Pierce College might raise the maximum number of Academic Renewal units from 18 to 30 if Board Rule 6700 is passed by the Los Angeles Community College District Curriculum Committee and LACCD Academic Senate.
Academic Renewal allows students to remove D and F grades from their GPA. This does not remove the grade from the transcript. Instead, the renewed grade is marked with an indication of grade forgiveness, and does not count towards a student’s cumulative GPA.
“One of the concerns was that there were some really high-unit courses that were 10, or even 12, units, and many of those classes are no longer offered,” said Joanna Zimring-Towne, career center director. “Because of that, students can’t make academic progress.”
To successfully petition for Academic Renewal, a student must have a 2.5 GPA for 15 semester units or a 2.0 GPA for 30 semester units, and have taken the units-to-be-renewed at least two years prior to Academic Renewal.
“I don’t think it affects our students at Pierce,” Zimring-Towne said. “Very rarely do we have students who apply to remove six, nine, or even 12 units.”