Academic Forgiveness

Conditions and Criteria 

  • Qualified students may receive Academic Forgiveness for a maximum of 24 semester hours for grades C- or lower. 
  • Forgiveness applies only to WCC courses, not courses at other institutions.
  • There is no guarantee, express or implied, that Academic Forgiveness will be recognized by any other college, university, or employer.
  • Courses that have been applied toward a WCC degree or certificate will not be considered under Academic Forgiveness.
  • If Academic Forgiveness is approved, the forgiven grade will no longer be calculated into the student’s GPA. The “forgiven” grade(s) will remain on the transcript along with a special notation explaining Academic Forgiveness.
  • In order for a student to qualify for Academic Forgiveness, the following conditions must be met:
    • ​​Except for requests pertaining to developmental education courses, at least 2 years must have elapsed since the end of the most recent semester included in forgiveness.
    • Except for requests pertaining to developmental courses, students must have earned a minimum of 12 credit hours at WCC since the most recent semester included in Academic Forgiveness and have a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0 or higher in those courses.​
      • For the purpose of calculating Academic Forgiveness, classes taken since the period of poor academic performance with a final grade of W, NP, U, AU (prior to S24), IX, or I as a final grade will count as F (failures). ​
    • A grade of C- or lower in a developmental corequisite course is eligible for Academic Forgiveness if the student earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the same semester in a co-enrolled college-level course that required the corequisite course. (Examples include a grade of C- or lower in ENG 111S and a grade of “C” or better in ENG 111, in the same semester can qualify for Academic Forgiveness.)
    • A grade of C- or lower in a developmental course is eligible for Academic Forgiveness if, after higher placement testing receives an appropriate Academic Level , or the student later earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the next sequential college-level course taken in the same subject area.​
      • ​Examples include:
        • ​Student earns a grade of C- or lower in ENG 111S and later earns an Academic Reading and Academic Writing of level 6, ENG 111S can then qualify for Academic Forgiveness.
        • Student earns a grade of C- or lower in MTH 125X and later earns an Academic Math Level of 3 or higher, MTH 125X can then qualify for Academic Forgiveness.
        • Student earns a grade of C- or lower in MTH 168 and later earns an Academic Math Level of 4 or higher, MTH 168 can then qualify for Academic Forgiveness 
  • Academic Forgiveness may be granted a maximum of two times. Once for developmental coursework and once for college-level coursework.
  • Academic Forgiveness is irrevocable. 

Procedure 

  • Students are required to meet with an Academic Advisor to initiate the Academic Forgiveness process.
  • The Academic Advisor will assist the student in completing the Academic Forgiveness application
  • The Academic Forgiveness application is submitted to the Registrar’s Office for review and processing
  • If the application is approved, the forgiven grades are removed from calculation of the cumulative WCC GPA, and an email indicating that the application has been approved and processed will be sent to the student’s WCC email address
  • If the application is denied, no adjustments to the cumulative WCC GPA calculation are made and an email is issued with notification that the application has been denied to the student’s WCC email address.