PS-03.A.08 - Undergraduate Academic Amnesty
Effective Date: 5/3/2024
Issue #: 8
President: Dr. Loren J. Blanchard
1. Purpose
1.1 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 grade point average (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 student's GPA. 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.
2.2 Academic Fresh Start is established per Texas Government Code Sec. 51.931, where a Texas resident is entitled to apply for admission as an undergraduate student in any public institution of higher education under the fresh start program. The university shall not consider academic course credits or grades earned by the applicant 10 or more years prior to the starting date of the semester in which the applicant seeks to enroll. An applicant who is admitted with a fresh start may not receive any course credit for courses undertaken 10 or more years prior to enrollment. If a student earns a baccalaureate degree and applies for admission to a postgraduate or professional program offered by a public institution of higher education, the institution shall consider only the GPA of the applicant established by the course work completed after enrollment under the fresh start program, along with any other criteria the institution uses in evaluating applicants for admission. Nothing prohibits a public institution of higher education from applying standard admissions criteria to persons seeking admission to the institution.
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 UHD GPA of less than 2.0 may apply for Academic Amnesty. Whether a student receives amnesty will be determined by the Academic Dismissal Committee as described in PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Warning, Probation, and Suspension.
3.2 Returning students may apply for Amnesty by submitting the amnesty form. Applications will be reviewed by 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 Applications will be reviewed the first Monday of each month, with the Academic Dismissal committee's response no later than three weeks. An applicant may apply only once in fall or spring. If the student submits an incomplete application, the committee will notify the applicant and may allow the student to provide missing materials to complete the application for that cycle.
3.4 An undergraduate student readmitted under the academic amnesty policy must return as a declared pre-major. Once they complete the required 12 hours to comply with section 3.5, they can declare their intended graduation major if they are eligible.
3.5 A full time student (12 or more hours per semester) who returns under academic amnesty must earn a GPA of at least 2.5 in the first term they enroll. Part time students (minimum 6 semester hours per semester) must achieve a GPA of 2.5 in first two terms they enroll. If the student does not maintain a 2.0 term GPA they will be dismissed from UHD, as described in PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Warning, Probation, and Suspension.
3.6 If the student attains a 2.5 GPA in the 12 credit hours, as described in 3.5, 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 student's GPA. The amnesty provision applies only to the application of credit toward a degree and computation of the student's GPA. No grades on the student's permanent record are altered or deleted.
3.7 If a student earns a GPA less than 2.5 but at least 2.0 in the first 12 credit hours, they may continue as described in PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Warning, Probation, and Suspension, but will not be granted academic amnesty (that is, all previous grades will count).
4. Procedures
4.1 Procedures are embedded within the policy section.
5. Review Process
Responsible Party (Reviewer): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
Review Period: Every five years on or before June 1, and as necessary.
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
Issue #7: 09/01/22
Issue #8: 05/03/24 (this issue)
7. References
PS 03.A.07 Undergraduate Academic Warning, Probation, and Suspension
Texas Government Code Sec. 51.931
8. Exhibits
There are no exhibits associated with this PS.