The Daily Bulletin Archive

In the March 10, 2023, meeting of the Buffalo State Senate, the Standard for Students Committee brought forth for a vote a motion to add DOPS Policy I:16:10 Academic Clemency for Graduate Students. The Senate voted in favor of the resolution presented by the Standards for Students Committee on March 10, 2023.

BUFFALO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIRECTORY OF POLICY STATEMENTS
Policy Number: I:16:10     
Date:  March 10, 2023
Subject: Academic Clemency for Graduate Students

• The current DOPS I:16:09 Academic Clemency Policy is exclusively undergraduate student-focused, and no DOPS academic clemency policy for graduate students exists.
• There are current policies for academic clemency for graduate students that exist in the Graduate Catalog.
• The policies on academic clemency for undergraduate students and graduate students differ.

A one-year waiting period is sufficient for graduate students and allows students the opportunity to re-engage and advance professional goals promptly.

BUFFALO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIRECTORY OF POLICY STATEMENTS
Policy Number: I:16:10
Date: 2022
Subject: Academic Clemency for Graduate Students

Academic clemency is designed for former students at Buffalo State University whose GPAs during previous enrollments make it impossible or highly unlikely for them ever to graduate. Academic clemency offers former students the opportunity to resume their university studies with a realistic possibility of completing their degree. Academic clemency removes courses from GPA calculations but retains them on the transcript.

Graduate students with a Buffalo State GPA of less than 3.0 are eligible to apply for academic clemency when they apply for readmission to the university. The student’s last semester of enrollment must have been at least one year prior to the application for admission. Students can request clemency for up to two semesters of work (consecutive or non-consecutive). These semesters are to be determined by the student in consultation with the adviser, program coordinator or department chair, and director of graduate studies. A decision of clemency includes all coursework taken within the semester(s) at Buffalo State; it is not selectively applied. Clemency is applied only after a student has registered for an upcoming semester. 

Conditions for Academic Clemency for Graduate Students

1. Clemency may not be applied to any coursework for which a degree has been awarded.
2. Courses for which a student has requested academic clemency will remain on the student’s transcript but will not be calculated into the overall cumulative average and will not count toward graduation. The student’s transcript will contain a notation of academic clemency.
3. In order to apply for academic clemency, the student will be required to file a formal petition with the Graduate Studies Office. Such petition must include a signature indicating their understanding of the conditions stated in the academic clemency policy. The statement will indicate that computation of the grade point average may contribute to the admissibility to other graduate programs including all graduate work completed as of the date of application.
4. Students whose academic clemency is approved will be required to meet with their academic advisers to determine the appropriate selection of courses.
5. The decision to file for academic clemency may affect a student’s qualification for financial aid eligibility.
6. The student’s decision to exercise the academic clemency provision is final and irreversible.

The director of graduate studies will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy.

I hereby accept the recommendation of the Buffalo State Senate and charge the provost with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of this policy change and for communicating the change to the campus community.