Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing — Dismissal & Appeals

Written by Zachary Gaynor, attorney · The Florida Bar, admitted 2016 · court admissions. Reviewed November 4, 2026.

Who decides whether an Illinois State nursing student is dismissed?

For a BSN student at Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN), the grades decide, not a committee. Students who receive “a grade of less than a C in any two nursing courses or twice for the same course will be dismissed from the major” (2026–2027 Undergraduate Student Handbook), and the catalog says the major then changes to undeclared. No appeal of that dismissal is published. The ways back are a final-grade challenge under University Policy 4.1.20, filed first with the Dean of the Mennonite College of Nursing, and readmission through the College’s Readmission Committee.

Graduate students get one dismissal appeal, a letter to the College Dean or designee “within 5 business days from the date of the dismissal letter” (Graduate School Policies), and no readmission to the same program. Cheating and misconduct go to the University’s Student Conduct and Community Responsibilities (SCCR) office.

Two grades below C end the BSN, and the exam average comes first

• 74% on exams (Traditional and Accelerated): “Combined unit and final exam scores must be 74% or higher for students to receive a passing grade in the course.” Below that, “the exam average will be the final grade. No exams will be rounded.” A C is 74–81%.
• Clinical: “If a student fails clinical, the grade is automatically an F in any connected course regardless of points accrued in the course,” and any U on a final Clinical Performance Evaluation Tool (CPET) fails the clinical. So does missing more than two clinical days in a course, though excused absences are reviewed first.
• GPA floors, also in the Dismissal Policy: Direct Admit freshmen need a 2.5 cumulative ISU GPA after 24 credit hours (the handbook says “earn,” the catalog “attempt”), then 2.0 once nursing courses begin. Transfer, Accelerated and RN to BSN students need 2.0, and RN to BSN students need a C in every nursing course.

The handbook calls these criteria “automatic dismissal.” As written, the two-grade rule counts each grade below C, and nothing in it drops one later repeated and passed; the Registrar notes, “The previous grade(s) will not be removed from the student’s transcript.” Dismissal “may also be based on serious conduct and or clinical suspension.”

Clinical suspension: off the unit, a plan in three days, then a dismissal recommendation

For Traditional and Accelerated students, faculty “will suspend a student from clinical at any time if the student’s behavior is dangerous or potentially dangerous to patients and/or others.” A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) follows “within three (3) days of the incident” (business or calendar days, unstated), and “If corrective action cannot be taken, dismissal from the major will be recommended.”

The handbook says that recommendation “may be appealed as outlined below,” but what follows is only the University’s grade challenge and an informal complaint route. No committee, decision-maker or deadline is named. Ask the Undergraduate Director in writing who decides and by when, and put your account in writing first. Every PIP calls for a meeting with the instructor “within one week of receiving the report”; without one, the faculty member’s copy goes into the college file.

New for 2026–27: no call, no show

This rule is not in the Spring 2026 handbook. Students must give notice “At least 60 minutes before the scheduled start time”; “An NCNS may be grounds for an unsatisfactory rating under professionalism and clinical failure”; and a student more than an hour late “will be sent home.”

Challenging the grade: ten business days after the next semester starts

Policy 4.1.20 covers final course grades, after a talk with the instructor. The grade must be arbitrary or capricious: based on something other than performance, judged by standards that “differ unreasonably from the standards applied to other students in the course,” or given in a way that “substantially or unreasonably departed from the instructor’s articulated standards.” The policy “will not be used to review the judgment of an instructor in assessing the quality of a student’s work” and excludes integrity cases.

1. To the Dean of the Mennonite College of Nursing, in writing, within 10 business days after the next semester starts (a first-half, eight-week course: 10 business days after the grade), with documents “including the syllabus.” The Dean answers within 10 business days.
2. To the Provost within 5 business days. A committee of three faculty and two students recommends, and “The Provost’s decision shall be final without further appeal.”

In a nursing course, the instructor’s “articulated standards” are in the syllabus, the CPET and any PIP. Readmission does not wait for the deadline, so I treat the day the grade posts as day zero.

Readmission: two faculty letters, an interview, and no margin after

Traditional and Accelerated applicants need two letters of faculty support, readmission essays and a formal interview. The Readmission Committee weighs “the student’s potential to be successful if readmitted,” and readmission is “granted on a selective basis.” RN to BSN students start with their advisor. Timeframes “vary by semester.”

After readmission, one grade below C in any nursing course is dismissal, and a second dismissal “is final, and there is no second readmission option.” Students “dismissed for ethical violations inconsistent with the values of professional nursing or for reasons that may disqualify them from obtaining a nursing license as a registered nurse, will not be readmitted,” so contest an ethics label while the record is open.

MSN, DNP, PhD and certificates: a B, three credit hours, five business days

The 2026–2027 graduate handbook makes a B the minimum passing grade, and “graduate course grades will not be rounded up.” A C or below must be repeated, students “may retake a maximum of 3 credit hours of course work in each sequence,” and a C or below in more than 3 credit hours means dismissal.

That cap is smaller than the clinical courses: the handbook’s FNP plans of study list NUR 471 at 5 credit hours, NUR 475 at 7 and NUR 477 at 6. Read literally, one C in any of them exceeds the allowance. The handbook does not say how the cap applies, so ask in writing before a grade posts.

A student “may fail a clinical course based on unsafe nursing care, regardless of grades on course requirements or assignments,” and the examples include “Lying or deliberately giving inaccurate information.” New this year, no-call/no-shows and cancelling clinical hours without appropriate notice “more than twice” bring “review or disciplinary action.” FNP preceptors send faculty “written anecdotal documentation” of concerns, and the summative evaluation “should not be a surprise for the student.” Ask for those notes. PhD students get three proposal-defense attempts and two dissertation defenses; the DNP must be finished within five calendar years.

The dismissal appeal runs from “the date of the dismissal letter,” not the day it is opened, and should set out “the facts and circumstances leading to the dismissal, and a written plan with benchmarks to continue successfully in the graduate program.” The student stays enrolled until the Dean decides, and the policy lists no further step. A Policy 4.1.20 grade challenge can run alongside it, on its own clock.

Cheating, AI and misconduct go to the University, not the College

The undergraduate handbook refers “Any suspected instance of academic dishonesty or ISU code of conduct violation” to SCCR under the Code of Student Conduct (effective August 27, 2025), which decides on a “more likely than not” standard and warns that graduate students “may face more severe levels of sanctioning for academic misconduct.” Graduate students must disclose generative AI use in a thesis, dissertation or capstone to their committee.

• Case management conference on two University business days’ notice. Agreeing there ends the case, and “There is no right to appeal, unless the student has agreed to a disciplinary suspension or disciplinary dismissal.”
• Hearing: a contested integrity case goes to the University Hearing Panel, which “shall include at least one faculty member and one student,” on five University business days’ notice.
• The grade meanwhile: the Code says it is “strongly recommended that faculty members withhold the imposition of an academic penalty” while the student contests the charge; the Dean of Students web page says “No grade penalty shall be assigned by the instructor until the formal hearing body determines that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred.” A penalty grade below C counts toward dismissal, so ask for an Incomplete in writing.
• Appeal: “Students have ten calendar days to request an appeal of any student conduct decision,” from email delivery of the decision letter. A student who stays silent at the hearing “may not later utilize this as a basis for appeal on the grounds of new information.”

Disciplinary suspension and dismissal records are “maintained permanently.” Sexual misconduct cases follow a separate procedure (see the Illinois State University page).

A lawyer may sit with you at a conduct hearing, but may not speak

The Dean of Students Office says an advisor “may be a parent, friend, family member, attorney, or a member of the University community,” but under the Code “The advisor’s role is non-participatory, limited only to advising the student,” and advisors may not “script student responses and/or questions.” The student does the talking; a lawyer’s work is the written statement, the documents and witnesses behind it, and preparation. The College’s grade challenge, readmission interview and graduate appeal say nothing about who may attend, so ask in writing.

Background checks, drug tests and the Illinois license

A student with a disqualifying conviction needs an Illinois Department of Public Health waiver, and “If a waiver is not granted, the student will be dismissed from the nursing program.” New charges must be disclosed. RN to BSN and graduate students must keep an unencumbered license and report changes. The only report to the state I found in the handbooks: after an RN to BSN student’s positive drug test, “the governing body that oversees the student’s RN license (i.e. Illinois Department of Professional Regulations) will be contacted.”

The handbook says the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) “has full authority and final determination regarding the issuance of an Illinois nursing license.” IDFPR’s exam overview says an exam application is approved once “the required educational documents” and a fingerprint receipt arrive, which a student who does not finish cannot supply. I found no published rule noting a dismissal on the transcript, but the failed grades stay, and a dismissal letter’s wording can follow a nurse.

Illinois State is public, so the written record carries the weight

Illinois State is public, so due process applies, but academic dismissals call for “far less stringent procedural requirements” (Board of Curators v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78, 86 (1978)), and courts defer unless a decision is “such a substantial departure from accepted academic norms” that no professional judgment was exercised (Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214, 225 (1985)). Where the undergraduate rules publish no dismissal hearing, the paper is the case: the PIP answers, the grade challenge, the readmission essays and the graduate benchmark plan.

What the policies leave out

Not published: who decides a clinical-suspension dismissal recommendation, and on what standard; what “serious conduct” means; the Readmission Committee’s members and criteria; and who may accompany a student in the College’s own processes. Ask the Undergraduate Director or the graduate program lead in writing.

Where the governing documents are

Verified as loading on 4 November 2026:

• MCN Undergraduate Student Handbook 2026–2027 (Traditional Prelicensure, Accelerated and RN to BSN; file dated 27 August 2026) and the Spring 2026 edition — 2026–2027, Spring 2026
• MCN Graduate and Certificate Programs Handbook 2026–2027 (file dated 21 August 2026) and FNP Preceptor Manual 2026 — handbook, preceptor manual
• Illinois State University Catalog 2026–2027, Nursing BSN program and Graduate School Policies — BSN, Graduate School Policies
• Policy 4.1.20, Final Course Grade Challenge (created May 2024), and the Provost’s procedure (fall 2024) — policy, procedure
• Course Repetition Requirements — registrar.illinoisstate.edu
• Code of Student Conduct (effective 27 August 2025), Use of Advisors and Academic Integrity pages — Code, advisors, academic integrity
• IDFPR nursing page and exam-process overview — idfpr.illinois.gov, exam overview

Not public: course syllabi, which set exam weighting and course penalties; each course’s CPET; the PIP form; the readmission application, essay questions and schedule; the forms in the College’s Qualified First compliance account; and any written procedure for a clinical-suspension dismissal recommendation. Ask for each in writing.

Related reading

• Nursing school dismissal
• Removal from a clinical rotation
• Professionalism and fitness-to-practice findings
• Due process at public institutions
• Illinois State University
• Illinois student defense

Other Illinois schools

Every school writes its own dismissal, appeal and conduct rules, and the filing deadlines are rarely the same from one campus to the next. These pages set out the procedure at other Illinois schools:

• SIU School of Medicine — Dismissal & Appeals
• SIU School of Law — Dismissal & Appeals
• UIC School of Law
• Chicago-Kent College of Law
• Saint Anthony College of Nursing

Common questions

How many nursing classes can you fail at Illinois State before you are dismissed?

Two. A BSN student with a grade below C in any two nursing courses, or twice in one course, is dismissed from the major, and the major changes to undeclared. After readmission, one more grade below C is dismissal.

What is a passing grade in Illinois State nursing courses?

A C, which is 74 to 81 percent. Traditional and Accelerated students also need a 74% unit and final exam average, with no rounding, or the exam average becomes the final grade. Graduate students need a B.

How do I appeal a dismissal from Mennonite College of Nursing?

Graduate students write to the College Dean or designee within 5 business days from the date of the dismissal letter, with the facts and a plan with benchmarks. Undergraduates have no published dismissal appeal; they can challenge the grade with the Dean of the College and apply for readmission.

Can a lawyer come to my Illinois State conduct hearing?

Yes, as an advisor. The Dean of Students Office lists an attorney as a permitted advisor, but the advisor’s role is non-participatory: the advisor may not speak for you or script your answers.

Can I be readmitted after being dismissed from Illinois State nursing?

Undergraduates may apply with two faculty letters, essays and an interview, and readmission is selective. A second dismissal is final, and students dismissed for ethical violations are not readmitted. Graduate students cannot be readmitted to the same program.

Can a lawyer help me prepare the appeal?

Yes. A lawyer can help prepare the grade challenge, the readmission application or the graduate dismissal appeal, and the work is handled case by case; a flat-fee Full Read + Game Plan is described on the fees and scope of services page.

This page is informational and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the institution named on it.