Cut Restriction

Regular classroom attendance is expected of all students. While Yale College enforces no general regulation concerning attendance, instructors of individual courses may require it of all students. This is particularly the case in discussion groups, seminars, laboratories, and courses in languages.

A student who, in the opinion of the instructor and of the residential college dean, has been absent from a course to an excessive degree and without excuse may at any time be placed on Cut Restriction in that course or in all courses. A student on Cut Restriction who continues to be absent from a course may, with the concurrence of the college dean and the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing, be excluded from it without credit. See “Exclusion from Courses” below.

Exclusion from Courses

Any student may, because of excessive absences or unsatisfactory work, be excluded from a course without credit at any time upon the recommendation of the instructor or department concerned to the residential college dean and the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. If the exclusion occurs after midterm and before the first day of the reading period, the student’s record will show a mark of W for the course.

Academic Warning

Academic Warning is an indication that a student’s scholastic record is unsatisfactory. Students on Academic Warning who do not pass all of their courses in the term in which they are on Academic Warning will be dismissed for academic reasons. No matter how many course credits a student has earned, Academic Warning is automatic in the following cases: (a) failure in one term to earn more than two course credits; (b) a record that shows two grades of F in one term; (c) in two successive terms, a record that shows a grade of F for any course. The college deans attempt to give written notification of Academic Warning to students whose records show these deficiencies, but such students should regard themselves as being on warning even in the absence of written notification. A student permitted to continue in Yale College with fewer than the number of course credits ordinarily required for academic good standing may be placed on Academic Warning, and in such a case the student will be notified that they have been placed on warning. See section D, Promotion and Good Standing, “Requirements for Academic Good Standing.” The Committee on Honors and Academic Standing may at its discretion disqualify a student on Academic Warning from participation in recognized University organizations.

Dismissal for Academic Reasons

1. Failure in three classes A record that shows three grades of F in a term or over two or three successive terms will normally result in the student’s dismissal from Yale College. “Successive terms” means successive terms in which the student enrolls, whether or not broken by a withdrawal or by a leave of absence. While Yale Summer Session grades are recorded on the Yale College transcript, they are not counted towards this total, because attendance at Yale Summer Session does not constitute a term of enrollment in Yale College.
2. Failure to meet requirements for good standing or promotion A student who has not, at the end of a term, met the minimum requirements for academic good standing, or a student who has failed to meet the minimum standards for promotion, may be dismissed unless permitted by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing to repair the deficiency. See section D, Promotion and Good Standing, and “Makeup of Course Deficiencies for Promotion or Academic Good Standing” below. A student who is short by more than two credits of the minimum requirements for academic good standing or promotion, even if the student has no grades of F, will be dismissed.
3. Students on Academic Warning A record that shows a grade of F for a student who is on Academic Warning in that term will result in that student’s dismissal for academic reasons. See “Academic Warning” above.
4. Reinstated students A student reinstated to Yale College after an academic withdrawal who does not, in the first or second term following reinstatement, pass all the courses completed in that term will be dismissed for academic reasons. See section J, Time Away and Return. 
5. Unsatisfactory academic record In addition, at any point during the year a student may be dismissed from Yale College if in the judgment of the Yale College Committee on Honors and Academic Standing the student’s academic record is unsatisfactory.

Make up of Course Deficiencies for Promotion or Academic Good Standing

A student who has failed to satisfy the requirements for promotion or for academic good standing, if permitted to continue by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing, must repair the deficiency promptly. Such deficiencies are to be repaired before the opening of the next fall term by work in summer school. The institution to be attended and the courses to be taken require the approval of the residential college dean. See section Q, Credit from Other Universities. Only in extraordinary circumstances will a student be allowed to repair a deficiency by carrying an additional course during the following academic year. Course deficiencies may not be repaired under any circumstances by the application of acceleration credits.