Apr 26, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Academic Forgiveness Policy


For purposes of grade-point average required for graduation, public colleges and universities shall have discretionary authority to establish academic forgiveness in addition to the “D/F” repeat provisions. However, institutionally established provisions must be consistent with this rule. If institutions elect to disregard prior “D” and/or failing grades, such action must accommodate the following minimal conditions:

4.1.a. Students must not have been enrolled in college on a full-time basis during any semester or term in the last four consecutive years.

4.1.b. Only grades for courses taken at least four years prior to the request for academic forgiveness may be disregarded for grade-point average computation.

4.1.c. In cases where grades may be disregarded for grade-point average computation, these grades shall not be deleted from the student’s permanent record.

4.1.d. In instances where students request and gain academic forgiveness from one college or university and then transfer to another institution, the receiving institution is not bound by the prior institution’s decision to disregard grades for grade-point average computation.

4.2. The provisions included herein shall be considered as minimum standards for extending academic forgiveness provisions. Consistent with institutional policies and mission, individual colleges and universities may impose more stringent provisions in the area of disregarding prior grades for grade point average computation for graduation.

4.3. Institutional policies regarding academic forgiveness for grade-point average computation shall be stated in the institutional catalog. In addition to providing information on the manner in which such provisions may be applied at that institution, the catalog and/or such other publications as are appropriate shall inform students that academic forgiveness extended by one institution may or may not be recognized by other institutions in which the student may transfer.

Academic forgiveness will be granted only once for any student. The academic forgiveness policy may be applied after a student has earned 12 credit hours that apply toward graduation, with a minimum GPA of 2.0. The Registrar will give consideration to a request for forgiveness when s/he receives a signed, written request from the student which certifies that the student has not been enrolled as a full-time student (12 or more credit hours) in any institution of higher learning during the four consecutive academic years immediately preceding the readmission semester.

The academic forgiveness policy does not alter, change, or amend any other existing policies at FSU and is formulated to be consistent with Series 20 of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. This policy pertains only to the calculation of the of the GPA required for graduation and does not pertain to GPA calculated for special academic recognition (such as graduating with honors) or to requirements for professional certification which may be within the province of licensure boards, external agencies, or the West Virginia Board of Education. The Regents Bachelor of Arts Degree Program is governed by a different forgiveness policy.