If a student has not been enrolled as a full-time student for at least five years, there may be a possibility that F’s and/or D’s may be ignored in calculating the grade point averages. This policy applies only to students re-admitted or transferred after July 1995. See the Academic Forgiveness Request Form (pink) on the wall rack in the Registrar’s reception area. Mail or bring the form to:
Office of the Registrar
P.O. Box 5000
110 Ikenberry Hall
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV 25443-5000
Only the students readmitted after July 1995 will be eligible for forgiveness under this policy. This policy supersedes all previous academic forgiveness policies at Shepherd University.
Academic forgiveness is intended for the student who is returning to school with a grade point deficit and who has not been enrolled as a full-time student (12 or more credit hours) in any institution of higher learning during the five consecutive academic years immediately preceding the readmission semester. A student who does not normally qualify for readmission because of low GPA may be admitted and placed on academic probation, unless he/she has been placed on final academic suspension. When forgiveness is granted, grades of either 1) F and IF or 2) F, IF, and D earned prior to the five consecutive academic year period immediately preceding the beginning of the readmission semester are excluded from the computation of the grade point average including those grades that appear as transferred grades on the official transcript. However, no grade will be removed from the permanent record. The academic forgiveness policy may be applied after a student has earned 12 credit hours that apply toward graduation with a minimum GPA of 2.0. These 12 hours must be earned at Shepherd University.
Academic forgiveness will be granted only once for any student. The registrar will give consideration to a request for forgiveness when he/she receives a signed, written request from the student which certifies that the student has not been enrolled as a full-time student (12 or more credit hours) in any institution of higher learning during the five consecutive academic years immediately preceding the readmission semester. In this request the student will indicate where he/she wishes to have excluded from the GPA calculation 1) all F or IF grades or 2) all F, IF, and D grades. If a student chooses to have all D grades excluded from the GPA calculation, it is with the understanding that the courses for which the grade of D was earned cannot be used to satisfy any requirement. Should the student have attended any institution of higher education on a part-time basis during the specified five-year period, he/she must have earned at least a 2.0 GPA in all course work attempted. (Students who were admitted as a readmit or transfer for the fall 1995 semester will be able to apply for the forgiveness option before the end of the spring 1996 semester.) The student’s request for forgiveness must be submitted during the readmission semester, and it must identify the non-enrollment period. If all prerequisite conditions have been met, academic forgiveness will be granted at the time the current GPA is calculated officially by the registrar upon completion of the readmission semester.
The academic forgiveness policy does not alter, change, or amend any other existing policies at Shepherd University and is formulated to be consistent with Series 20 of the West Virginia Board of Directors. A student who has incurred three academic suspensions from any institution of higher education is, therefore, on final academic suspension and does not qualify for forgiveness. A student may, however, appeal the final suspension to the Admissions and Credits Committee if he/she does so according to the procedure set for the Academic Suspension section of the Shepherd University Catalog. If the third suspension is repealed, the student may then apply for forgiveness by submitting a written request to the registrar as stipulated previously. This policy pertains only to the calculation of the GPA required for graduation and does not pertain to GPA calculated for special academic recognitions (such as graduating with honors) or to the requirements for professional certification which may be within the province of licensure boards, external agencies, or the West Virginia Board of Education. The Regents Bachelor Arts Program is governed by a different forgiveness policy.
The University is not bound by the decision of any other institution to disregard grades earned in university-level courses. Similarly, students should be aware that academic forgiveness extended by this University may not be recognized by other institutions to which they may transfer.