Academic Bankruptcy Policy

Authority: Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management
Date Enacted or Revised: Revised October 2015; April 14, 2022

In accordance with the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors Rule regarding Academic Renewal (Part Two, Chapter I, Section X), the University established this policy for academic bankruptcy.

Academic bankruptcy provides students a fresh start academically by allowing them to enter or re-enter the University with the status of an entering freshman with no earned hours, no grade point average (GPA) hours, no quality points, no GPA, and no prior suspensions. A minimum of three years must have passed between the end of the semester in which the student was last registered for credit at any college or university and the beginning of their enrollment under academic bankruptcy at McNeese. At the time of application for first-time admission or re-admission to the University (to the final exam period for the first term of enrollment or re-enrollment), undergraduate students may file a Petition for Academic Bankruptcy.

  1. Although no courses which were previously taken, whether passed or failed, will be counted in the student’s GPA or toward meeting degree requirements, the courses and grades will still appear on the student’s scholastic records and transcripts with the notation: “Academic bankruptcy declared [date]. Credits attempted and earned prior to this date will not be used in computing a grade point average or for meeting graduation requirements.”
  2. Students filing academic bankruptcy are placed in the Office of Freshman Advising and transferred out only upon successful completion of all Office of Freshman Advising requirements.
  3. Declaration of academic bankruptcy does not pertain to accumulated financial aid history. Accumulated semester and award limits include all semesters of enrollment, both before and after declaring academic bankruptcy.
  4. To fairly determine graduation honors, the University considers the entire academic record of each student, including credits attempted and earned prior to filing academic bankruptcy.
  5. Students should also be aware that, when considering applications for admission, many undergraduate professional curricula and most graduate and professional schools compute the undergraduate GPA on all hours attempted.
  6. Academic bankruptcy may be granted only once in a student’s academic career, regardless of the institutions attended.
  7. Once filed and approved, the academic bankruptcy decision is irreversible, even if the student decides not to enroll or re-enroll at the University.
  8. The University accepts, in transfer, academic bankruptcy granted at another institution.

Additional information on academic bankruptcy may be obtained by contacting the Office of Admissions and Recruiting.

Communication

This policy is distributed via the Academic Advisory Council, the Academic Catalog, and the University Policies webpage.