/Institutions/Northern-Essex-Community-College/json/2025-2026/Catalog-local.json

/Institutions/Northern-Essex-Community-College/json/2025-2026/Catalog.json

Academic Restart Policy

Academic Restart is a one-time opportunity for NECC students to exclude failing grades from their cumulative GPA. This policy is designed to help students recover their GPA and return to Academic Good Standing more quickly.

Students apply for Academic Restart after an absence from the college of at least two years and subsequent successful completion of at least 12 credits. Students apply for Academic Restart by speaking with an academic advisor and then submitting an Academic Restart Form to the Registrar’s Office for processing.

Academic Restart ONLY impacts Academic Standing and GPA. It does not change financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). If a student has been placed on Financial Aid Suspension, they will need to appeal that suspension regardless of the status of their application for Academic Restart.

To be eligible for Academic Restart, students must:

• Have been away from NECC for at least two years (from date of last attendance until the start date of the term in which they return).
• Be matriculated into a certificate or degree program at the time of application for Academic Restart and will need to stay matriculated at least until Restart is applied to their record.
• Have successfully earned 12 credits after returning to the college. Withdrawals will not negatively impact participation in the Academic Restart policy, but students will not be able to apply for Academic Restart until they have earned all 12 credits.

Students are not eligible for Academic Restart if:

• They are not matriculated into a program that will lead to a certificate or degree.
• The student was suspended from the college because of a conduct issue. Students who have been suspended due to conduct issues must resolve those issues first and receive written permission to return from the Dean of Students before they can apply for Academic Restart.

To note:

Students who completed courses at another institution may transfer those credits as usual. There is no restriction on students attending another institution during their two years away.

If students previously completed and passed courses at NECC, they will retain those grades.

All courses that were taken at NECC will appear on the student’s final transcript. Any courses that were excluded through Academic Restart will be excluded from the calculation of overall GPA, but they will still be visible as part of the student’s academic record. It will be clearly indicated on the transcript that these courses have been excluded from the cumulative GPA.

Any grade that is excluded under Academic Restart cannot later be re-included.

Students may only receive Academic Restart once within their college career at NECC.

If a student fails any classes during the accumulation of 12 credits for Academic Restart, they cannot use Academic Restart to exclude those grades.

 

Updated: 2025-2026 Academic Catalog (Effective Fall 2025)