Academic standards | College of Public Health

Dean’s list

Students completing a minimum of 12 graded credit hours with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for any given term will be named to the College of Public Health dean's list for each term in which they registered as a Bachelor of Science in Public Health major or pre-major. Courses graded pass/non-pass (PA/NP) do not count toward the minimum 12 graded hours, and a grade of U, E, EN or NP will disqualify the student from making the dean's list, even if they meet the 3.5 criteria.

Academic standards for the BSPH degree

Students are required to earn at least a C- or higher in all major courses (major core courses and specialization courses). If a student earns below a C- they must repeat the course.

Once admitted and matriculated into the major, students are required to maintain a semester and cumulative GPA of 2.5 (after a minimum of 24 credits) or higher until they graduate from The Ohio State University.

Program actions for BSPH majors

Major warning

Students will be placed on Major Warning if:

Their cumulative GPA (after a minimum of 24 credits) falls below 2.5, or
They have a semester GPA below 2.5

Students will receive notification of this warning and, if their cumulative GPA is below 2.5, they should work to ensure they bring their cumulative GPA to a minimum of 2.5 as soon as possible. This program action does not appear on the official transcript.

Major dismissal

Students who are not making adequate progress towards meeting the BSPH major requirements are subject to dismissal from the major. Program dismissal results in registration being locked for the following term. Students are required to switch to another Ohio State academic unit (other than College of Public Health) for their schedule to be unlocked. This program action does not appear on the official transcript.

Reinstatement to the major

A student is eligible for reinstatement to the major after waiting two consecutive semesters following major dismissal. To apply for reinstatement, the student must petition in writing for readmission to the major after talking to a BSPH academic advisor.

Program actions for BSPH pre-majors

Pre-major warning

Students will be placed on pre-major warning if:

Their cumulative GPA (after a minimum of 24 credits) falls below 2.5, or
They have a semester GPA below 2.5

Pre-major dismissal

Pre-major students who haven’t met adequate progress towards meeting the BSPH major admissions requirements are subject to dismissal from the pre-major. Program dismissal results in registration being locked for the following term. Students are required to switch to another Ohio State academic unit (other than College of Public Health) in order for their schedule to be unlocked. This program action does not appear on the official transcript.

Reinstatement to the pre-major

A student is eligible for reinstatement to the pre-major after waiting two consecutive semesters following pre-major dismissal. To apply for reinstatement, the student must petition in writing for readmission to the pre-major after talking to a BSPH academic advisor.

Academic sanctions for BSPH majors and pre-majors

Academic warning

Students may be placed on academic warning if their grade-point average falls only slightly below a 2.0 after their first semester and they have not been placed on special action probation. Students are strongly encouraged to consult with their academic advisor about possible strategies to improve their academic standing. Once the student’s cumulative GPA reaches a 2.0, they are considered to be in good academic standing and may be removed from academic warning.

Academic probation

Students will be placed on academic probation when their cumulative grade-point average is below a 2.0. The College of Public Health will notify students of their status and specify the conditions of probation, including the minimum grade-point average they must achieve in the following term to avoid academic dismissal. Once the student’s cumulative GPA reaches a 2.0, they are considered to be in good academic standing and may be removed from academic probation.

Special action probation

Students may be placed on special action probation, even if they have a cumulative GPA above 2.0, when the College of Public Health has determined, by a review of a student’s grades and course work, when a student is not making satisfactory progress toward a degree. The College of Public Health will inform students of their status, as well as the conditions of probation, including the minimum grade-point average a student must achieve in the following term to avoid academic dismissal.

Academic dismissal

Any student in academic difficulty is at risk of being dismissed from the university. There is no cumulative GPA that warrants a dismissal. These decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and given serious thought. Students are likely candidates for dismissal if they are on academic probation and do not show steady academic progress. The College of Public Health reviews academic records at the end of each autumn semester, spring semester and summer term. Dismissed students will be notified of their status by letter and by email. As a consequence of dismissal, a student is dropped from all the classes in which the student may have been enrolled for the next term.

Reinstatement

Students who have been academically dismissed from The Ohio State University may apply for reinstatement. Applying for reinstatement does not guarantee it will be approved. The student will need to complete a petition and include a statement providing detailed evidence the student has the capability to succeed academically at The Ohio State University.

Fresh start

Students who have been away from Ohio State for at least five years and have an Ohio State cumulative GPA under a 2.0 or have been dismissed from the university may want to petition to use fresh start. This will remove any deficiency points the student may have earned previously and will permit the student to start at The Ohio State University with a clean cumulative Ohio State GPA (0.00). While all courses will remain on the student’s permanent record, only courses in which the student received a C- or higher will be counted for credit. Other course work will not be counted for credit, toward any requirement, or toward graduation. Students eligible for fresh start will return to Ohio State with a recalculated cumulative point hour ratio of 0.00. The student must complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours after using the fresh start rule before they are eligible to graduate.

Students who use fresh start should be aware that when applying to graduate or professional schools, or even to other colleges at The Ohio State University, all earned college grades and may be included in the student’s GPA. Once a student has been approved for fresh start, it can’t be revoked. All course work taken at The Ohio State University will be calculated in determining eligibility for Latin honors.

7.0 Academic standards