of May 7, 2021 may graduate with a minimum as 34.5 credits, provided all other graduation requirements have been fulfilled.