Each fall and spring semester, students with high GPAs are recognized for their achievements through inclusion on the Dean’s List. In the past, relatively few students have made the cut, but this year changes to the requirements mean more students will.
To make the Dean’s List prior to the fall 2018 semester, undergraduate students had to be enrolled full time (taking three or more graded units), have no incomplete grades or withdrawals from an academic course and have a grade point average placing them in the top 10 percent of students for the term. But beginning in the fall 2018 semester, the necessary grade point average was changed from the top 10 percent to any student with a 3.70 grade point average or above. All the other criteria remain the same.
In order for this change to be made the “policy was proposed, discussed, and voted on by the Academic Standards Committee – Policy Subcommittee. The proposed policy then goes to Faculty Senate, and the further along to the full faculty for a vote before it is officially approved,” Michael Pastore member of the Policy Subcommittee and the University’s Registrar wrote via email.
These changes will make it possible for more students to be a part of the list and could encourage more students to work harder to be on it.
The students who make it on the list for either semester will not only receive mention of their membership in their academic transcript, but are also rewarded with an invitation to an annual celebration sponsored by the Academic Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Lists from the last three semesters are available on Puget Sound’s website.
