In order to maintain good standing in the Honors College, you are expected to meet certain criteria pertaining to GPA and Honors course requirement progression. Your status in the College is evaluated once per year in June. Students determined to be in good standing will maintain their status within the Honors College through the following academic year. 

The criteria for good standing in the Honors College are:

1. Cumulative JMU GPA: 3.25 minimum at the end of the academic year. NOTE: Due to the ongoing challenges to education and learning posed by the pandemic, the Honors College is waiving the minimum GPA requirement indefinitely.

2. Meet the following Honors course progression standards:

Track I

• • After 1st year at JMU: completion of HON 100 and at least 2 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course
    
  • After 2nd year at JMU: completion of at least a total of 4 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course
  • After 3rd year at JMU: completion of at least a total of 5 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course and submission of the Honors Capstone Project Proposal by the end of the junior spring semester

Track II

• • After 2nd year at JMU: completion of at least 3 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course
  • After 3rd year at JMU: completion of at least a total of 5 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course and submission the Honors Capstone Project Proposal by the end of the junior spring semester

Track II Transfer Students

• • After 1st year at JMU: completion of at least 3 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course
    
  • After 2nd year at JMU: completion of at least a total of 5 Honors designated classes with at least a C in each course and submission the Honors Capstone Project Proposal by the end of the junior spring semester

Track III

• • Track III students are not subject to course progression standards

NOTES:

• • Summer courses, such as Honors Seminars Abroad, count towards course progression standards for the preceding academic year. For the purposes of good standing, an Honors Seminar Abroad counts as two Honors classes.
  • HON 100 does not count as one of the Honors designated courses for the purposes of good standing course totals; however, it’s completion is required of all Track I students to remain in the Honors College.
  • Area of Emphasis practicums and 499 courses count as Honors designated classes.
  • If you are participating in the JMU Oxford or St. Andrews program you should notify the Honors College main office prior to departure.

If you do not meet the required progression standards, you will be automatically dismissed from the Honors College in the summer. Upon notification of dismissal, you may elect to submit a Dismissal Appeal Letter in order to be considered for reinstatement. Please see the Dismissal from Honors section below for more details. 

Dismissal from Honors

If you do not meet the criteria for good standing, you will automatically be dismissed from the Honors College in the summer. If you have been dismissed from the College, you have the option of  submitting a Dismissal Appeal Letter in order to be considered for reinstatement.

Please know that students with GPA’s below 3.0 are unlikely to be readmitted to Honors except in special cases. Furthermore, students who appealed dismissal immediately after the first year in the program, and were denied readmission at that time, may submit a second dismissal appeal immediately following the next semester at JMU. In these cases it is expected that students demonstrate significant progress towards improving their GPA.

Overall, the Honors College does consider exceptional personal or academic situations when reviewing dismissal appeals. Students whose appeal letters are accepted will immediately return to good standing in the Honors College for the following academic year.

How to Submit an Appeal Letter

Appeal letters should be 1-2 pages long and must address the following areas:

1. Explain the causes of your dismissal from Honors and outline steps to rectify the issue in the future.

• If dismissal is due to GPA, explain why your GPA is below the minimum (providing as much detail and context as possible) and provide ideas for how you can improve your academic performance (ex. study habits; time management; extracurricular and social commitments; etc.). Also, please list your projected classes for the next academic year and the grades you will need to make in order to reach the minimum 3.25 GPA by the end of the academic year.

• If dismissal is due to unmet course completion progression standards, explain the reason(s) you were unable to complete the required minimum number of Honors courses and discuss your plans for meeting the required standard for the following academic year. Submit an updated Curriculum Plan with your letter that reflects your expected progress and demonstrates that you will be able to finish the Honors curriculum by your expected graduation date.

2. Discuss why you would like to continue in the Honors College, how you think the program can help you reach your academic, professional, and personal goals, and how you plan to produce a successful Honors Capstone Project.

Submit your letter as a PDF to honors@jmu.edu.