WCU is piloting an Academic Forgiveness Policy to allow undergraduate students to
continue their education without investing their time and resources in repeating courses
unnecessarily. The policy allows students to progress toward degree completion without
repeating failed courses that are not required for their major. While this option
is open to all students, it is often most valuable to students who have changed their
major.
By offering an opportunity for academic forgiveness, the university hopes students may continue their education without unnecessarily investing
the time and resources in repeating courses.
Policy Intention: Academic Forgiveness is available to all currently enrolled undergraduate students,
the spirit of the policy stems from the university’s desire to support continued progress
for students who may have changed their major and as a result, would not benefit from
repeating courses taken for their original major. However, in accordance with WCU’s
Policy on Policies, it is important to ensure that policies do not impact one group
over another in a discriminatory fashion nor benefit one group at the expense of another,
thus the proposition to allow the application of said proposed policy to all currently
enrolled students.
Policy: Undergraduate students may improve their overall GPA by invoking Academic Forgiveness,
the exclusion of a maximum of three courses (not to exceed 12 credit hours) in which
the student received a grade of D (+/-), F, or Z. When Academic Forgiveness is applied,
the course grade is excluded from the student’s GPA calculation.
If the original course had earned the student credit (D grades), the credit will remain
as earned and count towards degree completion. A transcript notation of Academic Forgiveness
is applied.
Note: Academic Forgiveness differs from the undergraduate repeat policy which allows students to repeat courses to replace the original grade. Students must
utilize the undergraduate repeat policy if repeating the course is required for their
degree progression. Similarly, required courses for minors, certificates, or certification
programs are not eligible for Academic Forgiveness
Additional Policy notes:
The forgiven courses remain on the student's permanent academic record/transcript
along with the original grade. However, the grade is not calculated into the student’s
overall GPA. If the original course had earned the student credit (D grades), the
credit will remain as earned and count towards degree completion. A transcript notation
of Academic Forgiveness is applied.
Students can petition to invoke Academic Forgiveness.
Courses cannot be both repeated and forgiven. If a student re-enrolls in a course,
the repeat policy is invoked, and that course cannot be subsequently forgiven.
Please be aware that forgiveness cannot be recognized for federal financial aid eligibility.
Per Title IV regulations, the Office of Financial Aid must include all grades and
attempted credits in the calculation for satisfactory academic progress.
Courses are not eligible for Academic Forgiveness if they count toward the completion
of a student’s major (inclusive of cognates, directed General Education courses, and
directed Additional Baccalaureate Requirements).
If a forgiven course is required in a student’s new major, the student may need to
repeat the course
Major electives are only eligible for Academic Forgiveness if they are not fulfilling
a requirement (e.g., if the student can take a different elective to satisfy the requirement).
The following are also not eligible for Academic Forgiveness:
First Year Experience (FYE) courses (Note: FYE Repair is the alternative)
English Composition (WRT) courses
Course grades applied under the COVID-19 Alternative Grading Policy
Course grades that result from violations of Academic Integrity
Is any student eligible for academic forgiveness? Every current student can be considered for academic forgiveness. Students who are
currently enrolled, or enrolling for an upcoming semester can apply.
How do course repeats and forgiveness work together? If a student has already repeated the course, and no longer needs to repeat the course
to remain on track towards graduation, the last attempt can be forgiven.
How will academic forgiveness affect my GPA? Forgiven courses remain on the student’s transcript, but are not calculated into the
student’s GPA.
Will academic forgiveness appear on my transcript? Yes, forgiven courses remain on the student’s transcript with a note indicating the
course grade was forgiven.
Who approves my request? To ensure forgiveness is applied to best support student progress, requests are reviewed
by the student’s major department and college dean.
How long do request reviews normally take? The timeline can fluctuate over the year based on the number of pending requests.
Students should estimate two to three weeks for reviews to be completed and their
record to be updated if approved. Students are welcome to reach out to studentsuccess@wcupa.edu for updates.
Are there reasons academic forgiveness might be denied? Academic forgiveness can be denied if the students is required to repeat the course
to complete their degree requirement.