Academic Standing

The Faculty of Engineering’s Student Services Office evaluates your academic standing regularly throughout the year. Your academic progress is evaluated on:

  • The completion of your academic studies in Fall/Winter, AND
  • Completion of any academic term occurring in Spring/Summer that is a scheduled term within your degree program*.

*Scheduled terms are those shown in the Faculty of Engineering’s Traditional and Co-op degree program requirements in the Academic Calendar.

Evaluation Criteria and Process

Qualifying Year Students

Academic standing for qualifying year students is assessed only on your combined Fall/Winter GPA and does not include Spring or Summer terms. To be eligible for placement in an engineering discipline, students need to have:

  • a combined Fall/Winter GPA of at least 1.95, and
  • successfully complete at least 30.0 engineering units (or 28.0 engineering units if in Y2Q2), not including ENGG 100 and ENGG 160, by the end of Spring Term.

Important Notes:

  • Y1Q1 students who achieve a Fall/Winter GPA between 1.65 and 1.94 and successfully complete 30.0 units by the end of Spring Term will be offered admission into a second qualifying year (Y2Q2) on probation.
    • Y1Q2 students are not automatically eligible for a second qualifying year.
  • Y1Q1 and Y1Q2 students whose GPAs are below 1.65 and/or do not meet the 30.0 unit requirement receive an academic standing evaluation of ‘May Not Continue in Faculty.’
  • Y2Q2 students whose GPAs are below 1.95 and/or do not meet the 28.0 unit requirement receive an academic standing evaluation of ‘May Not Continue in Faculty.’

Please see Program Placements Process and follow up with an academic advisor for further information.

Traditional Students

(except Mechanical Engineering Traditional Plan II and Mining Traditional)

Your academic standing is evaluated on your combined Fall/Winter GPA. Courses taken in the Spring and Summer terms are not included in this calculation. If you only take courses in one of the Fall or Winter Terms, your academic standing assessment falls on the one term with registration. If your final academic term is in the Fall Term, then only the last Fall Term would be evaluated for your academic standing for graduation.

Mechanical Engineering Traditional Plan II Students

Students in the Mechanical Engineering Traditional Plan II program have year-round scheduled terms. Your academic standing is evaluated every two academic terms whether you attend in those terms or not.

Example: you were admitted to Plan II in September 2023. Your first academic standing assessment is on Fall 2023 + Winter 2024 and your second academic standing assessment is on Spring/Summer 2024 + Fall 2024. If you choose not to take courses in Spring/Summer 2024, then you are assessed solely on the Fall 2024 term.

Mining Traditional Students

Students in the Mining Traditional program have a scheduled Spring/Summer term (Term 5). Your first academic standing assessment is on Fall Term 3 + Winter Term 4. Your second academic standing assessment is on Spring/Summer Term 5 + Fall Term 6. If you register in courses in an additional Spring/Summer term later on, that term is considered off-sequence and not included in your academic standing assessment.

Co-op Students

Your academic standing is evaluated every two academic terms on your combined two-term GPA. Spring and Summer Terms of the same year would be grouped as one term.

  • If you take a course alongside your WKEXP course during a work term, that term is still considered a work term and would not be used in your academic standing evaluation.
  • If you resequence or have a work term waived and choose to take courses during an off-sequence term, it will become an academic term and be included in your academic standing assessment.
  • If you complete an odd number of academic terms, then only the last academic term would be evaluated for your academic standing for graduation.

academic standing Categories

There are four broad categories of academic standing:

First Class Standing

GPA of at least 3.45 on your academic standing assessment with a minimum course load of 35.0 engineering units over two terms.

Satisfactory Standing

GPA of at least 1.95 on your academic standing assessment. You continue on to your next academic term as usual and are considered to be in good academic standing.

Marginal Standing

GPA between 1.65-1.94 on your academic standing assessment. You continue on to your next academic term on academic warning. Note: this does not apply to qualifying year students. See Qualifying Year Students above.

Some exceptions apply: if you have been on academic warning twice before or if you have been on academic warning and previously required to withdraw, a subsequent marginal standing will result in you being required to withdraw. If it is the second time that you are being required to withdraw, then you will receive an academic standing evaluation of ‘May Not Continue in Faculty.’

Unsatisfactory Standing

GPA of 1.64 or lower on your academic standing assessment. You are required to withdraw for 12 months (if you are a Traditional student) or 8 months (if you are a Co-op student or if you are in Mechanical Traditional Plan II or Mining Traditional).

  • If it is the second time that you are being required to withdraw, then you will be ‘May Not Continue in Faculty.’
  • Co-op students who receive a final grade of ‘NC’ in a work term may be required to withdraw and should follow up with the Co-op Office on their options.

Note: this does not apply to qualifying year students. See Qualifying Year Students above.

Notification of Standing

Your official academic standing letter will be posted in Bear Tracks and you will receive an email to your @ualberta.ca email address with further instructions. It is very important that you read your letter in Bear Tracks carefully as it will outline your current academic standing and any conditions you must meet going forward in your program.

petitioning or appealing your academic standing

Students in their qualifying year

Students who do not successfully complete their qualifying year have the opportunity to book a petition meeting with the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students. You will be required to write a petition letter, supply related documentation if necessary, and book a meeting with the Associate Dean (these instructions will be included in the email you receive).

The deadline to book a petition meeting is 28 days from the date on your academic standing letter. Questions regarding the petition process should be directed to an academic advisor in the Faculty of Engineering’s Student Services Office.

Students in an engineering discipline

Students who are notified that they are required to withdraw have the opportunity to meet with the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students to discuss their situation. You will be required to write a letter detailing your circumstances, supply related documentation if necessary, and book a meeting with the Associate Dean (these instructions will be included in the email you receive).

The deadline to book this meeting is 28 days from the date on your academic standing letter. Questions regarding this process should be directed to an academic advisor in the Faculty of Engineering’s Student Services Office.

If the Associate Dean does not change the decision, students then have the option to submit a formal appeal to the Faculty of Engineering’s Academic Appeals Committee by submitting a written letter of appeal to the Dean’s Office. This appeal letter must be received within 28 days from when the student’s original academic standing letter was released. For further information, see:

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a deferred exam or reexamination in one of my courses. When will my academic standing be evaluated?
Your academic standing is not evaluated until all of your final grades have been posted pending the outcome of your deferred exam or reexamination. The one exception is if a determination can be made that your GPA inclusive of a failing grade in the outstanding course will still place you in satisfactory standing.
What is the difference between first-class standing and graduating ‘with distinction’? How are they calculated?

First-Class Standing

First-Class Standing is awarded following the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth academic terms based on a GPA of 3.45 or greater, calculated on a course load of not less than 35.0 units in the two preceding academic terms. First-Class Standing is noted on student transcripts only.

Graduating with Distinction

"With Distinction" is inscribed on the permanent record and graduation parchment, if the candidate has obtained an Engineering Graduation Average (EGA) of 3.45 or greater. For an explanation of your EGA and how it will be calculated please see item 2 -  Engineering Graduation Average - of the Faculty of Engineering Academic Regulations in the University of Alberta Calendar.

What is the difference between being on probation versus being on academic warning?

Probation

Probation is a condition of admission wherein a student must achieve a term GPA of at least 1.95 while maintaining a minimum course load of 14.0 engineering units. Students who fail probation have not met the conditions of their admission and will receive an academic standing assessment of ‘May Not Continue in Faculty.’

Academic Warning

Academic warning is an academic standing condition wherein a student must achieve a term GPA of at least 1.95 while maintaining a minimum course load of 14.0 engineering units. Students who fail academic warning are required to withdraw from their program for 12 months (if they are a Traditional student) or 8 months (if they are a Co-op student or if they are in Mechanical Traditional Plan II or Mining Traditional).

What is the difference between GPA (Grade Point Average) and EGA (Engineering Graduation Average)?

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Your GPA is a calculation of the grade points you achieve based on your final letter grades in your courses divided by the units of course weight you take. Your GPA is what we look at when we are assessing your academic standing.

Engineering Graduation Average (EGA)

Your EGA is your Engineering Graduation Average and is calculated on a minimum of the last 70.0 engineering units that you take in your program without splitting a term. This includes courses taken in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer and graded courses taken during a work experience term, if applicable.

What is the difference between a petition and an appeal?

Petition

For qualifying year students, there are certain requirements that need to be met in order to be offered admission into a specialized program/discipline (see Program Placements Process). Because these requirements are conditions of an admission decision, they are not appealable. However, qualifying year students who do not meet the requirements to be admitted into a discipline can petition to the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students to continue in the engineering program.

Appeal

For students in discipline who are required to withdraw and want to appeal this decision, their first step is to book a meeting with the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Students to discuss their circumstances and try to resolve the issue. If the matter is not resolved with the Associate Dean, students then have the option to submit a formal appeal to the Faculty of Engineering’s Academic Appeals Committee by submitting a written letter of appeal to the Dean’s Office. This appeal letter must be received within 28 days from when the student’s original academic standing letter was released.

See ‘Petitioning or appealing your academic standing’ section above for more information.

Where do I go if I need help with preparing for my appeal meeting?
The Office of the Student Ombuds is an impartial third party resource for students. They offer information, advice and support for students as they deal with academic, discipline, interpersonal or financial issues. They can provide you with information on university policies, help you to prepare for your meeting with the Associate Dean, and assist you with preparing documentation, if needed.

Last Updated: November 21, 2025