PS-03.A.08 - Undergraduate Academic Amnesty
EFFECTIVE DATE: Sept. 1, 2022
ISSUE #: 7
PRESIDENT: Dr. Loren J. Blanchard
1. PURPOSE
This Policy Statement (PS) states University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) policy regarding the granting of academic amnesty.
2. DEFINITIONS
2.1 Academic Amnesty is the process by which a former student can be readmitted to UHD while removing poor grades from the calculation of their GPA. If a student is admitted under amnesty, and satisfies the conditions described in 3.6, then all courses with grades of “F” or “D” earned prior to readmission are ignored in applying credit toward fulfillment of degree requirements and in future computations of the students grade point average. The amnesty provision applies only to the application of credit toward a degree and computation of the student’s grade point average. No grades on the student’s permanent record are altered or deleted.
3. POLICY
3.1 An undergraduate student who has not been an enrolled student at UHD for at least two years, and who is returning with a cumulative GPA of less than 2.0 may apply for Academic Amnesty. Whether a student receives amnesty will be determined by the Academic Dismissal Committee, made up of the Assistant Deans from every College, as per their established protocols.
3.2 Returning students may apply for Amnesty either through the Dean’s office of the college that housed their major when they left UHD, or through the college that houses their new desired major. Applications will then be forwarded to the Academic Dismissal Committee. Students requesting amnesty should apply at least six weeks before the beginning of the Spring or Fall regular academic session.
3.3 An undergraduate student readmitted under the academic amnesty policy must return as a declared major; if they are ineligible for their chosen major, or do not declare one, they will be enrolled in the BS Interdisciplinary Studies program.
3.4 A student who returns under academic amnesty must earn a GPA of at least 2.0 in each term they enroll until they reach 24 hours since being admitted into the amnesty program, otherwise they will be dismissed from UHD, as described in PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Probation and Suspension.
3.5 If the student attains a 2.5 GPA in the 24 credit hours after readmission, all courses with grades of “F” or “D” earned prior to readmission are ignored in applying credit toward fulfillment of degree requirements and in future computations of the students grade point average. The amnesty provision applies only to the application of credit toward a degree and computation of the student’s grade point average. No grades on the student’s permanent record are alte red or deleted.
3.6 If a student earns a GPA less than 2.5 but at least 2.0 in the first 24 credit hours, they may continue in good standing, but will not be granted academic amnesty (that is, all previous grades will count).
4. PROCEDURES
Procedures for this policy are imbedded in the Policy section.
5. REVIEW PROCESS
Responsible Party (Reviewer): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Review: This policy is valid for one year from the date of issue.
Signed original on file in Human Resources.
6. POLICY HISTORY
Issue #1: 08/11/81
Issue #2: 11/15/93
Issue #3: 06/22/15
Issue #4: 04/11/17
Issue #5: 05/23/18
Issue #6: 05/24/21
7. REFERENCES
PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Probation & Suspension