Counseling

Disqualification and Probation Policies

 

Enrollment Priority Alert

Students who have been on Academic and/or Progress Probation, and/or Readmitted Disqualified status, for 2 semesters or more, will be subject to lower enrollment priority.

Process for students who have been disqualified from SMC

If there were legitimate, extenuating circumstances which led to your disqualification and you are seeking reinstatement for the next semester, please complete a ‘Disqualified Student Petition for Reinstatement’. When you petition for reinstatement, you may or may not be allowed to return to SMC, in accordance with the reinstatement guidelines. Please follow the steps below.

  1. Log-in to Corsair Connect, under ‘SMC Quick Links’ click on ‘DQ Student Petition’. Complete and submit the petition.

  2. Once you submit the DQ Petition, a message will appear that your petition was successfully completed, and stored in your Corsair Connect portal.

  3. Important: In order for your ‘Petition for Reinstatement’ to be processed, you MUST see any SMC counselor. If you are a member of a special program, such as the EOP&S program, please see a counselor in one of those programs to review your petition.

    • Call the SMC Counseling Department at 310-434-4210 for the current office hours and availability of counselors. Depending on the time of the semester, students will be seen on a "first-come, first-served" basis, or by appointment.

Remember, the process for petitioning for reinstatement will only be complete AFTER you meet with an SMC Counselor. Continuing students who become disqualified after enrolling in classes for the next semester (fall or spring) will be administratively dropped from all classes, UNLESS readmitted by a counselor.

Definitions of Probation and Disqualification

Academic Probation

To remain in good academic standing at Santa Monica College, students must maintain a C (2.0) or better grade point average. Students will be placed on academic probation if they:

Fall below a 2.0 cumulative grade point average in 12 or more SMC units attempted; OR

Transfer to SMC while on disqualification status at another college or university; OR

Are readmitted after disqualification from SMC.

Students on Academic Probation are limited to enrolling in a maximum of 9 units in a Spring or Fall semester and 5 units in a Winter or Summer session.

Academic Disqualification

A student who begins the Fall or Spring semester on Academic Probation will be Disqualified if the student fails to achieve a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher at the end of the semester.

Progress Probation

Students enrolled in at least twelve (12) semester units will be placed on Progress Probation if the percentage of units in which a student receives a grade of W (Withdrawal), I (Incomplete), or NP (No Pass) for that semester reaches or exceeds 50% of units enrolled.

Progress Disqualification

Students who have been placed on Progress Probation at the end of a Fall or Spring semester will be Disqualified from Santa Monica College at the end of the subsequent semester when the percentage of units in which a student receives a grade of W (Withdrawal), I (Incomplete), or NP (No Pass) reaches or exceeds

50% of units enrolled.

Units Limitations

  • Probationary Students: 9 unit maximum in Fall and Spring Semesters 5 unit maximum in Winter and Summer Session

  • Disqualified Students: 0-6 unit maximum in the Fall and Spring Semesters 0-3 unit maximum in the Winter and Summer Sessions

  • Readmitted Disqualified Students who are enrolling for the next semester/session will be limited to 3 units in the subsequent Winter/Summer session and 6 units in the subsequent Fall/Spring semester

Reinstatement of Disqualified Students

  • After a 1st disqualification, if a student is allowed to reinstate, the counselor will specify a maximum number of units the student can enroll in, up to a maximum of 6 units per term;

  • After a 2nd disqualification, a student must wait for one semester and possibly one intersession before requesting to be reinstated; and

  • After a 3rd disqualification, a student must wait for one year before requesting to be reinstated.