Last Revision: October 29, 2024

Academic Risk

  • For undergraduate students, the Academic Risk period begins after attempting 12 semester hours with a cumulative GPA below 2.0.
  • For master's and graduate students, the Academic Risk period begins after attempting 6 semester hours with a cumulative GPA below 3.0.

If your cumulative program GPA (grade point average) falls below the minimum required by APUS, you will be notified by the Registrar's office that you have been placed on Academic Risk and that you will be restricted to part-time registration until your GPA is at or above the minimum level. The intent of the Academic Risk period is to provide you the opportunity to raise your cumulative GPA to minimum levels so that you may continue to pursue your academic goals. Once placed on academic risk, students GPA will be reviewed regularly based on academic level; master's and graduate certificate students will be reviewed after completion of 6 credit hours and undergraduate students after completion of 12 credit hours.

Students only have one academic risk period during their academic program. Any student who does not meet the minimum cumulative GPA during their academic risk period will be placed on academic probation. Students who improve their GPA to meet the minimum requirement after the review period will be removed from academic risk and placed on academic good standing.

Being placed on academic risk will impact your current and future course registrations. Future registrations will be dropped and will be limited to part-time. Any course(s) you are currently attending will be dropped if you are within the first week of the course. You will need to discuss your options with your academic advisor and your funding source as your eligibility for funding may be affected. After talking with your advisor, you can re-register for the course(s).

Consequences of Academic Risk

  • Registration: You will only be eligible to register as a part-time student, with no exceptions.
  • Financial Aid: Part of your eligibility for federal student aid is determined by your maintaining a GPA at or above the minimum required. While on academic risk and academic probation, you will only be eligible to register as a part-time student, which reduces the amount of federal student aid for which you are eligible during that semester.
  • Degree Conferral or Certificate Completion: You must maintain a cumulative program GPA at or above the minimum to be eligible to have your degree conferred or your certificate program awarded.