Academic Forgiveness

Policy

Academic forgiveness allows student who meet the criteria below to select a prior semester or semesters to be excluded from their cumulative GPA.

The semester(s) chosen must have occurred prior to a minimum absence of three years.

A student may only be granted academic forgiveness one time.

Criteria

A student is eligible for academic forgiveness if they meet the following criteria:

  • The student is a UM-Missoula undergraduate student;
  • The student is pursuing their first undergraduate degree;
  • The student has taken a minimum absence of three years;
  • The student has completed 30+ credits of academic study with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above since returning;
  • The student has not been granted academic forgiveness previously.

How It Works

When academic forgiveness is applied to a semester, all credits and grades earned during that semester are excluded from the student's GPA. The excluded semester(s) will remain on the student's transcript; however they may not be used to fulfill any degree requirements.

The student may not elect to retain certain grades while excluding other grades within a given semester.

Transfer Credits

Only UM-Missoula grades and credits will be excluded. Academic forgiveness may not be applied to transfer grades/credits.

Catalog Year

Students who receive academic forgiveness are bound by the University Catalog in effect at the time of their return to the University or any subsequent catalog in accordance with University policy.

Financial Aid

All excluded courses are still counted as attempted courses in determining if a student is meeting the Pace standard of the financial aid satisfactory academic progress. If the terms being forgiven include courses a student previously passed the result could be that the student would now be out of compliance with the SAP policy and would have to do a financial aid appeal to have aid eligibility reinstated.

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@umontana.edu or (406) 243-5373.

Apply for Academic Forgiveness

Requests for academic forgiveness should be completed with an academic advisor to ensure that all eligibility criteria are met.

Upon submission, the Registrar's Office verifies eligibility and adjusts the student's transcript if approved. Students will be notified of the Registrar's Office decision via their UMConnect student email.

Allow 30 days for processing.

Alternatives to Academic Forgiveness

Although not all circumstances will meet the criteria for academic forgiveness, there are still other options for students looking to improve their academic record. Consult with an advisor to determine the best path forward.

Course Repeats

Students may retake classes to achieve a higher grade. When a student repeats a course, the most recent attempt takes the place of the previous attempt(s) in the student's GPA calculation. The previous attempt(s) will still appear on the student's transcript; however, they will not affect the student's GPA. Students should consult with an advisor prior to retaking a course as there may be financial aid limitations for course repeats.

Convert an NF to W

Students are assigned NF grades in the event that they receive an F due to nonattendance, meaning they never began participating in the class. If a student receives an NF, they may pay a $20 fee to convert the NF to a W. To pursue this option, the student must email grading@umontana.edu with their name, 790 number, the course information, and the semester the course was taken. Emails must be sent from the student's UMConnect email account.

Retroactive Course Changes

A retroactive course change may be used in a single instance of extenuating circumstances that reasonably prevented a student from changing their course registration prior to the published deadline. The student must provide official and thorough documentation of the extenuating circumstance and the date(s) on which it occurred. Student should consult with their advisor prior to pursuing this option.