Student Success

The Office of Student Support Services helps students address difficulties affecting participation, academic progress, and continued enrollment. Assistance may involve organizing outstanding work, establishing a manageable study schedule, obtaining academic support, or coordinating an issue that involves several university offices. You may request help while you are in good standing or while responding to a formal academic notice.

Contact the office when assignments begin to accumulate, feedback identifies a recurring difficulty, a course concept remains unclear, or employment and personal responsibilities interfere with study. Missed learning activities, stalled research milestones, an unresolved access problem, and uncertainty about an academic standing notice are also reasons to begin a discussion.

• Reach out when a barrier first affects your ability to participate.
• Identify the course, task, or research milestone involved.
• State the next deadline and the assistance you need.

If an Instructor Refers You

An instructor or another office may refer an observed concern to Student Support. The office will explain the reason for contacting you and invite you to describe the circumstances, correct inaccurate information, and identify the help needed. A referral does not itself establish misconduct or change academic standing. If an official notice requires a meeting or plan, follow that notice while raising any question about its basis.

Email info@newmeridianuniversity.org with the subject Student Success Support. Include your name, student identification number if assigned, program, affected courses or research activity, outstanding work, and upcoming deadlines. Describe what you have already tried and what remains difficult. If a deadline or enrollment decision is approaching, give its exact date and immediate consequence.

Suggest meeting times and include your time zone. Student Support identifies the coordinating contact and arranges the discussion through the available service schedule. You may request an accessible communication method or a written exchange if a live meeting presents a barrier. If email is unavailable, call 801-306-0660.

1. Send the course or activity, difficulty, work affected, and needed date.
2. Provide two or three possible meeting times and your time zone.
3. Confirm the coordinating contact, appointment date, time zone, and access instructions.
4. Ask what to prepare and when to expect the next response if the initial reply does not say.

A request is not a confirmed appointment or approval to change a deadline. Include relevant assignment instructions or a university notice when helpful, with unrelated personal details and research participant information removed. Do not attach medical records to the general email; ask for a protected submission method if sensitive supporting information is necessary.

Prepare a current list of overdue and upcoming work. For each item, record the course, task, original due date, completion status, and any revised date already approved. Check the syllabus and assignment instructions in Classter, NMU’s learning management system, through My Meridian. Bring relevant feedback, posted grades, submission confirmations, and notices about academic standing or registration.

For research, identify the milestone, the committee’s requested revisions, and the next deliverable. Mark questions that still need an instructor’s or academic official’s decision. For example, distinguish an overdue assignment you are authorized to complete from one for which late-submission permission is still pending.

• List both missed work and the requirements coming next.
• Bring feedback and evidence of submissions or approved arrangements.
• Identify unanswered questions and decisions still needed.

Identify Study Time You Can Protect

Look at the week you actually have, including employment, caregiving, and other commitments. Identify realistic study periods and assign specific tasks to them. Separate time for current coursework, recovery tasks, research revisions, and support appointments. Include time to apply feedback after a tutoring or writing consultation.

Explain the main obstacle to using that time. Difficulty understanding a method requires a different response from a missing resource or an unmanageable workload. You can describe the academic effect of a personal circumstance without sharing unnecessary private details. The discussion should establish what is achievable and where assistance or a formal decision is needed.

The discussion may lead to an Individual Student Success Plan. The plan records the immediate concern, the improvement you are working toward, and an achievable sequence of student and university actions. You receive a copy and may ask for clarification or correction. Each action needs enough detail that you know what to do next and how progress will be checked.

Begin with actions that protect current participation and address the most consequential outstanding requirement. A plan might ask you to obtain an instructor’s decision about an overdue assessment, attend tutoring on the difficult topic, and complete the assessment by the approved date. The plan should show the submission arrangement as pending until the authorized person approves it. Attending tutoring is one step; applying the material to your work is the intended result.

Choose a manageable number of goals and agree on the assistance university staff will provide. Record unresolved referrals and approvals alongside your own tasks so the plan reflects the whole issue. Acknowledging the plan records the discussion; it does not guarantee a result or waive review or complaint rights.

Use the plan between appointments. Record completed actions, retain submission confirmations, and note the response to each referral or approval request. Continue current coursework that remains possible while addressing missed work. If an action becomes unrealistic, explain what changed before the target date when possible and request a revised action or the necessary academic decision.

At the agreed review, you and Student Support compare the plan with completed work, participation, feedback, and other relevant evidence. Review whether the assistance helped you perform the required task, as well as whether an appointment took place. The next step may be to close a resolved action, continue effective support, change an unsuccessful approach, or refer a decision to the appropriate office.

Keep the revised actions and next review date. Reschedule a missed support appointment promptly and identify any deadline that falls before the new meeting. If you stop responding, Student Support may seek follow-up through your university contact information and coordinate unresolved academic concerns with the responsible office. A missed support contact alone does not create a new ground for dismissal.

• Track completed work, approval decisions, and remaining barriers.
• Report an unworkable action before the next review when possible.
• Keep the updated plan and agreed follow-up date.

Support can conclude when the concerns are addressed or continuing arrangements are clear. Keep the final instructions and reconnect if a new difficulty arises. Closing a support plan does not change academic standing or resolve a separate formal notice.

The University Catalog requires doctoral students to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or equivalent academic standing in milestone-based coursework. Satisfactory Academic Progress also considers completion of attempted credits and the maximum period for finishing the program. Ask Academic Affairs to confirm your applicable progress requirements, the calculation used in a review, and the next evaluation date.

The catalog’s program graduation requirements state seven years from first enrollment, while the general progress provisions also specify a maximum of 150% of the published program length. Obtain written confirmation of the completion deadline that applies to your program and circumstances. Improvement in one course may not, by itself, restore overall good standing.

Participation and Record Accuracy

Online attendance depends on academically meaningful participation, such as completing required assignments, assessments, and learning activities by their published deadlines. Signing in to Classter or attending a support appointment does not replace required coursework. Read each syllabus for the activities and frequency expected, and contact the instructor when a difficulty prevents participation.

Check posted grades and participation records against submission confirmations and approved arrangements. Report a discrepancy with the course, activity, date, and relevant evidence to the instructor or registrar, as appropriate. Student Support can coordinate the inquiry but cannot independently change a grade, record an uncompleted activity as attendance, or remove an academic restriction.

Warning, Probation, and Appeals

Read an academic standing notice promptly. Identify the stated deficiency, conditions for continued enrollment, required meeting or plan, review date, and appeal instructions. A warning is not guaranteed before probation or another action. Failure to meet the applicable conditions can result in suspension or dismissal under the relevant policy.

Bring the notice to Student Support so assistance follows its actual conditions. If a calculation or requirement is unclear, request a written explanation from the issuing academic office. If you dispute the decision or have relevant extenuating circumstances, obtain the formal appeal instructions and submit to the designated recipient by the applicable deadline. A support appointment or general inquiry does not file an appeal, extend its deadline, or suspend an academic decision.

• Check the requirements, review date, and evidence in the notice.
• Organize support around the conditions you must meet.
• Use the formal submission route for an appeal.

Choose assistance that addresses the difficulty identified in your coursework or feedback. Tutoring and Academic Support can help with course concepts, research methods, statistics, and study skills. The Writing Center provides consultations and feedback on your drafts. Student Library assistance supports research searches and source evaluation. Allow time to apply the guidance before submitting your own work.

Your instructor addresses course instructions, feedback, and extension requests. Academic Affairs or the assigned advisor addresses course sequencing, degree requirements, and academic progression. The registrar handles registration and official enrollment records. Student Financial Services handles balances, payment arrangements, and account questions. For university system access, use Technology Support and Help Desk. Student Support helps identify the responsible person and follows up when a referral remains unresolved.

You may seek student success assistance while an accommodation request is pending. The plan must account for approved accommodations. Report a missing or ineffective adjustment promptly through the implementation process; medical evidence does not need to be supplied to every instructor or tutor.

• Use feedback to identify a specific question for the service.
• Ask who is responsible for the next action and when to follow up.
• Tell Student Support when a referral or approved adjustment remains unresolved.

If the current pace is no longer feasible, discuss the available options before stopping participation. An extension concerns a particular assignment. A course-load change affects registration and may affect sequencing and completion time. A leave of absence is a formally approved interruption with stated conditions. Withdrawal ends the enrollment covered by the withdrawal request. Student Support can organize the questions while the responsible academic, registration, and financial offices confirm the required decisions.

Incomplete Work and Leave Requests

An incomplete grade is available only in limited, documented circumstances and requires an approved completion plan. Ask the instructor about eligibility, remaining work, the completion deadline, and what happens if the work is not finished. Listing unfinished work in a success plan does not create an incomplete grade.

The catalog makes good academic standing an eligibility requirement for a routine leave of absence. Ask about the eligible temporary reason, required request and documentation, permitted leave period, submission deadline, decision-maker, and return conditions. If disability or another protected access need affects the request, ask for individual consideration through the accommodation process. Sensitive documentation should follow the designated protected submission instructions.

Confirm the Consequences Before Acting

Obtain an explanation of the effect on coursework, grades, academic progress, remaining program time, charges, and any refund. The registrar confirms the official enrollment action and effective date; Student Financial Services explains the account consequences. Stopping attendance does not itself submit a withdrawal request or establish refund eligibility.

1. Discuss the academic, registration, and financial effects.
2. Submit the required formal request and relevant information.
3. Keep the written decision and verify the recorded status and effective date.

Contact Student Support and the registrar before your intended return term. Provide the last term attended, the reason for the interruption, intended return date, and any prior leave approval or academic standing notice. Ask which return process applies. Reentry after dismissal is not automatic; the university reviews eligibility, academic or conduct conditions, account status, and applicable program requirements.

Confirm the courses or research milestones remaining, any changed requirements, and the approvals or holds that must be resolved. Supply updated records as required, including official transcripts if you completed coursework elsewhere during the interruption. Follow the stated registration deadlines and return conditions.

Once return is approved, check university account access, course availability, and implementation of continuing accommodations. Revise the success plan around the work you are resuming and the circumstances that affected the earlier enrollment. Reconnecting with Student Support alone does not reinstate registration.

• Request return instructions before the intended term.
• Resolve the required academic, registration, and account conditions.
• Confirm enrollment, access, and a workable study plan.

Student Support records information needed to coordinate assistance, including the concern raised, agreed actions, referrals, and follow-up outcomes. Access is limited to authorized people who need the information under NMU’s Privacy and Information Protection Policy. Share relevant information and ask how sensitive documentation should be submitted. Involving a support person does not automatically give that person access to all university records.

If assistance remains unresolved, reply to the coordinating contact with the original request date, action still needed, previous response, and approaching deadline. Ask for the name of the official who can address or decide the remaining issue. Formal academic decisions and concerns about discrimination, retaliation, or privacy follow their applicable review or complaint procedures. Student Support can identify the route, but a support inquiry does not replace a required formal submission.