Lansing Community College
Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Academic Amnesty
Procedure #: RO.001
Revision #: 004

Unit Responsible: Registrar’s Office
Individual Responsible: Registrar

Effective Date: 04/15/2022
Initial Approval Date: 06/28/2019
Last Review/Update Date: 04/15/2022
Next Review Date: 04/01/2025

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 3.010 - Academic Amnesty

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria? Yes
If yes, identify: 3A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? No
If yes, identify: N/A

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Academic Amnesty, BP 3.010

1. Purpose

To authorize the elimination of a grade or grades of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U in calculating a student’s grade point average (GPA).


2. Scope

This policy applies to qualified students who receive grades of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U, resulting in a GPA possibly blocking their entrance into programs or fields of study.


3. Prerequisites

  • Qualified students may receive Academic Amnesty for a maximum of 18 semester hours (or its quarter/term equivalent) for grades of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U.
  • Amnesty applies only to LCC courses, not courses at other institutions.
  • There is no guarantee, express or implied, that Academic Amnesty will be recognized by any other college, university, or employer.
  • If Academic Amnesty is approved, the 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U will no longer be calculated into the student’s GPA. The “forgiven” grades will remain on the transcript along with a special notation explaining Academic Amnesty.
  • In order for a student to qualify for Academic Amnesty, the following conditions must be met:
    • Except for requests pertaining to developmental corequisite courses or developmental prerequisite courses, at least 2 years must have elapsed since the last grade for which amnesty is requested.
    • Except for requests pertaining to developmental corequisite courses or developmental prerequisite courses, the student must have earned a minimum of 12 semester college-level credits* at LCC, and have a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0 or higher in the courses taken since the last grade for which amnesty is being requested.
    • Courses with a “P” (Pass) grade will count toward the minimum 12 credit hours, but they cannot be counted toward the needed 2.0+ GPA.
    • A grade of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U in a developmental corequisite course is eligible for Academic Amnesty if the student earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the same semester in a co-enrolled college-level course that required the corequisite course. (Examples include a grade of 0.0F in MATH 097 and a grade of 2.0 in MATH 119 in the same semester, a grade of 0.0U in ENGL 098 and a grade of 3.0 in PSYC 200 in the same semester, a grade of 0.0F in ENGL 099 and a grade of 2.5 in ENGL 121 in the same semester, etc.).
    • A grade of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U in a developmental prerequisite course is eligible for Academic Amnesty if, after higher placement testing, the student later earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the next sequential college-level course taken in the same subject area. (Examples include a grade of 0.0U in MATH 106 in Fall and a grade of 3.0 in STAT 170 in Spring, a grade of 0.0F in ENGL 098 in Spring and a grade of 2.0 in ENGL 121 next Fall, etc.).
      • For the purposes of determining Academic Amnesty for developmental prerequisite courses, Mathematics and Statistics are considered the same subject area.
    • Academic Amnesty may be granted to any student only once for a developmental corequisite course or developmental prerequisite course.
  • Except for requests pertaining to developmental corequisite courses or developmental prerequisite courses, Academic Amnesty may be granted only once to any student.
  • Academic Amnesty is irrevocable.
  • The Petition/Application for Academic Amnesty must be received by the Registrar’s Office by the 10th week of the semester for consideration and action by the end of the semester. For additional information, please go to the Registrar’s webpage.


4. Responsibilities

The Registrar is responsible for preparing procedures to implement the Academic Amnesty Board Policy 3.010.


5. Procedure

  1. Student is required to meet with an Academic Advisor to initiate the Academic Amnesty process. Please go to the Academic Advising webpage for additional information.
  2. The Academic Advisor will assist the student in completing the Academic Amnesty application.
  3. The Academic Amnesty application is submitted to the Registrar’s Office for review and processing.
  4. If the application is approved, the 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U grades are removed from calculation of the cumulative LCC GPA, and a letter indicating that the application has been approved and processed is issued.
  5. If the application is denied, no adjustments to the cumulative LCC GPA calculation are made. A letter is issued with notification that the application has been denied, along with an email with the same information sent to the student’s LCC email address.


6. Reference

* Courses that are not college-level and cannot be considered in the GPA calculation for determining Academic Amnesty are listed at #7 in Institutional Requirements for Associate Degrees and Institutional Requirements for Certificates of Achievement and Certificates of Completion.


7. Definitions

Academic Amnesty can provide forgiveness for the following:

  • Any grade of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U when the student, after a period of at least 2 years since the last grade for which amnesty is being requested, has earned a minimum of 12 semester college-level credits at LCC, and has a cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0 or higher in the courses taken since the last grade for which amnesty is being requested.
  • Any grade of 0.0, 0.0F, or 0.0U in a developmental corequisite course or developmental prerequisite course when the student has earned a grade of 2.0 or higher in the college-level course which required the developmental course.
    • For a developmental corequisite course – when the student earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the same semester in a co-enrolled college-level course that required the corequisite course.
    • For a developmental prerequisite course – when, after higher placement testing, the student later earns a grade of 2.0 or higher in the next sequential college level course taken in the same subject area.