Academic Renewal Guidelines
Overview
Academic renewal allows Santa Fe Community College students who earlier experienced academic difficulty, the opportunity to make a fresh start in their academic careers. These guidelines affirm the process by which students may petition to have up to two semesters removed from calculation of their GPA. All annotations of grade recalculation will appear in the student transcript. Students seeking admission to a limited enrollment program at SFCC are not eligible for this forgiveness policy.
Scope and Applicability
These guidelines apply to the removal from the GPA calculation failing grades earned at SFCC when the student meets the following conditions.
- A period of one year must have lapsed since the grades in question were earned.
- A minimum of twelve credits must have been successfully completed (with a 2.0 GPA) prior to the petition for renewal.
- The student must be in good academic and financial standing with the institution.
- Academic renewal will only be granted 1 time during the academic life of the student at SFCC.
Definitions
Grade Appeal refers to the process by which a student appeals a grade in a particular course with the belief that the grade recorded is incorrect, in compliance with SFCC Student Code of Conduct – Policy 2-1 and SFCC Appeal of Academic Decisions Policy 2-21. Academic Renewal refers to the process outlined below by which a student may have grades in up to two (may be non-consecutive) semesters removed from calculation of his/her GPA. All courses removed from calculation for this purpose will not be counted in fulfilling requirements for degrees or certificates.
Guideline Statement
Academic renewal removes grades from calculation of the student’s GPA. All course-work and original grades remain noted on the student’s transcript. When academic work is removed from computation of the GPA, the student’s permanent academic record will be properly annotated. When a student chooses to remove grades of up to two semesters (may be non-consecutive) he/she forfeits the credits earned for all courses during those semesters. If a removed grade is in a required course for graduation, the student must re-take or replace the course. Transfer institutions are under no obligation to accept a revised calculation of GPA based upon application of academic renewal at SFCC.
Procedures
The student must formally petition the college through the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, to be considered for academic renewal (see Petition for Academic Renewal Form). The criteria for academic renewal are: 1. A maximum of 2 semesters shall be considered for academic renewal. 2. A minimum of twelve credits must have been successfully completed (with a minimum of 2.0 GPA) prior to the petition for renewal. 3. Academic renewal may be applied one time only. 4. The student must work with a counselor, faculty or staff advisor to complete the petition for academic renewal.
Download and print Academic-Renewal-Petition-Form
Statement of Accountability
The Dean’s Council is responsible for approving, tracking and reporting Academic Renewal guidelines updates.
