Basis for Admittance as Provisional

An applicant not qualifying for the regular graduate student admission status, either due to insufficient GPA, incomplete credentials, or inadequate academic background, may be admitted as a provisional student. Any applicant with a GPA below 2.75 in any of his previous college work cannot be admitted without approval from the Dean or designate.

Requirements for attaining regular student status must be determined by the regularly constituted Admissions Committee and stated in a letter or form sent to the student by the department or program area prior to registration for coursework. The letter or form should include the following:

i. Reason not qualified for regular admission (e.g., deficient prerequisites, GPA, or both).
ii. Coursework deficiencies, if any and courses at WVU to correct the deficiencies (which must be passed with a "C" or better.
iii. Notification that the student must attain at least a 3.0 in his or her first 12 hours of graduate coursework.
iv. Notification that the student cannot graduate until all coursework deficiencies has been remediated.

The student should be asked to sign the form or letter in acknowledgment that he or she received it. A copy of the form should be given to the student and another placed in the student's file.
The proposed plan of study (see section on Plan of Study) for provisional students, including courses to remove deficiencies and courses to be counted for graduate degree credit, must be such that a decision regarding qualification for change of status to regular student can be made at the end of the semester in which the 18th credit hour is completed. It should be noted that the student may still be required to take additional regular courses upon attainment of regular student status.

Change of Status from Provisional to Regular

A request for Removal of Provisional Status must be initiated by the student through the department graduate program coordinator no later than the end of the semester in which the student completes his or her 18th credit hour. The student must demonstrate that he or she has met the conditions listed when he or she was accepted (see 2b).

The Dean or designate approves the classification change, records the decision in the student's record, and forwards the approved decision to the Graduate Unit of the Admissions & Records Office for modification of the student's permanent record.