Policies and Procedures

The Trustees of the California State University system have established a program of Academic Renewal whereby students who are having difficulty meeting graduation requirements due to a GPA deficiency may petition to have up to two semesters or three quarters of previous college work discounted from all considerations associated with meeting requirements for the baccalaureate degree. Academic Renewal is intended only to facilitate graduation from CSUN and is not applicable for individuals who already possess a baccalaureate degree or who meet graduation requirements without the approval of a petition for Academic Renewal.

Conditions

In order to qualify for Academic Renewal, all of the following conditions established by the Trustees must be met:

1. Students must present evidence in the petition that the coursework to be disregarded was substandard and not representative of their present scholastic ability and level of performance due to extenuating circumstances.
2. Students must present evidence that if the petition is denied it would be necessary for them to enroll in additional coursework involving one or more additional terms in order to qualify for graduation. Students should include the specific coursework or requirements involved. Normally, students should have completed 90 units prior to filing the petition.
3. Five years must have elapsed since the term or terms to be disregarded were completed. Terms taken at any institution may be disregarded.
4. Since completion of the term(s) to be disregarded, students must have completed coursework at CSUN with at least one of the following:
   1. 15 semester units with at least a 3.0 GPA.
   2. 30 semester units with at least a 2.5 GPA.
   3. 45 semester units with at least a 2.0 GPA.

If and when the petition is granted, the student’s permanent academic record will be annotated so that it is readily evident to all users of the record that no work taken during the disregarded term(s), even if satisfactory, will apply toward baccalaureate graduation requirements. However, all work will remain legible on the record to ensure a true and complete academic history.

A final decision on the petition will be made by the Academic Renewal Review Committee. The committee will review petitions only if all of the basic requirements (indicated above) have been met. Normally, students will be notified of the decision within 60 days after the completed petition is submitted.

Petition Procedures

Students must take the following steps to petition for Academic Renewal:

1. Obtain an Undergraduate Petition form, available from Admissions and Records at the Bayramian Hall Student Services Center or online at Current Student Forms.
2. Complete the petition, indicating the specific terms that are requested to be discounted. In the “details” section of the petition students must write a specific statement concerning each of the four conditions listed above.