The Fresh Start Rule is intended to help students who were unsuccessful in their previous academic attempts.
Students who earned below-average or failing grades at Columbus State Community College, who leave and
later return to the College may petition under the Fresh Start Rule to have selected courses in which they
earned a D, E or U grade, removed from their Columbus State Community College academic record. The
following conditions must apply:
The student must not have attended the Columbus State Community Colle
e for a minimum of 24
consecutive months prior to returning to the College for additional coursework.
Since returning to the college, the student must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours. At the
time the petition is filed all grades earned since returning to the College must be C or better, audit (R)
and/or S (satisfactory). The number of credit hours reflecting withdrawals (W or AW) may not exceed
the number of credit hours completed at the time the petition is filed. Transfer credit may not be used
in meeting the minimum credit hour requirement.
The student must complete and submit the Fresh Start Rule Petition to the Office of the Registrar via
their Columbus State Community College student e-mail account for review. The Registrar will render a
decision approving or denying the Petition. The student will be notified of the Registrar’s decision via
CSCC student e-mail. Petitions and documentation supportin
the application of this procedure will
become and remain part of the student’s permanent academic record.
At the time the Fresh Start Rule Petition form is submitted, the student may choose to exempt a
specific course for which a grade of “D” was received. Deletion of the “D” grade from the transcript also
deletes the course credit earned. To re-establish course credit, the student must re-enroll and
satisfactorily complete the course for which the “D” grade, and credit, was deleted.
This procedure may not be applied retroactively upon completion of a certificate program with more than 12
credits or an associate degree at the College.
Non-traditional credit (N) or proficiency credit (X) may not be subsequently granted for courses deleted from
the transcript through this procedure.
This procedure may be applied only one time for each student and will not be reversed once applied to the
student’s record
Students whose failing grades were the result of suspending attendance without officially withdrawing and
who have extenuating circumstances, may pursue the Administrative Withdrawal procedure.
To utilize this procedure, the student must have met all financial obligations to the college. Issues relative to
the refunding of fees, effects upon financial aid status, and other related considerations are to be resolved
through respective procedures which exist for the purpose of such policy resolution.
Approved application of this procedure will result in the failing (E), unsatisfactory (U), and non-exempted
below-average (D) grades being deleted from the academic transcript. A notation of (Z) shall appear on the
transcript indicating application of this procedure. The student’s
rade point avera
e will be recalculated
according to current standards.
In those instances in which the student’s petition is denied by the Re
istrar, the student may appeal the
decision by submitting a written request to the Office of the Registrar. The Fresh Start Appeals Committee
will review the petition and either sustain or overrule the Registrar’s decision. The decision of the Fresh Start
Appeals Committee is final.
In the event the application of this procedure is subsequently discovered to have been based upon erroneous,
inaccurate, or untruthful information provided by the student, the deleted grades will be reinstated and the
academic status will revert to the ori
inal on the transcript. Corrected transcripts will be issued to known
recipients, and program and degree completions certified as an outcome of the application of this procedure
will be revoked. The student will also be subject to disciplinary action by the College.
FRESH START RULE GUIDELINES
RLR:prc/Fresh Start Rule/08-10-2020
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES CAREFULLY BEFORE FILING A PETITION: