Standing

Different standings and their implications

As an undergraduate student you can have four standings:

Clear: Your CGPA is 1.67 or higher AND you have not violated any Department/School Standing Variations** or any probationary contract.

Probationary: Your CGPA is between 1 and 1.66 OR you have just been reinstated after being RTW OR you are a first year student with a CGPA of less than 1.0 at the end of your first semester of study OR you have not met your program's Standing Variation.

Required to Withdraw (RTW): It is not your first term AND your CGPA is less than 1.00 OR you violated either a probationary contract or your Department/School Standing variation.

Permanent Program Withdrawal (PPW): You were reinstated after being RTW and you received a second standing of RTW (e.g. you did not fulfil the terms of your probationary contract or your CGPA is less than 1.00) OR you failed a required course 3 times OR you violated a Department/School Standing variation.

Graduation Requirement Standing variations are specific program requirements that some Departments or Schools have. These variations are listed in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Important information about Probation Standing

You need to visit your Department/School office to receive a probationary contract for the next term. Your contract will set out which, and how many, courses you can take, what term GPA you need to achieve and any learning skills workshops you have to attend. Also, you may be required to repeat courses you failed or for which you received poor grades.

If you fail to have such a Probationary Contract within five (5) working days of the first day of the semester, you will have your course registrations and course intention requests cancelled for the term in question.

Your probationary contract is a very important document that you have to follow as written, e.g. you have to speak with whoever signed your Probation contract if you want to drop a course.

For specific information related to Grading and Standings;

Undergraduate Students should consult the  (PDF file) Undergraduate Course Grading, Academic Standing and Eligibility to Graduate Policy 170(a)

Being Required to Withdraw (RTW)

All students who receive RTW status must sit out the next semester. You are not allowed to take any courses at TMU (including the Chang School).

  After this semester off has elapsed you have two options:

1) Fresh Start Option

After the 1st semester away from TMU you may apply to participate in the Fresh Start program. You will need to fill out a  (PDF file) Fresh Start application form and hand it into your Department/School by the application deadline for Fresh Start. Note that you may be eligible for OSAP funding while participating in Fresh Start - for information about this contact the Student Financial Assistance Office.

If you are accepted, you will take two credit courses and a mandatory learning skills course during Semester 1 of the Fresh Start program; and you can take up to four credit courses during Semester 2. If you meet the Fresh Start requirements you will be guaranteed reinstatement back into your program. There is also an option to participate in Fresh Start with an aim to transferring into a different program. The Fresh Start Transfer form can be found  (PDF file) here.

For more information see the University Fresh Start Webpage. To find out if you're eligible to participate and what you need to do to apply, contact your Program Advisor and apply within the stated deadline. You can also direct questions about the program to the Fresh Start Coordinator at freshstart@ryerson.ca.

If you are not eligible for the Fresh Start program or you decide not to participate in Fresh Start you cannot be reinstated into your program or be re-admitted into a new program at TMU until 12 months have gone by. You can apply for Reinstatement to the same program or apply for readmission to a new program. Please refer to the deadlines published on the Admission’s website. Note that no courses taken during the year off will count towards your graduation.

a. Applying for Reinstatement or Transfer to another program

You may apply for reinstatement (to the same program) or transfer (to a different program) after receiving RTW status and sitting out the required one year. Note that your application will be judged in competition with other applicants and thus it is not guaranteed that you will be accepted. You will need to describe what happened in the past (i.e. why you were RTW) and what you have been doing during your absence (i.e. courses/seminars attended, or work experience) to address your previous academic challenges and prepare for coming back.

If you are seeking reinstatement within 24 months of receiving your RTW status you must fill out a Request for Reinstatement form and a supplementary form and submit it directly to your (chosen) Department/School. If you are seeking reinstatement after 2 or more years have elapsed, or you want to transfer to another program, you should apply to be re-admitted using TMU online application form.

In both cases, applications are generally evaluated based on past academic performance, program admission requirements and space availability. Please pay attention to the deadlines for guaranteed consideration of your application.

If you have any questions or concerns about the process of applying for reinstatement, ask your Program Advisor. For questions regarding transfer applications you should inquire at the Department/School office you are applying to and/or the Admissions Department.

If your reinstatement/transfer application is successful, you will be given a probationary contract upon your return.

b. Being on Permanent Program Withdrawal (PPW)

If you receive Permanent Program Withdrawal (PPW) status you will not be able to return to your program of study.  You can, however, apply for admission to another program at TMU, in the Fall semester of the following calendar year, by using the  online application form. You should include a letter explaining why you did poorly previously, why you think you are now ready to succeed academically in a different program and why you are interested in your new program choice.

As an alternative, you may want to consider study at another post-secondary institution. (external link) 

3. Graduate Students should consult the  (PDF file) Graduate Status, Enrolment and Evaluation Policy 170(b)

a. Different standings and their implications

A graduate student can have four different academic standings:

Clear: Master’s students must have at least a minimum passing grade of 2.67 (or PSD in the case of a pass/fail graded course) in each graduate course during the semester.  PhD students must have at least a minimum passing grade of 3.00 (or PSD in the case of a pass/fail graded course) in each graduate course during the semester. Students with a CLEAR standing may continue in their Program of Study.

Provisional: Graduate students have a provisional standing, if they have one of the following: (1) One Unsatisfactory (UNS) progress report for a Milestone, and no failed grades, (2) One failed grade and no Unsatisfactory (UNS) progress reports for a Milestone, (3) Has failed to meet a specific program requirement.

Withdrawn: Graduate students are withdrawn, if a student has unsatisfactory performance in one of the following: (1) Two Unsatisfactory (UNS) progress reports for a Milestone, (2) Two failed grades, (3) One failed grade and one Unsatisfactory (UNS) progress report in a Milestone, (4) Failure to develop a Provisional Plan, (5) Failure to meet the requirements of a Provisional Plan, (6) A final performance designation of Fail for a thesis, major project/paper, or dissertation, (7) Failure to complete the graduate program within the allowable time to completion.

Open: An academic standing has not been assigned and the student may continue in the program; normally assigned when there is an INP or INC grade during the term.

b. Important information about Provisional Standing

A student with PROVISIONAL standing may not continue in his/her Program of Study until a specific Provisional Plan to correct academic deficiencies has been authorized in writing by their supervisor and Program Director, signed by the student, and recorded with the Office of the Registrar. Normally the deficiencies must be addressed within a maximum of one year.

Students who are substituting a different course for a failed course must request, before the last day to add courses, that the substituted course be used in place of the failed course for GPA calculation and graduation requirements. Students who fail to have a Provisional Plan approved prior to the official last date to add a course in the semester following the application of the Provisional standing, may have their enrollment cancelled for that semester, or be withdrawn from the program.

c. Being Withdrawn

A student who has been withdrawn from a program is not eligible for reinstatement into that program.