Academic Amnesty
Effective January 1, 2018, academic amnesty provides a “second chance” for eligible students who earned “F” grades earlier in their academic careers but now wish to return to CCC to earn a degree or certificate.
Eligibility
- Students who have not enrolled and received a final grade in credit bearing coursework at CCC for five (5) or more consecutive calendar years (minimum 15 academic terms) may apply for academic amnesty.
- Upon their return, students must complete at least one (1) term of credit bearing coursework (minimum 6 credit hours, excluding any development education coursework) and earn a term grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher calculated from their return to City Colleges. Academic amnesty will not be applied until this requirement is met.
Effect of Academic Amnesty
If academic amnesty is granted, all college credit coursework (including development education coursework) with a final grade of “F” earned during the Amnesty Period (period prior to the five year break) will be removed from the student’s grade point average (GPA) calculations.
Academic Amnesty Approval
The Registrar at the college where the application is submitted will process, approve, and retain applications and update the academic records of approved applicants.
Important Notes
- Academic amnesty applies only to courses completed at the City Colleges of Chicago.
- Courses for which academic amnesty is granted:
- Remain a part of the student’s academic record; courses are NOT removed from the student’s record
- Are marked with an academic amnesty indicator
- Appear on the student’s official transcript along with an academic amnesty indicator
- May not be applied to satisfy requirements of a CCC degree or certificate
- The academic amnesty effective date will be recorded in the student’s academic record.
- While academic amnesty benefits a student’s GPA, it has no effect on SAP GPA, Pace or Timeframe measures. See Satisfactory Academic Progress for more information.
- Academic amnesty applies only to the City Colleges of Chicago. Students granted academic amnesty at CCC will be subject to the admissions policies of other institutions to which they may transfer after attending CCC.
- Once submitted, an academic amnesty application may not be withdrawn or cancelled by the student. However, applications not approved in one (1) year from the submission date will be cancelled by the college. Students may reapply.
- Academic amnesty may be granted to an applicant only once in his/her lifetime, regardless of the institutions attended, and is irreversible.
Returning Students
Students who wish to apply for academic amnesty are highly recommended to work with a college advisor to discuss academic amnesty. Students must submit an application to the Office of the Registrar.
The application will be reviewed by the Registrar (“Approving Registrar”) to ensure that the student meets the eligibility requirements; if not, the application will be returned to the student with no further action taken. The Approving Registrar will retain the application in the student’s academic record, approve the student’s application, and apply academic amnesty only after the student fulfills all eligibility requirements, including successfully completing at least one (1) term upon his/her return.
Current Students
Current CCC students who meet all eligibility requirements may apply for academic amnesty.
- The student had a previous period of five (5) or more consecutive calendar years (minimum 15 academic terms) where the student did enroll or earn a final grade in credit bearing coursework at CCC.
- Upon their return after the break in enrollment (initial term(s) of enrollment), the student completed a minimum 6 credit hours, excluding any development education coursework) and earned a term grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher.
Student Applies for Academic Amnesty at a Different CCC College
If a student applies for academic amnesty from a different CCC college than where previously enrolled during the Amnesty Period, upon approval (prior to updating the student’s record), the Approving Registrar will notify the Registrar at any college where an “F” grade was earned (i.e., for courses that will be granted academic amnesty).
Questions or to submit your Academic Amnesty Request Form – contact your Office of the Registrar:
