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Instructions for Academic Reinstatement

Reinstatement to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

If you were academically dismissed from Iowa State University, there are certain guidelines and procedures that you must follow to resume your studies at Iowa State. Below you will find the instructions you will need to petition for reinstatement into any of the majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Please read these materials very carefully, because they are the basis upon which a decision will be made concerning your approval to reenter in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

STEPS TO PETITION FOR REINSTATEMENT
1. TELL THE UNIVERSITY YOU PLAN TO REENTER. If you will have been gone from the University for more than 12 months prior to the term you wish to reenter, you must file an Undergraduate Reentry Form with the Office of the Registrar. [To calculate length of time you have been away, add one year to the term in which you were last enrolled.  If you are returning after that term, you must file a reentry form.] You may download a copy of the Undergraduate Reentry Form by going to www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/info/ug-reentry. If you have been away from Iowa State for fewer than 12 months, you will not need to file this form. If you have attended college or a professional school since you were last enrolled at Iowa State,  please make sure you ask that school send a transcript to the Office of Admissions (100 Alumni Hall) to make your academic record complete, even if your courses are still"in progress."
Please note:  If you are an international student, you must file an undergraduate reentry form for international students ANY time you plan to reenter or return to Iowa State.  That form may be found online at www.iastate.edu/~registrar/info/intl-reentry.

2. SUBMIT A REINSTATEMENT PETITION TO THE LAS COLLEGE. There is no printed form to complete, but there is a specified format for filing your petition.  At the top of your page please write REINSTATEMENT PETITION. The petition should be carefully planned and must include all the following detailed information. Note: For reinstatement into the LAS College you must be seeking a degree at Iowa State University. You should consult with the appropriate academic adviser concerning the content of your graduation plan for the major you are considering prior to submitting it. The petition must be presented in the outline form as given, with the requested materials attached. The completed petition should be sent to or delivered to the following address:  Secretary, LAS Academic Standards Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 102 Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011-1302. The FAX number is 515/294-7446. Reinstatement is in no way automatic, so your petition must be persuasive. Reinstatement petitions that do not include all of the required information will not be considered.

A. Your name, complete postal mailing address, ISU student ID number (or the last four digits of your social security number, if you do not yet know your ID), a phone number where you may be reached, and your email address (if available).

B. A copy of a computer-generated degree audit for the curriculum in which you wish to graduate.  If you do not have a degree audit, you may order one in the LAS Classification Office, 141 Carrie Chapman Catt Hall (phone number 515/294-1522).  A list of the majors offered by the college may be found online at www.las.iastate.edu/departments/majorsminors.

C. If you are a transfer student or have taken course work at a school other than Iowa State, your most recent transfer grade point average, number of transfer credits, and name of school attended must be provided. Otherwise, if you came to Iowa State directly from high school and have not attended any other college you must list your ACT and/or SAT composite score(s).  

D. The semester in which you hope to return and the departmental major you are requesting. (If the department you have requested denies your admission, you may or may not be allowed to enter as an OPEN option student, depending upon whether the committee believes your prospects for eventually entering the requested major are realistic. Reentry as an OPEN option student will carry specific special conditions.)

E. A detailed list of employment since having been dismissed from ISU. Please include dates and places of employment. Names of supervisors, supervisors' addresses and phone numbers, or any other information you might provide on a professional resume are helpful. Include a comment about whether you plan to work after you return to school and, if so, how many hours/week would be involved.

F. A detailed list of educational activities since being dismissed from ISU. Include the name of each school attended and the inclusive dates of attendance. If your courses are still"in progress" elsewhere, include course titles with a brief content description and the names of your academic adviser and each instructor. You will need to ask each instructor to provide an "in progress" grade in writing at the time you submit your petition, either on letterhead from the school or via email to the LAS Academic Standards Committee's address at lasasc@iastate.edu. The Committee is particularly interested in seeing evidence of success in academically rigorous courses; for instance, courses that demonstrate proficiency in general education group areas and courses in the intended major.

G. A thoughtful and carefully written analysis of the reasons for your previous academic record. Also, provide a set of detailed plans to eliminate those past problems. (If appropriate, include signed statements by physicians or counselors if physical or emotional health problems are involved to explain your lack of satisfactory academic progress.) If you have been dismissed more than once, you must also address the reason(s) you were not able to fulfill the conditions of your previous reinstatement agreement. 

H. A brief written explanation of your projected career goals and aspirations.

I. A detailed graduation plan which includes the following information:

• A list of any courses you plan to take under the designated-repeat option if that option hasn't already been exhausted for you.  (Students are allowed to replace a grade earned in a course with a subsequent grade in that course for up to 15 credits total.)

• Your projected graduation date.

J. At the end of your petition, acknowledge that you understand that reinstatement, if approved:

• places you in academic probation status during your term of reinstatement;
• prohibits your transferring to another college at Iowa State University during that term;
• requires that minimally you to earn a 2.00 term GPA [2.25 minimum GPA if you are a senior] in order to register for future terms. (NOTE:  You might be required to earn a GPA higher than the minimum stated here if the LAS Academic Standards Committee deems that appropriate.)
• subjects you to the academic probation regulations of the University;
• means that failure to satisfy any of the conditions which accompany your Reinstatement Agreement  will result in immediate dismissal from the University.
  

K. Any other relevant information that you believe would support your petition, e.g., accomplishments since leaving I.S.U., letters of support from your academic adviser or former instructors, photocopy of completion of an AA degree, etc.

3. WAIT FOR A RESPONSE FROM THE LAS ACADEMIC STANDARDS COMMITTEE. You will be notified via postal mail regarding the outcome of your reinstatement petition  Depending upon the status of your reentry application within the Office of the Registrar and whether or not the Office of Admissions must your wait for your transfer records to be received, the full processing of your reinstatement petition will usually take place within 10 days to two weeks of its having been received by the LAS Academic Standards Committee. (If you are requesting reinstatement after a second dismissal, you will be notified when you are to meet with the LAS Academic Standards Committee.) If your petition is approved, you will be asked to sign a Reinstatement Agreement. This agreement will specify the conditions you must fulfill in order to remain in school. If you fail to meet any of these conditions, you will be dismissed from the university.

POLICIES GOVERNING REINSTATEMENT TO THE LAS COLLEGE
Although the LAS College adheres strictly to the University's policies regarding reinstatement (refer to page 44 of the 2007/2009 Iowa State University Catalog), there are some additional guidelines that are specific to the students applying for reinstatement to the LAS College.

Generally, if your high school percentile rank is 61 or higher and your ACT composite score (or corresponding SAT combined scores) is 23 or higher, you will not need to take additional course work elsewhere prior to your reinstatement to the LAS College.  OR, if you have graded course work resulting in a GPA of 2.20 or higher and taken at another accredited university or community college (whether these were earned while still in high school or after), you will not need to take additional course work elsewhere prior to your reinstatement to the LAS College.  

Please note that any student may be required to complete course work at a two-year or four-year institution (typically 12 credits or more) prior to being considered for reinstatement, if the LAS Academic Standards Committee believes the student needs to demonstrate his or her ability to successfully complete coursework at an acceptable level for graduation.

Following the University's guidelines, reinstatement after a first dismissal will not be considered until you have been absent from ISU for at least one semester, with the summer not counted as a semester. Petitions for reinstatement must be submitted to the Secretary of the LAS Academic Standards Committee no later than 45 calendar days prior to the beginning of the anticipated semester of reinstatement.  Students denied by another college also must meet the 45-day requirement in order to be considered.)  Specific deadline dates are listed on the LAS College's Academic Standards web page.

Reinstatement after a second dismissal will not be considered until you have been absent from the University for at least two semesters; again, the summer is not counted as a semester. Petitions for reinstatement must be submitted to the Secretary of the LAS Academic Standards Committee no later than 70 calendar days prior to the beginning of the anticipated semester of reinstatement. (Students denied by another college also must meet the 70-day requirement in order to be considered.)  Specific deadline dates are listed on the LAS College's Academic Standards web page.

Your petition to be reinstated for a second time must present concrete evidence of academic progress. Generally this means you have a transcript from at least one other school demonstrating a minimum GPA of 2.50 in academically rigorous courses [for instance, courses that demonstrate proficiency in general education and the intended major] or completion of an AA degree. You must also address why you were not able to fulfill all the conditions of your prior reinstatement agreement - factors that led to your first dismissal. Your petition should be accompanied by letters of support from faculty, adviser(s), counselors, etc., who can comment on your performance as well as your readiness to successfully complete your proposed program of study. Second reinstatement petitioners must meet in person with the LAS Academic Standards Committee after the Committee has had the opportunity to review the reinstatement petition.

Reinstatement for a second time may be granted, provided that you are clearly a reasonable prospect for earning a degree at ISU and the problems which accounted for your second dismissal are judged by the Academic Standards Committee to now have been resolved. Reinstatement for a second time is regarded by the Committee as a "last chance" opportunity to regain academic credibility in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. No student will be reinstated in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences after a third dismissal from the University.