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Administrative policy regarding grade point average adjustment

  1. Purpose. The grade point average (GPA) adjustment policy provides students a second chance at pursuing their academic goals.
  2. Eligibility. To be eligible for a GPA adjustment, students must meet all the following conditions at the time of the request: officially admitted, reenrolled or reinstated to Kent state university; undergraduate status; and seeking a degree or certificate and enrolled in Kent state university credit courses. Students who are dismissed may apply for grade adjustment if they appeal and are reinstated.
    1. Students with a previous undergraduate degree or certificate and currently enrolled in a subsequent undergraduate program are eligible with the following stipulations:
      1. Students who earned a Kent state university associate or bachelor’s degree or certificate may request a grade adjustment for failed grades (N, NF, SF, U) and only C-, D+ and D grades for the courses that were not used toward earning the previous degree or certificate.
      2. Students who earned a non-Kent state university associate or bachelor’s degree or certificate may request a grade adjustment for failed grades (N, NF, SF, U) earned before or after the awarded degree or certificate and only C-, D+ and D grades earned after the awarded degree or certificate.
  3. Procedure.
    1. To apply for a GPA adjustment, students must complete the following steps:
      1. Meet with an academic advisor to begin an application.
      2. Provide a written statement describing their plan to assure successful academic performance in the future.
      3. Select a maximum of six courses with grades C-, D+, D, F, NF, SF, M and/or U to be forgiven.
    2. Once the steps outlined in this rule have been completed, the office of the university registrar will remove the student-selected grades from the calculation of the student’s GPA and earned hours. The grades will be retained on the student's transcript with the notation of an “E” (excluded) in the repeat column. The official grade for the courses will be changed to X* (e.g., XC-, XD) to denote a grade adjustment.
  4. Supplementary information.
    1. The GPA adjustment policy applies only to coursework taken at Kent state university and only to the students’ Kent State transcript. Students cannot request the policy for grades earned from transfer courses.
    2. The GPA adjustment policy applies only to coursework taken at Kent state university and only to the students’ Kent State transcript. Students cannot request the policy for grades earned from transfer courses.
    3. Students cannot request the policy for courses taken for a pass/fail grade. \
    4. The course must officially be recorded on the student’s transcript for grade adjustment to be considered.
    5. Students selecting a GPA adjustment for a course required to graduate with their declared program must retake this course unless the dean of the college in which they are enrolled approves a suitable substitution.
    6. The original GPA (includes any courses under the GPA adjustment policy) will be used in determining eligibility for Latin honors, distinction or other recognition, as well as satisfactory academic progress eligibility for federal financial aid, based upon the entirety of students’ undergraduate academic career and record of academic performance.
    7. A student may submit multiple requests for GPA adjustment until the maximum six courses is met or the student graduates with that degree or certificate, whichever comes first. Students cannot request this policy for a course in a degree or certificate program after that degree or certificate has been awarded.
    8. Students who participated in academic forgiveness in the past may request the policy if they had fewer than six courses removed from their GPA and earned hours under the previous policy. Maximum six courses may be removed under previous and proposed policy, combined.
    9. Once the course grade and credit hours have been removed from the student’s GPA and earned hours, they will not, under any circumstances, be reinstated.
    10. A graduate school may review a student’s complete undergraduate record (including any courses under the GPA adjustment policy) when making admission decisions.
Policy Effective Date:
Oct 01, 2022
Policy Prior Effective Dates: 
11/4/1977, 3/11/1982, 6/1/2007, 8/21/2012, 8/25/2014, 3/1/2015
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