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Opinion | Newly implemented grade forgiveness policy benefits students struggling with college

Editorial Board

Miami University has implemented a new grade forgiveness policy.

The new procedure allows students to retake up to eight of their first 64 credit hours to have their old grade replaced by the new one, differing from the previous policy that allowed students to retake only one class for an average of the two grades.

The Miami Student editorial board was rather divided regarding this issue, however after a vote the majority of the board supported the policy.

Though some members of the board expressed uneasiness with granting students leniency with a "second chance" program, ultimately the policy is not a "free pass" kind of system.

Students who take advantage of grade forgiveness would be students who genuinely care about improving their grades and are willing to dedicate extra time to relearning material.

We agreed this policy may initiate somewhat of a slippery slope if handled or publicized incorrectly.

Furthermore, grade forgiveness should not extend beyond these eight hours and should not involve the option of erasing a full semester from a student's records.

The editorial board believes this policy will alleviate some of the academic pressure that comes with the initial transition from high school to college.

This form of grade forgiveness also leaves a large amount of the responsibility on the student, as they will be the ones to ultimately decide whether or not to retake a class and fall behind in their academic program.

Though we eventually concluded this policy is beneficial, we believe it is reactive, not proactive.

Miami administrators should do a better job to prepare incoming first years for the academic challenges of college.

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This would prevent the need for such grade forgiveness, while alleviating one of the main concerns of incoming students: choosing the right classes.

Some of the issues that contribute to initial poor student performance in collegiate courses could be resolved by better explanation of courses offered at Miami.

Furthermore, in depth description at orientation of the registration process and attentive registration assistance for students in their first two semesters would also be more beneficial to students than forgiveness for a few of their first 64 credits.

The new grade forgiveness policy begins to combat some of the academic stresses of first year college life, but the board encourages students to use this grade forgiveness wisely.