Academic Renewal Regulations

Per Title 5, section 55044, Academic Renewal permits the alleviation of previously recorded sub-standard (D and F) academic performance that is not reflective of a student’s present demonstrated academic ability and level of performance. The permanent academic record shall be annotated in such a manner that all work remains legible, ensuring a true and complete academic history.

  1. A student may request that up to 18 units substandard course work attempted be annotated and disregarded in the computation of the student’s grade point average or requirements for a degree. Only those requested courses with substandard grades will be disregarded.
  2. Twelve (12) months must have passed since attempting the course work to be excluded from GPA calculation.
  3. Courses from other regionally accredited colleges or universities will be accepted to provide evidence of academic ability. Students must provide official transcripts.
  4. Evidence of academic ability since the 18 units in question shall include one of the following:
    •  15 semester units with a minimum of 3.00 GPA
    •  30 semester units with a minimum of 2.50 GPA
    •  45 semester units with a minimum of 2.00 GPA
  5. A student may be granted academic renewal only once.
  6. No alleviated coursework shall apply toward degree requirements.
  7. In the petition, the student must specify the course(s) to be considered under the academic renewal policy as well as the term in which the coursework was attempted.
  8. Some institutions do not honor academic renewal. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the transfer institution will approve of academic renewal from College of the Desert.
  9. Academic renewal will not be used to qualify for graduation honors.

The Academic Renewal Form may be downloaded from the Admissions & Records Office webpage under Forms and submitted electronically.

Annotation of Record

All course work will remain legible on the student’s permanent record (transcript), ensuring a true and complete academic history. However, the student’s permanent record will be annotated so that it is readily evident to all users of the record that the units are to be disregarded and may not apply to certificate, degree, or general education requirements.