In a meeting of the Board of Engineering Studies in November 1946, Joseph T. Thompson asked that a Committee on Probation be established to "(1) Screen the Drop cases, (2) Readmit men on Probation, (3) To drop men on probation any time subsequent to a check of his current performance, (4) Coordinate with a similar body in the College of Arts and Sciences." The Board of Engineering Studies General Regulations, issued April 1948, Article IV, Section 3, states, "There shall be set up by this Board a Probation Committee made up of one man per department, appointed by the chairman of the Board of Engineering Studies on the recommendation of the respective departments. The duties of this committee shall be: (a) Supervision of students on probation with power to remove a student from probation; (b) To review and make recommendations to this Board on Petitions for reinstatement; (c) to examine the records of all students having three "E's" or three "F's" or any combination thereof, amounting to three." This committee considered the status of students who were or had been in danger of failing and decided whether a student should be put on probation, reinstated in good academic standing, or removed from the University.

The Probation Committee considered individual students who were at probationary grade levels and decided when to put a student on probation, keep one on probation, reinstate a student who had been dropped or on probation to good academic standing, drop a student, or send a student a warning letter. In June 1960, the committee decided to abandon the distinction between probation and strict probation. It also decided that a student dropped from the School of Engineering would need permission to enroll in McCoy College or Summer Session, and that a student who was granted such permission could rejoin the Engineering School if he or she did satisfactory work.