Skip to navigation Skip to content

Academic Renewal

Returning to the University

A student who returns to the University of Missouri to pursue an undergraduate degree after an extended absence may request permission to remove one or more complete academic terms from future degree and GPA considerations.

(Some universities may refer to academic renewal as academic forgiveness.)

Eligibility

To be eligible for academic renewal consideration, a student must meet these requirements:

  • Student must have not been enrolled as degree-seeking at University of Missouri or any other University of Missouri System campus for four or more consecutive years.
  • Student must not have graduated from the University of Missouri.
  • Student must either:
    • be admitted as degree-seeking and have earned a minimum of 12.0 credits hours with a minimum GPA of record of 2.5 for those hours at the University of Missouri within the past 12 months; or
    • have attended as a non-degree-seeking student and have earned thereby a minimum of 12.0 credit hours with a minimum GPA of record of 2.5 for those hours at the University of Missouri within the past 12 months and subsequently have been admitted as degree-seeking by the university.

Conditions

Academic renewal is based on the following conditions:

  • All courses and credits taken during the chosen terms will be removed from consideration for GPA and degree requirements. Students may not combine individual courses from multiple terms to compose the semester(s) dropped. All courses and grades for the chosen terms will remain on the student’s academic record.
  • Renewal may be applied only to academic terms completed prior to the student’s extended absence.
  • Students may be granted only one academic renewal.
  • Students who choose academic renewal must meet the degree requirements of the University of Missouri undergraduate catalog at the time of their readmission.
  • Degree requirements met during the dropped terms must be repeated.
  • To be eligible for a degree, students must complete a minimum of 24 credits at the University of Missouri after the granting of academic renewal.

Procedures

  • Students should discuss their desire to pursue academic renewal with an academic adviser in the college they wish to enter.
  • Students should submit a petition for academic renewal to the Office of the University Registrar.
  • For each term approved for academic renewal, a note will appear on the transcript.

Policy Source: Faculty Council, Article VII, No. 10

Add/Drop & Withdrawal