Office of Academic Planning and Recovery

ONWARD Planning is an academic program designed to assist students with discovering their strengths and fostering motivation in areas of opportunity. The process begins with a conversation about positive experiences that help to reveal a student’s strengths. Those strengths are then applied to strategies that can be used to improve areas of deficiency.

The strategies will fall into some or all of the categories of ONWARD Planning:

• Own your strengths
• Note your goals
• Work hard AND smarter
• Actions of commitment
• Reflection
• Dedication to self-care and encouragement

The creation of individualized plans is finalized by signing an Academic Recovery Contract that details the academic notice policy, acknowledgement of this policy, commitment to the individualized plan and the plan specifics.

Follow-up appointments are then scheduled to keep support consistent and staying on track more manageable.​

The Associate Director of Financial Aid refers students to our office to complete Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal forms after meeting with them to explain why the appeal is needed. Once the forms are submitted, they are reviewed and processed by the financial aid staff. Working with students to complete appeal forms provides an opportunity to have conversations to uncover why the student arrived in this situation and what to do to prevent the need for future appeals.

Students who become ineligible for financial aid due to GPA are also on academic notice, so appeal submission falls in line with ONWARD Planning.

Prep 4 Success is a peer mentor resource that builds a community for students on academic notice to foster a sense of belonging through peer support, guidance and shared experiences.

The peer mentors help students on academic notice in the areas of time management, study skills, note taking, goal setting and social engagement.

Students who return to PNW after academic separation receive academic advising in the Office of Academic Planning and Recovery. The Office works with college advisors to ensure these students take classes applicable to their intended majors while working to improve their GPAs.

While reinstatement to good academic standing is the primary goal of The Office, degree progression is still prioritized in the academic recovery plan.

Academic standing placement is based on fall/spring semester GPA AND cumulative GPA. Therefore, if a student’s overall or cumulative GPA is over 2.0 but the semester GPA is less than 2.0, they will be placed on academic notice.

Once a student is on notice, academic separation occurs at the end of the semester if both the semester and cumulative GPA’s fall under 2.0. This means they will be ineligible to attend PNW for at least one fall or spring semester. Students who are academically separated must reapply to PNW to return after the required sit-out period.

While academic standing is based on GPA alone, satisfactory academic progress for financial aid includes cumulative GPA, completion rate or pace and maximum timeframe. Failure to meet the requirements in these areas may result in being placed on financial aid probation.

See the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid recipients