Academic Policies

Academic Renewal for Undergraduate Students

Under certain circumstances, an undergraduate student may apply to the Office of the Registrar for Academic Renewal. Academic Renewal allows students to have grades for a particular period of time excluded from the grade-point-average (GPA). If the qualifications are met, the student may have a maximum of four consecutive semesters of course work disregarded in all calculations regarding academic standing, grade-point-average, and eligibility for graduation. If summer work is to be included in the work to be disregarded, a five-week summer term shall count as one-half semester.

A student must meet with an academic advisor in his/her college dean’s office prior to submitting the application to the Office of the Registrar.

To qualify for Academic Renewal, the following conditions must be met:

• At the time the request is filed, a minimum of five years shall have elapsed since the most recent course work to be disregarded was completed.
• In the interval between the completion of the most recent course work to be disregarded and the filing of the request, the student shall have completed a minimum of 30 units of regularly graded course work at the University with a minimum grade-point-average of 2.500 on all work completed at the University in that interval.
• If more than one semester or term is to be disregarded, these shall be consecutive, completed within any 24-month period, and with no intervening enrollments at the University. The maximum of 24 months may be extended by one semester, if the time period includes a semester of involuntary absence by reason of disqualification.

Students considering Academic Renewal for a semester or term in which necessary courses are disregarded, including those used in a certified Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC), should be aware that they are responsible for satisfying the degree requirements fulfilled by those courses.    To complete their degree requirements, students have the following options:

• Repeat the same courses to fulfill the requirements;
• Select different courses, with the college advisor’s approval, that do not apply toward another degree requirement;
• For mathematics, foreign language and/or a specific science, establish proficiency with the completion of a higher level course;
• For freshman composition, submit a portfolio of writing samples to the Writing Program coordinator for review and possible completion of this requirement.

If the student satisfies the conditions for Academic Renewal under this policy, the Office of the Registrar will annotate the student’s permanent academic record to indicate that no work taken during the disregarded semester(s) or term(s), even if satisfactory, may apply toward graduation. However, all work will remain on the record, ensuring a true and accurate academic history.

Academic Renewal may be effected only once during a student’s undergraduate academic career and is not available to students who have completed requirements for a bachelor’s degree.