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Purpose: The Academic Forgiveness Policy (AFP) is for students who have previously attended Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) but stopped attending for various reasons and are now seeking re-entry. The program offers students a “clean slate” of up to 24 credits from their previous academic record once the University approves the readmission per the readmission process.
Scope: The policy only applies to undergraduate degree-seeking students who have sought readmission to Saginaw Valley State University after leaving, regardless of major or degree program.
Eligibility: Undergraduate students seeking Academic Forgiveness must meet the following criteria:
- Have NOT earned a previous bachelor’s degree from an accredited higher education institution.
- Students with an earned SVSU certificate may not forgive any coursework required of the certificate.
- Stopped attending Saginaw Valley State University for at least three (3) consecutive years since stopping out.
- Applied for and been readmitted following Saginaw Valley State University’s readmission policy.
Policy: Under the policy, only readmitted undergraduate degree-seeking students may request the exclusion of up to 24 course credits from their grade point calculation. The following conditions must be met:
- Applied for and been re-admitted to Saginaw Valley State University per the University’s readmission policy and have met the eligibility requirements above.
- Completed any necessary academic placement testing or remedial coursework with satisfactory grades per the University’s Basic Skills Course Requirement and Course Placement Tests.
- Upon the student’s approved readmission, academic forgiveness must be requested during the first readmitted semester, and an academic plan (including course exclusions) must be completed in consultation with the Academic Advisement Center.
- Courses with a grade of D or below will be considered for academic forgiveness. Unique major or degree program requirements will be handled individually based on consultation with the Academic Advisement Center and Academic Department when applicable.
- General education courses may be forgiven if the student completes another course for the associated general education category and fulfills that general education category. Example: a student fails CHEM 111/111L, seeks forgiveness on readmission, completes PHYS 107, and fulfills the CAT 4 requirement. The five CHEM 111/111L credits could be petitioned for academic forgiveness.
- All courses under the AFP remain on the student’s transcript. Classes will be annotated with an ‘AF’ indicating “Academic Forgiveness” and moved to the “Other Courses” section on the SVSU Academic Evaluation. Annotated course grades will be excluded from the new university grade point calculation, and students will be allowed a fresh start toward their degree progression.
- The student will be required to complete at least 12 additional credits at SVSU with a minimum GPA of 2.000 or higher to have academic forgiveness applied to their academic evaluation.
Academic Forgiveness Policy Provisions:
- No student may graduate under the requirements of an academic catalog published more than six calendar years before the date of graduation. If readmitted, students must follow all the requirements and regulations in the catalog current at the time of readmission. This will be determined by the Registrar’s Office.
- Any course(s) granted academic forgiveness by the Registrar’s Office are forgiven but NOT waived. Students must fulfill all University and degree requirements outlined in the catalog upon readmission.
- Any course(s) granted academic forgiveness by the Registrar’s Office will restart the Course Repeat policy, which states, “No course can be repeated at SVSU more than twice for a grade. Appeals for additional repeats may be made to the dean of the appropriate college.”
- For academic programs requiring a secondary application or admissions process, students who have stopped out and then re-admitted to the University will need to reapply based on the current secondary admission requirements.
- For academic programs with a defined cohort capacity (i.e., lab-based programs), students readmitted and granted academic forgiveness will be subject to the academic program’s cohort or seating availability before being able to matriculate into a degree-seeking program.
- Once a course or grade has been forgiven, it cannot be reinstated.
- Students may only request academic forgiveness once; if approved, it is irrevocable. The student’s academic standing will be set to “Good Academic Standing.”
Procedures: Under this policy, the following action must occur:
1. Initiate Electronic Form: The student (or Academic Advising), following consultation with the Academic Advisement Center and/or Academic Department (when indicated) as part of the readmission program, will initiate an AFP request through Dynamic Forms. The form should include the following information:
- Student’s name and ID number
- Course numbers and titles
- Semester and year the courses were taken.
- Grade received.
- Reason for exclusion of up to twenty-four (24) credits.
2. Review: The Registrar’s Office will receive the submitted Dynamic form and review the student’s request, verifying eligibility based on the policy criteria. Once the review is complete, the Registrar’s Office will notify the student of the decision within twenty (20) business days.
3. Decision: The Registrar’s Office decision will include:
- Approved: All approved courses will be annotated with an ‘AF’ indicating academic forgiveness and moved to the “Other Courses” section on their SVSU Academic Evaluation for further reference. Annotated course grades will be excluded from the new university grade point calculation, and students will be allowed a fresh start toward their degree progression.
- Deny: Academic forgiveness is not granted. Courses remain in the current location, and the associated grades will continue to affect the overall GPA.
4. Notification of Decision: The student will receive written notification of the decision via their official university email address.
5. Notice to Students: Students may only request academic forgiveness once; if approved, it is irrevocable. The student’s academic standing will be set to “Good Academic Standing.”
Implementation: This policy will be implemented beginning in the 2024 academic year.
Exclusions: An undergraduate student under the AFP may NOT apply for grade exclusion under the Grade Exclusion Policy.
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