POL 6.031 Academic Amnesty

Academic amnesty is an action of forgiveness provided to certain students who have experienced a poor academic performance at Kirtland Community College. Through academic amnesty, a student may be awarded an opportunity to achieve success at Kirtland by removing the negative impact of less than “C” grade courses on the student’s academic transcript.   

To be eligible to apply for academic amnesty, a student must have:

1. A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of less than 2.00.
2. Completed at least six credit hours or more toward a new program of study and have maintained a 2.00 GPA or higher since beginning the new program.
3. Allowed at least one year to elapse between the poor academic performance period and requirement #2.

If academic amnesty is granted, it applies to all courses directly attributable to the specific program for which the student is seeking academic amnesty, as defined by the course catalog, and must be for one continuous period of enrollment. Other conditions include:

1. No coursework will be removed from a transcript.
2. A special notation explaining amnesty approval will be placed on the student’s transcript.
3. Honor points and credit hours attempted during the amnesty period will be subtracted from the current cumulative honor points and credit hours attempted. A new cumulative grade point average (GPA) will then be established.
4. Courses completed with a grade of “C” or better during the semester for which amnesty is granted can be used toward the student’s certificate or degree requirements but do not count toward the student’s GPA.
5. A student receiving academic amnesty will not be allowed to graduate with honors.
6. Academic amnesty, when granted, applies only to Kirtland Community College courses. There is no guarantee, expressed or implied, that academic amnesty will be recognized by any other college or university.
7. Awarding academic amnesty does not change a student’s financial aid history.
8. Academic amnesty can be granted only once to any student.

Adopted December 8, 1988
Revised August 19, 2021
Reviewed and Revised April 14, 2026