Academic Renewal Policy

About This Policy

The purpose of academic renewal is to allow a student the one-time opportunity to remove a maximum of 30 credit hours of poor academic performance from the grade point average (GPA) calculation.

Academic renewal applies only to courses taken at CCD and may only be awarded once. The original grades and credits remain on the permanent academic transcript and credit hours are deducted from your remaining COF stipend eligible hours. A notation indicating "academic renewal awarded" will be made on the official transcript and the grades will be excluded from the GPA. After being granted, academic renewal is irreversible. Credit excluded from the GPA calculation cannot be used to satisfy the requirements for completion of a certificate or degree.

The following conditions must be met to apply for academic renewal:

  • Up to 30 hours can be excluded from GPA, but those grades will remain on your transcript.
  • For courses to be eligible for academic renewal, you must not be enrolled at CCD for two calendar years.
  • You must then be enrolled and have completed at least six semester credit hours with a minimum 2.0 GPA since returning to CCD. For reverse transfer degree only, you may fulfill this requirement by demonstrating enrollment in at least 6 credit hours with a 2.0 term GPA during the last semester of attendance at the four-year institution.
  • The academic renewal form must include an academic advisor’s signature.
  • Only grades of D and F are eligible for academic renewal and exclusion from GPA calculation.

You are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor if you are concerned about a poor academic record to discuss other academic progress options and strategies for academic success.

The academic renewal policy is only applicable to CCD. Other institutions receiving a CCD transcript for transfer are not bound by CCD's policy and may choose to calculate your transfer GPA to include all grades, even those excluded by CCD under this policy.

Federal regulation dictates that academic renewal cannot impact a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standing for financial aid. CCD must use the original grade point average (GPA) when calculating the measures for SAP.

While applying for academic renewal, you are responsible for investigating the potential impact of academic renewal on transfer admission, financial aid, veteran's benefits and other agencies and organizations.