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	Academic Warning UPDATED! Academic Probation NEW! Academic Suspension UPDATED! Readmission from Suspension Grade Forgiveness Policy Adjusted Resident Credit ACES - Readmission from Suspension Program Contact Us

Grade Forgiveness Policy (GFP)

Students who receive a grade of C- or lower may repeat that same course to improve the overall grade point average (GPA). Once the course is retaken only the second grade earned, whether higher or lower than the original grade, will be calculated in the GPA.

Here are two examples:

Sam received a D- in MATH 300 during the fall semester. He _decided to retake MATH 300 during the spring semester and _finished with a B+. The D- is no longer factored into Sam's GPA, _only the B+.
Joan received a D in PSYC 201 during the fall semester. She _decided to retake PSYC 201 during the summer semester and _finished the course with an F. The D is no longer factored into _Joan's GPA, only the F.

GRADE FORGIVENESS POLICY CHANGE--UPDATED 5/14/09

The Grade Forgiveness Policy has been revised effective with the fall 2009 Undergraduate Catalog. The new policy states: "Students who receive a grade of C- or lower (grades of C-, D+, D, D-, F and WF) may repeat up to five courses to improve the overall grade point average. A course may be repeated once with grade forgiveness applied. Grade forgiveness is automatically applied only to the first repeat of a course with an original grade of C- or less, regardless of how many times the student may elect to repeat the course for other reasons." (Changes are indicated in red.)

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
To clarify for students and advisors, this means that a student may use grade forgiveness ONE TIME PER COURSE (as in the current policy) but ONLY FOR FIVE COURSES during the student's enrollment at the University (new policy). Students who have already used grade forgiveness, no matter how many times, will be able to use grade forgiveness an additional total of five times beginning this Fall. Once the five-time limit has been reached, grade forgiveness will not be applied, and all attempts at taking a course will be calculated into the student's attempted hours and GPA.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The process will work as follows:

If a course is repeated multiple times, only the first repeat of an individual course will be used to forgive the original course.

For example: A student earns a D in MATH 163, repeats the course and earns a lower grade, which forgives the first grade. The student then enrolls in the course a third time and earns a higher grade. Both the second and third grade will be used in cumulative GPA calculations.

Only the first five repeated courses will be forgiven. Students are not given an option to select which course might be forgiven.

QUESTIONS?
Students who have questions about how the new policy might affect them should first consult their academic advisor.

Important GFP points:

GFP occurs automatically once the retaken course has been completed.
GFP will not be applied to courses taken under the pass/fail option, the audit option, or which a grade of W or I was awarded.
Courses must be retaken at ODU for grade forgiveness.
GFP can only be used one time for a specific course.
Students receiving financial aid should consult their Financial Aid rep. before retaking a course.
All grades remain on the student's official transcript.

Adjusted Resident Credit (ARC)

Any undergraduate student who leaves Old Dominion University in academic difficulty and returns after one calendar year or more will be eligible. The following conditions governing eligibility will apply:

Important ARC points:

Student must have separated from ODU (voluntarily or through suspension) for at least one calendar year, and must have a GPA less than 2.00.
Upon return/readmission, student must attain a 2.00 GPA for all work attempted in the first 12 credit hours.
Student must submit the application for ARC to the Registrar's Office upon completing 12 credit hours.
ARC can only be used once during the student's career at ODU.

Under the ARC option:

Students will keep credit for courses in which grades of A, B, or C were earned prior to readmission.
Students will lose credit for courses in which grades of C-, D or F were earned prior to readmission.
The new GPA begins with the first 12 credit hours earned upon returning to ODU.