Restart

Restart is the academic forgiveness policy of the undergraduate colleges of the University of Iowa.

CLAS Restart

If you were previously enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) and have returned to the University of Iowa after an extended absence (four consecutive years or more), you may use the CLAS Restart option to request removal of one or more of your previously completed CLAS academic sessions (i.e. semesters or winter/summer enrollments) from future grade point averages and satisfaction of degree requirements. 

If you have already graduated from the University of Iowa, or graduated with a bachelor's degree from any other college or university, you are not eligible to use the Restart option whether for a second degree, teacher certification, or any other purpose. (See Returning to earn additional majors or Returning to CLAS for successive baccalaureate degrees.)

Students are strongly advised to contact staff in CLAS Undergraduate Programs to discuss the Restart option before submitting a Restart application. Please call 319-335-2633 to schedule an appointment.

Eligibility

The following are required for any current or former CLAS student to be eligible for Restart:

  1. You must not have graduated from the University of Iowa, nor earned a bachelor's degree from any other college or university.
  2. You must not have enrolled at the University of Iowa for at least four consecutive years.
  3. You must be free from any unresolved holds placed on your enrollment by the Registrar or other UI offices.
  4. You cannot have previously used the Restart option.

Restart policies

  1. The student must meet the above eligibility requirements.
  2. CLAS approval of the student’s application for the Restart option is not guaranteed.
  3. All courses taken and credit hours earned during the Restart sessions will remain on the student's permanent record (official transcript), but will be marked to show that they have been removed from computations of grade point averages.
  4. The option applies only to academic sessions a) completed while enrolled in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and b) prior to the minimum four-year absence from the university.
  5. The Restart option does not apply to individual courses, but only to entire sessions of enrollment.
  6. No tuition will be refunded for Restart sessions.
  7. The Restart option cannot be applied to courses taken at another institution.
  8. Semester hours earned in a Restart session will not be counted toward the 120 semester hours required for graduation.
  9. If a CLAS General Education requirement was completed in a Restart session, the College will consider, on a case-by-case basis, accepting that GE requirement as satisfied. The acceptance of previously completed GE requirements is not guaranteed.
  10. Any course in a Restart session that previously fulfilled a requirement for the student’s major must be reviewed by the appropriate department for a decision as to whether or not the course may now be counted as fulfilling the requirement in question. The acceptance of previously completed requirements for the major is not guaranteed.
  11. Any second-grade-only options (SGO) used during a Restart session will not count toward the CLAS limit of 3 SGOs.
  12. Courses taken during a Restart session and repeated after the student returns to UI will not be counted as duplication or regression.
  13. Students may use the Restart option only once.
  14. Once applied to the student's record, the Restart option is not reversible.

Procedures for requesting Restart

Current and former CLAS students are strongly advised to contact staff in CLAS Undergraduate Programs to discuss the Restart option before submitting a Restart application. Please call 319-335-2633 to schedule an appointment. We also encourage students to check with the Office of Student Financial Aid, as using Restart can affect eligibility for financial aid.

If you are not currently enrolled at the University of Iowa, you must file an application for re-entry to the University of Iowa and meet the published deadlines for admission to the UI. Please note: You must submit the Restart application only after you are re-enrolled and courses are underway in the semester you return to the University of Iowa.

If you were dismissed from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for low scholarship, you must meet with an academic staff member in CLAS Undergraduate Programs to discuss reinstatement and the Restart option. You must meet published reinstatement deadlines.

To apply for Restart, current or former CLAS students must submit the online CLAS Restart Petition Form, including a personal statement addressing the problems you encountered in the Restart semesters and describing your proposed path to degree completion. You will need to log in to the online form using your University of Iowa HawkID and password. Please note: You must submit the Restart application only after you are re-enrolled and courses are underway in the semester you return to the University of Iowa.

The Restart option is not guaranteed. It may be granted only after careful consideration and review of your academic record by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.

PLEASE NOTE
Other colleges within the University of Iowa, as well as other educational institutions outside the UI, may read student transcripts differently and recalculate grade point averages to include sessions that CLAS has removed under the Restart option. 

For more information about CLAS Restart, please contact CLAS Undergraduate Programs, clas-undergrad@uiowa.edu or 319-335-2633.

Cross-College Policy

The UI undergraduate colleges share the four Restart policies below; other policies may vary.

  1. A student requesting Restart must apply for Restart through the UI college in which the student was previously enrolled during the requested semester(s). Combined degree candidates must apply for Restart to the non-CLAS college.
  2. The college of the student's previous enrollment will decide whether the semester(s) in question will qualify for Restart.
  3. All other decisions about coursework, requirements, and credit hours are left to the college from which the student plans to graduate.
  4. Each college will abide by the Restart decisions made by another college.