Your Academic Suspension Year

L&S undergraduate students who have been on probation and have a Term GPA under a certain level will be placed on academic suspension. This means not enrolling in classes for at least the next three terms (e.g., Fall, Spring, and Summer).

Such students receive an email from L&S Undergraduate Academic Deans’ Services (ADS) after grades have been reported for the semester, noting the specific terms in which they will not be enrolled.

Why do I have to take a year off?

Academic suspension sounds scary. It may feel like a punishment, but it’s not. There are two main reasons for the College of Letters & Science to have this policy.

Upholding degree standards. — Universities can only award degrees to students who have met a certain standard of learning, measured in class grades. When a student is having a hard time meeting a minimum GPA, we hold off on future enrollment until the problem is resolved so the student doesn’t commit to more semesters when they are not learning at their best level.

Your well-being. — What’s most important is your emotional, social, financial, mental and physical health. You’ve had challenges that have affected your academic progress. Most students in this situation benefit from taking a break from their studies to give themselves the time and space to understand those challenges, take steps to resolve them, and come back to the classroom stronger and more focused.

How to appeal your academic suspension

What does it mean to not be enrolled at UW–Madison for three terms?

Classes. — During your academic suspension, you won’t be eligible to take classes at UW–Madison. If you have already enrolled for classes in the next term, these will be administratively dropped before the start of the next term.

Campus services. — When you are not an active student, your access to campus services changes, including your campus email address (wisc.edu). You are encouraged to add a personal email address to your student profile, especially if you are interested in seeking readmission at a later date. Because policies can change, please contact the units offering services to confirm what might affect you, such as Housing, Financial Aid, Rec Sports, International Student Services, libraries, etc. You will still have access to your UW–Madison NetID and Student Center (my.wisc.edu).

• WiscMail, other software: kb.wisc.edu/80255 and 
• University Health Services offers care management appointments to help you find affordable care in nearby communities.

Transcript. — Your UW–Madison transcript (official student record) will have a notation with the date of your academic suspension.

Your academic suspension year: next steps

Your goal during this time is to identify the specific challenges that affected your learning, make a plan for how to resolve these, and follow that path. Taking the following steps may help you with this process: 

• Talk with your academic advisor (find your advisor). They can help you explore an alternative degree plan, coordinate any class choices you might make at other schools with what will work best when you return to UW–Madison, and help you think about your bigger goals. You may connect with your advisor while you are away from UW–Madison.
• Talk with others close to you: family, health-care providers, counselors, and friends.
• Visit the Career Exploration Center (CEC) to learn more about opportunities that motivate and inspire you: https://cec.wisc.edu/
• Review your financial goals.  Some students take time off from studies to work full-time in order to pay off bills, save up funds for tuition, etc.
• Consider your long-term academic and career aspirations.  Some students take courses elsewhere and have the credits transferred to UW-Madison through the Office of Admissions and Recruitment. Others decide to pursue a different major or explore courses at a different school.

Everyone’s situation is different. Some students choose to work for a year, or take classes elsewhere (note that some credits may transfer but not grades earned elsewhere), or find balance in other ways.

As you follow your path to resolving those challenges, you can think ahead to applying for readmission to UW–Madison.