Kent State graduate nursing grades and probation: what happens when a practicum goes badly
Kent State grades every MSN practicum with a standard letter grade, and the College of Nursing reviews standing after each fall, spring and summer term. Any grade under a B triggers a Semester Warning, a cumulative GPA under 3.0 brings probation, and repeated low grades can open a dismissal review. Here is each step, and the way back from it.
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How Kent State grades a graduate practicum
The catalog grades every MSN practicum, NURS 61092 through NURS 66492, as Standard Letter rather than Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, so a practicum grade enters your GPA like any lecture course. In Kent State's graduate grading a B means average work and a C means below-average work, and GPAs run to three decimals with no rounding. The College of Nursing uses this scale:
| Grade | Percent | Grade | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 93 to 100 | C+ | 77 to 79.99 |
| A- | 90 to 92.99 | C | 73 to 76.99 |
| B+ | 87 to 89.99 | C- | 70 to 72.99 |
| B | 83 to 86.99 | D+ | 67 to 69.99 |
| B- | 80 to 82.99 | D | 65 to 66.99 |
| F | below 65 |
Grades of C- and below never count toward a graduate degree or certificate, yet they stay in your GPA. The final evaluation your preceptor files becomes part of your record, yet it is not the grade on its own; your practicum faculty grade the course. Conduct counts as well: breaking the practicum conduct standards, for example skipping hours without notice to your preceptor and faculty, can earn an F whatever the rest of your work shows. The evaluations page explains that review.
A grade below B: the Semester Warning
The College of Nursing reviews academic standing at the end of fall, spring and summer. A grade below B in any course that term brings a Semester Warning, and so does being at risk of passing your program's time limit. Before you register again, you must meet with an advisor and your concentration coordinator.
A warning is a checkpoint, not a transcript entry: Kent State keeps warnings and probation off the transcript. Use the required meeting to pin down what went wrong in the practicum, whether it was the preceptor fit, the hours or the coursework, and what the next placement needs to look like. Bring your Typhon logs and any written feedback so the conversation is about facts.
Probation below a 3.0 GPA
Two layers apply. The College places you on Academic Probation when your cumulative GPA falls below 3.0. The university's graduate standing policy supplies the mechanics: probation starts when your program GPA drops below 3.000 after at least 6 graduate credits, and from then on you enroll term by term.
- In your first probation term you need a term GPA of at least 3.000, or dismissal follows.
- You then have one more term to bring your overall GPA back to 3.000.
- A second semester on probation needs approval from both the department and the dean.
- A student on an approved leave of absence cannot be placed on probation.
- Standing reviews may weigh how many AU, IN, IP and W marks you hold.
Because practicums carry letter grades, one weak practicum can move a part-time student's GPA sharply. A 2-credit C in a term of only 4 or 5 credits makes up a large share of that term's GPA, which is exactly the number the first probation term is judged on.
Dismissal review and how to appeal
The AY 2025-2026 MSN Student Handbook lists a credit-hour dismissal trigger: more than 8 credits below B, or more than 4 credits below C. The university's graduate standing policy dropped that trigger in its August 2025 revision. Kent State has not said which version the College applies in 2026-2027, so ask your advisor before you plan around either one.
Dismissal from your only program means dismissal from Kent State, with a notation on your transcript. An appeal goes in writing to the college dean or the dean's designee within 10 weekdays; the college dismissal and appeals committee reviews it, and the dean decides. The MSN handbook routes graduate nursing appeals to the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs. A student on an approved leave cannot be dismissed.
Two Kent State documents disagree on what triggers a dismissal review. Get your advisor's reading in writing before you schedule a repeat or a leave around either rule.
Repeating a practicum, and the DNP rule
For repeats in or after Fall 2026, the university allows two attempts at any graduate course, and a W counts as one of them. Only the higher grade counts in your GPA, and a dismissal overrides any planned repeat. Courses marked repeatable for credit sit outside that cap; the time limits page names the practicums that carry the label.
The College of Nursing adds a Repeat of Nursing Courses policy: a student without a C in a clinical course cannot progress, may repeat a nursing course once as seats allow, and is stopped after a second grade below C. It is printed among BSN rules, and Kent State does not state how far it reaches into graduate programs, so confirm with your advisor.
The DNP draws its own line. Every DNP course requires a B or better; earn less and you retake the course before moving to anything that builds on it, and a second sub-B grade can end in dismissal. A repeated practicum also means a fresh placement: an approved preceptor and site, inside semester dates, all over again.
Incompletes, withdrawals and grade complaints
An Incomplete (IN) is meant for extenuating circumstances that surface after the withdrawal deadline but before classes end. It requires a current standing of C or better plus documentation, and your instructor files an Incomplete Mark Contract with a default grade. An unfinished graduate IN lapses to that default after three consecutive terms, or at the end of an approved extension. MSN practicums have no In Progress (IP) option, which Kent State reserves for designated courses such as NURS 70592 and NURS 74692.
The withdrawal window stays open until day 70 of a fall or spring term, prorated for shorter sessions, with a W recorded from day 15 onward, and withdrawing does not cancel charges. After that deadline, students facing extreme circumstances consult their dean's office.
Grades are final except for IN, IP, NR or administrative error. Other challenges follow the academic complaint policy, Policy Register 3342-4-02.3: raise the issue with the instructor, then the local administrator, then file in writing within 15 class weekdays of the event. Student Ombuds offers confidential help at any stage.
Why Kent State students choose us after a hard term
A practicum that went badly often began with a poor fit: a preceptor with too little time, a site far from the course's population, or a schedule that could not carry the hours. We match you with a preceptor and site built around the next Kent State course on your plan, in person near where you live, and we check that course's preceptor rules before anyone is put forward.
After a warning, your practicum faculty and concentration coordinator will look closely at the next placement, and the approval is theirs. We give them a complete file: credentials, license, site details, onboarding steps and a check on whether the site already has a College of Nursing agreement. Should the new preceptor fall through, we start on a replacement right away. Reach us through the contact form, or read preceptor dropped out.
Questions Kent State students ask
What GPA do I need to stay in good standing in Kent State's MSN?
A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Below that, the College places you on Academic Probation, and the MSN also requires a 3.000 overall GPA to graduate. Grades of C- or lower never count toward the degree but still pull the GPA down, and Kent State calculates it to three decimals without rounding.
Is a C passing in a Kent State graduate practicum?
A C counts toward the degree, since only C- and below are excluded, but Kent State defines it as below-average graduate work, and because it is under a B it brings a Semester Warning. In the DNP a C is not enough: every DNP course needs at least a B, and a lower grade must be repeated.
Can I retake a failed practicum at Kent State?
Usually once. Under the university rule for repeats in or after Fall 2026, each graduate course allows two attempts, a W uses one of them, and only the higher grade counts in the GPA. Practicums marked repeatable for credit follow different rules. You will also need an approved preceptor and site again for the repeat.
Can Kent State dismiss me while I am on a leave of absence?
No. Kent State's graduate policies say a student on an approved leave of absence cannot be placed on probation or dismissed. Leave requires at least one completed term, has to be filed ahead of the term and cannot be backdated, so it cannot be used to undo a term that has already gone badly.
Who decides a Kent State graduate dismissal appeal?
Appeals go in writing to the college dean or designee within 10 weekdays of the dismissal. The college's dismissal and appeals committee reviews the case, and the dean makes the decision. The MSN Student Handbook names the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs as the destination for graduate nursing appeals.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Kent State's own catalog, handbooks and program pages. Your MSN or DNP handbook, your syllabus, your practicum faculty and your concentration coordinator have the final word.
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