Academic Amnesty Procedure - Procedure 4.0302

Purpose:

The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidelines for college credit students to petition for academic relief due to a poor academic history.

Procedure:

Students who have earned a minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) at SCC and completed 25% of the program course requirements at SCC may petition to have grades excluded from the cumulative GPA calculation.

The following process will apply:

1. Credits to be excluded must have been earned 5 or more years prior to the date the request is received by the Admissions and Graduation Committee.
2. Only credits with the grade of either a "D" or an "F" are eligible for exclusion. Students may not select specific courses or specific terms; the request covers all "D" and "F" grades for the entire prior record that is 5 or more years old.
3. The exclusion of credits is a one-time privilege at SCC.
4. If the request is granted, the credit exclusion will apply to all credits and grades of "D" and "F" earned prior to the date specified, and the student will not be permitted to count any of those credits toward graduation, pre-requisite requirements, or program completion.
5. The excluded courses and grades will remain on the student's permanent record (transcript), but will not be considered in grade point average computations at Seminole Community College.
6. A student requesting credit exclusion must be made aware through the college catalog and website that the credit exclusion option, if granted, may not be honored by other colleges and universities; other institutions may continue to consider the older credits and grades in evaluating the student's work.
7. The granting of credit exclusion does not excuse the student from Florida law, SCC policy, or NCAA eligibility restrictions related to repeating courses, maximum attempts allowed, GPA calculations, or compliance with other applicable Florida law and SCC policies.
8. Students must have earned a minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) at Seminole Community College and completed 25% of the program course requirements at Seminole Community College before requesting "Academic Amnesty."
9. The student may not declare Academic Amnesty after he or she has earned an associate's degree, regardless of the institution.
10. Academic Amnesty has no effect on the federal and state student financial aid standards of academic progress. Financial aid recipients who have been placed on academic probation, academic suspension, academic suspension waiver, or who have exceeded the maximum number of attempted credits should contact the SCC financial aid office for any applicable financial aid appeal procedures.
11. Seminole Community College does not recognize amnesty or similar policies from other institutions; therefore, courses and grades excluded at other institutions via that institutions amnesty or similar policy will not be excluded at SCC. The student may choose to apply for Academic Amnesty at SCC once he or she meets the outlined requirements.

The SCC Admissions and Graduation Committee will determine a student's eligibility for "Academic Amnesty."

The following criteria will apply:

1. The student must complete and submit a "Request for Academic Amnesty" form.
2. The student must have a written academic plan approved by the appropriate department chair, academic dean, and academic counselor/advisor. This plan must include:
   
   • The specific college transcripts and the designated semesters of the student's academic history to be excluded.
   • Approved courses in which the student will enroll during the completion of the degree; and
   • Any additional requirements mandated by the college (i.e., academic advising or mentoring, required tutoring or academic support services, etc.)
   With the exception of the credits requested to be excluded, the student must have earned at least a 2.5 GPA overall in coursework taken at SCC.
   
   With the exception of the credits requested to be excluded, the student must have completed 25% of the program course requirements (exclusive of preparatory courses) at SCC.
   
   Courses taken at another institution will not be considered when computing the student's overall GPA or 25% program course requirements for eligibility.

Did you know?

You can complete a UCF bachelor's degree in select programs at SCC's Sanford/Lake Mary campus.