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Section 3.16: Academic Renewal

SUBJECT: Academic Renewal
SOURCE: Board of Regents Minutes June 13-14, 1995, p. 301

POLICY

305.01 ACADEMIC RENEWAL

University System of Georgia undergraduate students who have been readmitted or reinstated after a period of absence of five (5) calendar years or longer are eligible for academic renewal. Academic renewal for the student signals the initiation of a new grade point average to be used for determining academic standing. This provision allows University System of Georgia degree-seeking students who earlier experienced academic difficulty to make a fresh start and have one final opportunity to earn an associate or bachelor's degree (BR Minutes, June, 1995, p. 7).

PROCEDURES:

  1. All previously attempted coursework continues to be recorded on the student's official transcript.

    1. A Renewal GPA is begun when the student resumes taking coursework following approval for Academic Renewal.

    2. The Academic Renewal GPA will be used for determining academic standing and eligibility for graduation.

      1. To earn a degree, a student must meet the institution's residency requirements after acquiring academic renewal status.

      2. At least 50% of work toward a degree must be completed after the granting of Academic Renewal status for a student to be eligible for honors at graduation.

    3. Academic credit for previously completed coursework -- including transfer coursework -- will be retained only for courses in which an A, B or C grade has been earned.

      1. Retained grades are not calculated in a Renewal GPA. Such credit is considered in the same context as transfer credit, credit by examination, and courses with grades of "S."

      2. Courses with D or F grades must be repeated at the Academic Renewal institution if they are required in the student's degree program. Further, all remaining courses for the current degree objective must be completed at the Academic Renewal institution, i.e., no transient credit will be accepted.

      3. Applicability of retained credit to degree requirements will be determined by the degree requirements currently in effect at the time Academic Renewal status is conferred on the student. Specific institutional program regulations must also be met.

  2. A student can be granted Academic Renewal status only one time.

  3. Transfer Credit

    1. Suspended/dismissed students: a student who has been suspended/dismissed from a System institution and has attended one or more System institutions during the period of suspension/dismissal will not be eligible for Academic Renewal.

    2. Non-suspended/dismissed students: a student who has not been suspended/dismissed from a system institution but who has been absent from that institution five years or more and who has attended a school other than that institution may choose only one of the following options:

      1. A student may return to the same institution subject to all relevant transfer and reentry policies. No renewal GPA is calculated and transfer credit will be granted for applicable courses taken during the absence.

      2. A student may apply for Academic Renewal. If Academic Renewal status is approved, no transfer credit will be granted for coursework completed during the absence.

  4. Any scholastic suspensions which occurred in the past shall remain recorded on the student's permanent record. If a suspension (either first or second) is on the record and the student encounters subsequent academic difficulty after having been granted Academic Renewal, the next suspension would subject the student to dismissal.

  5. If a student does not request Academic Renewal status at the time of re-enrollment after a five year or greater period of absence, the student may do so within three semesters of re-enrollment or within one calendar year, whichever comes first.

    1. The Renewal GPA begins with the semester following re- enrollment.

  6. Reentry into any program is not automatic.

  7. If a student is denied Academic Renewal and subsequently does not re-enroll, he/she may resubmit an Academic Renewal application after no fewer than three semesters have passed since the initial petition.

  8. Each System institution shall establish specific evaluative criteria and specific procedures for evaluating an application for Academic Renewal.

  9. The granting of Academic Renewal does not supersede financial aid policies regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress.

  10. The granting of Academic Renewal does not supersede the admissions requirements of certain programs, e.g., teacher education, nursing, which require a specific minimum grade point average based upon all coursework.

  11. Any currently enrolled student who has experienced an interrupted five year (or longer) period of nonattendance at the institution in which he/she is currently enrolled, may apply for an Academic Renewal GPA.

    1. For currently enrolled students, there is a one year "window of opportunity" for requesting Academic Renewal status commencing with the effective date of this policy.

    2. The Academic Renewal GPA will include all coursework taken since re-enrollment.

  12. This policy becomes effective upon the date of favorable action by the Board of Regents.

Definition of Terms for the Purpose of these Procedures:

Suspension
-- a temporary separation from an institution. A suspension may (a) be for a specified period of time or (b) indefinite. Upon expiration of the period of suspension, the student is eligible to re-enroll. A student under indefinite suspension must petition for reinstatement to the president of the institution.

Dismissal
-- a permanent separation of the student from the institution. A student who is dismissed is not eligible to return to the institution.

Last Updated: 5/24/2000


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