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Academic Renewal

Board Policy 4240

Previously recorded substandard academic performance may be disregarded if it is not reflective of a student’s demonstrated ability. The District Chancellor shall ensure that the Academic Senates of each college establish procedures that provide for academic renewal.

Administrative Procedure 4240

Based on Section 55046 of Title 5, Academic Renewal Without Course Repetition is an option available to a student whose previously recorded substandard academic work is not reflective of the student's demonstrated ability. A student may petition to have previously recorded, substandard course work at San Jose City College/Evergreen Valley College (with marks of “D,” “F,” “FW,” and “WF”) disregarded in the computation of the grade point average (GPA).

Students who wish to petition for Academic Renewal must meet the following requirements:

  1. The maximum number of units to be disregarded from GPA calculations shall be no more than 24 semester units at San Jose City College and no more than 24 semester units at Evergreen Valley College. Students do not have to select all of the courses taken in one semester for renewal; students may choose specific courses from more than one semester or term for this purpose.
  2.  A minimum of one year (at least two full semesters, Fall and Spring) must have elapsed since completion of the most recent term for which academic renewal is being sought.
  3. To qualify, students must have completed a minimum of 12 semester units of letter grade coursework with a 3.0 GPA or higher—or a minimum of 24 semester units of letter grade coursework with a 2.0 GPA or higher—in all lower and upper division course work completed after the most recent semester to be renewed. These units may be completed in SJECCD and/or at any college or university accredited by one of the six U.S. regional accreditation agencies. The student’s cumulative GPA after the most recent semester to be renewed will be used to determine eligibility for Academic Renewal. GPAs will not be rounded up.
  4. Courses previously applied toward a degree in SJECCD are not eligible for academic renewal.
  5. A graded course successfully repeated (with a grade of “C” or higher) to alleviate substandard academic work (per Section 55042 of Title 5) is not eligible for academic renewal. If the last attempt was unsuccessful, that substandard grade is eligible for academic renewal without course repetition (by petition) if the student meets the requirements.
  6. Students may only petition one time for academic renewal per college. Students do not have to be currently enrolled in SJECCD to petition for academic renewal.

When previously recorded, substandard course work is disregarded in the computation of grade point average, the permanent academic record (transcript) shall be annotated in such a manner that all work remains legible, insuring a true and complete academic history. Academic renewal actions are permanent and irreversible.

Academic Renewal granted by SJECCD does not guarantee that special programs or other institutions will honor such actions. The determination will be made by the respective program or transfer institution and is the responsibility of the student to research. Specifically, if Academic Renewal is used to earn an Associate Degree for Transfer (especially to establish a CSU-transferable GPA of at least 2.0), the college awarding the AD-T (SJCC or EVC) cannot guarantee that a CSU will accept this degree for transfer purposes. Students should check with the CSU campus (es) to which they are applying.

Financial Aid in SJECCD does not honor/allow Academic Renewal in the evaluation of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Grade point average computation for graduation with honors or other awards uses all work, including course work approved for academic renewal.

Academic Renewal is handled separately by each college for courses taken at that specific college. Students will request a one-hour appointment with a counselor to complete and submit the petition for Academic Renewal for that college. If a student wants to request Academic Renewal at both colleges, the student needs to meet separately with a counselor from each college and submit a separate petition to each college. Students must bring official transcripts to the appointment(s) if using coursework from another college or university to establish eligibility for the renewal. The completed petition is submitted to the college Admissions and Records Office by the counselor from that college. The student must receive a response to the request for Academic Renewal within ten (10) business days.