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Policy
The Academic Forgiveness policy allows students returning to school after at least a five-year absence to have their earlier grades excluded from their GPA under certain circumstances:
Restrictions and Explanations
- Students must not have been enrolled in an institution of higher learning for at least five continuous years prior to admission/readmission to UW-Eau Claire except for completion of courses that were a precondition for admission/readmission.
- After admission/readmission, students must earn a GPA of 2.5 or higher in the first 12 credits which count toward the minimum degree requirements at UW-Eau Claire before applying for forgiveness.
- The request for forgiveness must be approved by the student's adviser, the department chair if the student has declared a major, and the Dean of the College in which the student is enrolled.
- If forgiveness is granted, all courses taken five or more years prior to admission/readmission (and the grades received) will continue to appear on the student's record, but the student's total GPA will be based solely on credits earned after admission/readmission to UW-Eau Claire.
- If forgiveness is granted, all credit hours with a grade of "D-" or better earned five or more years before admission/readmission, up to a maximum of 30, may be used to satisfy degree requirements even though they are not included in the student's total GPA.
- Forgiveness of grades earned five or more years before admission/readmission may be granted only once.
Procedures
- Student prints the Academic Forgiveness Form and brings the form, a degree audit and an unofficial transcript to the adviser.
- If the adviser and the student agree it is beneficial, the application must then be approved by the department chair and the dean of the College in which the student is enrolled.
- The form is filed with the registrar and the student is sent an updated transcript.
Advising Tips
- Remember, students who have more than 30 credits will lose these credits if they apply for Academic Forgiveness. If these courses were taken here, repeating for a replacement grade might be a better option.
- Students who have taken a course or two in the last five years, who do not qualify for academic forgiveness, should be referred to their Dean's office for a possible exception.