Title of Policy: Academic Amnesty
Policy No.#: 1.5004
Type of Policy: Administrative
Effective Date: July 1, 2021
Last Revised: New
Policy Owner: Academic Affairs
Policy Contact: Office of the Registrar
I. Reason for Policy
The purpose of the Academic Amnesty Policy is to provide previous FMU students who may have stopped out after one or more difficult semesters an opportunity to recover and graduate. This policy allows for a recalculation of the student’s GPA and would provide a chance for these students to successfully complete a degree.
II. Policy Statement
FMU allows for academic amnesty in the following two situations:
A. Returning Students: Students returning to FMU after a minimum of a four-calendar year break from higher education would be permitted to petition to remove up to two semesters of course work from their FMU record for the purpose of cumulative GPA calculation. The entire semester must be removed.
B. Students changing majors: Students who change their major may petition to have one semester of course work removed from their FMU record for the purpose of cumulative GPA calculation. The entire semester must be removed.
In both cases, the semester will remain on the transcript with a notation “Academic Amnesty Excluded from GPA” but will not be calculated in the cumulative grade point average. This policy is strictly academic in nature. For information regarding financial aid, consult the Office of Financial Aid.
Undergraduate students may petition for no more than two semesters of academic amnesty. Each semester must be treated as a whole; the student cannot choose individual classes in a semester. All petitions must be supported by sufficient documentation. Upon recalculation of the student’s GPA per this policy, returning students must meet the University’s standing readmission requirements.
Two (2) graded semesters for full-time students or four (4) graded semesters for part-time students (called an amnesty run) must be completed in order to initiate the academic amnesty. In cases where students have fewer than 24 credit hours to complete their degree, the amnesty run would extend through degree completion. Amnesty coursework will begin with the first course(s) taken upon return to the University. Students must maintain continuous enrollment, either full or part-time and remain in good academic standing during the academic amnesty run.
III. Scope
The Academic Amnesty Policy applies to undergraduate students who currently attend or have attended Florida Memorial University or Florida Memorial College.
IV. Definitions
| Term | Definition |
| Amnesty Run | Courses taken toward the degree once provisionary approval of amnesty has been granted. Generally, an amnesty run is two graded semesters for full-time students and four graded semesters for pmt-time students. For students who require fewer than 24 credit hours to complete their degree the amnesty nm would extend through the completion of the degree. The Amnesty Run coursework must be taken at Florida Memorial University. |
| Good academic standing | Refer to the academic catalog. |
V. Responsibilities
The Office of Academic Affairs has oversight of this Policy.
VI. Enforcement
This Policy shall be enforced by the Office of the Registrar. Any employee who violates this Policy will be subject to disciplinary action that may result in warning, probation, suspension or separation from the University. The University Policies and Procedures Library is updated regularly. In order to ensure a printed copy of this document is current, please access it online at http://policies.fmuniv.edu.