Graduate Academic Fresh Start Policy

Academic fresh start is a mechanism through which academic forgiveness for prior poor academic performance can be sought is available to both transfer and readmission students.  Candidates must apply for academic fresh start prior to the conclusion of their first semester returning.  Applications for fresh start can be found in the office of admissions.

Eligibility:

1. A minimum period of at least 24 months has elapsed since the candidate last attended a graduate school.
2. This is the first time the candidate has been granted academic forgiveness at Tusculum University or any other graduate program.
3. Candidates who were dismissed for academic misconduct from their previous institution are not eligible for academic fresh start.
4. Degrees that lead to professional licensure may be excluded from this policy.  Applicants should confer with program Deans.

Process:

1. The student’s permanent academic record will remain a record of all course work and will include “granted academic fresh start” and the effective date.  However, courses taken and previously failed will be excluded from the calculation of the GPA.  Course with a D grade will also be excluded from the GPA calculation and total credits earned when a C or better is required in the student’s current major.  The GPA and total credits earned will reflect all other courses for which passing grades are earned.
2. The program applied to at time of application will be utilized in determining the candidate’s academic fresh start plan.  Courses excluded from the GPA calculation will not be reviewed or reconsidered should the student change majors after the academic fresh start has been applied.
3. Grades for courses transferred from other institutions will be included in the candidate’s GPA and are subject to TU’s policy on transfer courses.  FRESH START cannot be used to remove credits from conferred degrees.  Graduate academic transcripts will reflect all graduate credit and all grades earned.
4. The application of retained credit toward degree requirements will be determined by the requirements in effect when the academic fresh start is conferred.  Program specific requirements including transfer requirements must be met and supersede this policy. 
5. Students in academic fresh start will be subject to TU’s academic retention standards.  Academic Fresh Start does not alter financial aid requirements and regulations.  Federal guidelines that govern satisfactory progress to a degree as it relates to financial aid will be enforced for all graduate credit earned.  It is the student’s responsibility to understand the regulations regarding financial aid and to seek appropriate input from the Office of Financial Aid.
6. Once these changes are processed, the outcomes are final and immutable.