AcademicFreshStart
Texas Education Code Section 51.931 entitles Texas residents to seek admission to institutions of higher education in the state without consideration of coursework taken five (5) or more years prior to re-enrolling in a new academic program. Students may not pick and choose what courses can be ignored and what courses cannot - all college courses five or more years old will either be disregarded completely or they will be counted.
If you choose to pursue the AcademicFreshStart option, you will not receive any credit for any courses you took five or more years ago. This means that:
- Courses taken previously cannot be used to fulfill new prerequisite requirements.
- Courses taken previously cannot be counted towards your new degree.
- Courses taken previously will not be counted in your new GPA calculations.
AcademicFreshStartclears only youracademic record. However, when deciding your eligibility for financial aid, the college must still consider all prior college credits earned or attempted.
For courses taken at South Plains College for which AcademicFreshStart is applied, the official transcript will continue to show all courses taken. Grades and grade points will still be shown; however, the credit hours attempted and the cumulative grade points will total zero for the AcademicFreshStart courses and will not be computed in the overall GPA. A notation will be placed on the transcript showing the semester in which the student begins to take courses after the AcademicFreshStart.
Once approved and posted, an AcademicFreshStart may not be reversed.
A request for an AcademicFreshStartmust be made in writing by completing an AcademicFreshStart application. The completed application should be sent to the Dean of Enrollment Services prior to enrolling in classes. A completed application for admission and ALL official college transcripts must be on file in the Admissions and Records Office, upon submission of thatAcademicFreshStart application.
