A-046 Amnesty

Code: A-046
Date: September 19, 2011
Revised: December 20, 2011
Approved: Ronald A. Wood

Southwest Minnesota State University

Policy

Amnesty

Amnesty Policy for a previous SMSU student: The Amnesty Policy will allow a previous SMSU student who has not attempted or completed any college or university credits for at least five years have his or her original SMSU academic record totally forgiven under the following conditions:

1. The student may not transfer any credit from another academic institution.
2. The previous academic record at SMSU shows a GPA of less than 2.0.
3. The restarting student must attend SMSU for a semester and successfully complete at least 9 credits with a minimum 2.5 GPA before the original academic record is erased.
4. The academic record is not erased in terms of financial aid attempted credits. Financial aid will still consider all courses taken and grades in the GPA, completion rate and maximum timeframe calculations for purposes of financial aid.
5. Academic amnesty will not be granted if a student has received a degree using the credits.

When the above conditions are met, the student submits a written request to the Office of Records and Registration. The office of Records and Registration will make the following adjustments on the student’s transcript:

1. The transcript will indicate the point of amnesty.
2. No credits will be granted for courses completed prior to the point of amnesty. However, the grades will remain on the transcript.
3. The previous credits and grades that a student earned (usually some years ago) are ignored in the calculation of the student’s cumulative credits attempted, cumulative credits earned, and GPA. The courses, however, remain on the transcript. The bracket symbol [ ] shall be placed around all courses included in a student’s academic amnesty.