Academic Forgiveness

A student who returns to the University after an extended absence and who demonstrates the ability to do well academically, as described below, may use Academic Forgiveness to remove the effect of earlier unsatisfactory grades. Such students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor in their college office to develop an academic plan and to discuss this policy.

           1. To be eligible, a student must

                a. Be readmitted to the University after an absence of at least three calendar years;
                b. Have attempted* at least 24 letter-graded hours since readmission;
                c. Have earned at least a 2.5 GPA in all courses attempted* since readmission;
                d. Request Academic Forgiveness in writing from the Office of Registration and Records;
                e. This request must be made before the end of the semester immediately following the one in which requirement                          was met (with the exception of spring semester, when the request must be made by the end of fall semester).

            2. After the student elects Academic Forgiveness and after eligibility is verified, the following adjustments are made to                 the student's academic record:

                a. All grades earned at BGSU prior to reentry are excluded from the calculation of the GPA (i.e., forgiven);
                b. Credit hours earned for courses prior to reentry with the grade of at least "S" or "C" are retained;
                c. Credit hours earned for courses prior to reentry with a grade of "D" are not retained;
                d. Each grade that is subject to this policy will remain on the official transcript but will be noted as                                             "forgiven."

           3. All grades, including those that have been forgiven, are used in calculating eligibility for membership in                                    honor societies and graduation with honors.

           4. A student can have the Academic Forgiveness policy applied to his or her academic record only one time, and                        Academic Forgiveness must be prior to the award of the degree for which the hours and grades involved will be                        applicable. (For example, a student who is pursuing a baccalaureate degree and has earned an associate degree                from BGSU cannot apply the policy to any credit earned prior to the completion of the associate degree.)

           5. Students are not eligible for GPA improvements under the Course Retake Policy after Academic Forgiveness has been                applied.

           6. A student who has been granted Academic Forgiveness must earn a minimum of 30 credit hours from the point of                    readmission to be eligible to receive a baccalaureate degree.

           7. Any academic probations, suspensions, or dismissals from forgiven semesters will not be forgiven. They will count                    when the Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Policy is applied to the student's record after readmission.

           8. Any punitive grades awarded as the result of an Academic Honesty case will not be forgiven. Grades of A,                                B, C, D, F, or WF will continue to be used to calculate the student’s cumulative grade point average. Grades of S or                 U will not have any impact on the student's grade point average.

*Attempted hours include all courses that contribute to the GPA, including those for which the student received credit by earning grades of A, B, C, or D or for which the student did not receive credit due to grades of F, WF, or I.

This policy became effective Fall 2001. The conditions of this policy cannot be appealed.