75 Hour Policy

Illinois State wants all students to make progress towards graduation; gaining admission to a major is a critical step towards degree completion.

All students are required to be enrolled in a major upon completion of 75 hours of college-level coursework, including transfer credit. After 75 credit hours are earned, students must either have a major or have a University-approved plan on file to gain admission into a major.

All undeclared students will be notified as they approach the 45, 60 and 75 earned hours mark. If you are not in a major by 75 hours, you are required to meet with your assigned academic advisor to discuss your plan to be admitted to a major and graduate. If you do not meet with your academic advisor or do not have an agreed upon plan for graduation, you will need to submit a formal appeal to remain a student at Illinois State and receive financial aid. The appeal process requires you to answer questions outlining your plan for gaining admission to a major.

Appeal Process

Appeals are only available during a short time in the semester, typically mid-November and late April.

To appeal, you must have a reasonable, timely, and realistic intended major. If you do not have an intended major, you need to immediately begin the process of selecting a major that meets career goals. Ideally, you would know this path as early as possible to maximize course selections and future planning. Your actions are vitally important.

Your major must be officially changed on your student record before the appeal deadline to warrant not submitting an appeal. It is important to remember that simply submitting a major application does not exempt you from the 75 hour appeal process.

If you fail to submit an appeal, a registration block is placed on your record and courses for the next semester are purged. If you do not intend to return to Illinois State in the following semester, notify your academic advisor.

Decision Notification

You will be notified of an Appeal Committee's decision via ISU email and U.S. mail after final grades are posted and academic dismissal/probation decisions are released.

If your appeal is denied, a block will be placed on future registration and courses for the next semester will be purged. A denied appeal also means you will not be able to re-enroll at Illinois State for at least one semester. After that, you can apply for readmission to the University.

University College is here to help explain the appeal process, determine your major options, and help you make progress toward a degree. Please contact University College Academic Advising at (309) 438-7604 as soon as possible to speak with an academic advisor who can help.