These academic resources at MSU help you understand the rules, deadlines, and offices that support your academic life. Use these resources to find information about financial aid, graduation, student conduct, and your rights as a student.
Advising
Students should meet with their academic advisor at least once each semester. Your advisor can help you plan classes, stay on track, and answer questions about your major. You should always talk with your advisor before registering for classes. Registration happens twice each year: Fall semester for spring and summer classes, Spring semester for fall classes.
You can schedule an advising appointment through your student.msu.edu portal.
Academic Standing and Undergraduate Students
You are in Good Standing if you are a new student or the your cumulative grade point average is at least 2.0. When your cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0, your academic status is moved from Good Standing to Probation. When placed on probation, you need to assess your academic performance and identify what you need to do to return to Good Standing. For more information about the Academic Standing of Undergraduate Students, visit reg.msu.edu/academicprograms.
Attendance
Attending classes regularly is a vital component of your education and can help lead you to be academically successful. Additionally, attending class regularly will expose you to new perspectives and enhance your understanding of course content. The University has various policies regarding students' attendance. Below you will find excerpts of the University's policies, which are hyperlinked to ombud.msu.edu/university-policies-guidelines, where you can find more information.
General University Attendance Policy - This policy states in part: "No person is allowed to attend a class unless officially enrolled on a credit or non-credit basis with the appropriate fees paid. Students who attend, participate, and strive to complete course requirements without formal enrollment will not receive credit for their work. . . . It is the responsibility of the instructor to define the policy for attendance at the beginning of the course."
Administrative Drop for Non-Attendance - In compliance with federal regulations governing financial aid and veterans' education benefits, instructors are required to report students who stop attending or who have never attended class. After the first week of classes, through the middle of the term of instruction, instructors who identify a non-attending student should notify their departmental office. Upon receiving a report of non-attendance, departmental representatives are encouraged to initiate an administrative drop.
Attendance is defined as physical attendance or participation in an academically related activity, such as submission of an assignment, an examination, participation in a study group, or an online discussion etc. Instructors who do not take attendance may utilize key assessment points (e.g., projects, papers, mid-term exams, and discussions) as benchmarks for participation.
You may be dropped from a course for non-attendance by a departmental administrative drop after the fourth class period, or the fifth class day of the term of instruction, whichever occurs first.
Final Exam Policy
The University final exam policy allows instructors to impose severe consequences on students who miss a final exam without a "satisfactory explanation"; namely, a failing grade in the course. To avoid such dire action, the policy instructs students "unable to take a final examination because of illness or other reasons over which they have no control" to notify the associate dean of their college immediately. Be prepared to document your illness or the extenuating circumstances that caused you to miss the final exam. Oversleeping usually won't do it.
Commencement
Commencement at Michigan State University is a festive and reflective occasion for students and their families. The culmination of your many years of hard work and unforgettable experiences, commencement — as the name implies — is a milestone that formally launches a lifetime of further personal, educational, and professional experiences. Whether you are an undergraduate, or the first to graduate in your family, or a graduate student earning a Ph.D., commencement at Michigan State is a special time for all. The University’s official commencement page offers detailed information about all of Michigan State’s commencement ceremonies, including:
Observance of Religious Holidays
Each fall, the Provost issues a memorandum that explains the University Policy on Religious Observance. The policy calls on faculty and staff "to be sensitive to the observance of [religious] holidays so that students who absent themselves from classes on these days are not seriously disadvantaged... It is the responsibility of those students who wish to be absent to make arrangements in advance with their instructors. (Read policy.)
Instructors are asked to inform their students at the beginning of the semester if their attendance policy, including the dropping of a student's lowest grade, extends to students who miss class to observe a religious holiday.
Withdrawal
If you are considering a withdrawal, consult with their academic advisors before leaving the University. Learn more about the University’s withdrawal policies.