Laura Chamberlin was the kind of student who would rather hang out with friends than go to class.
She was 18 when she started college and had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She got straight As in some classes and skipped to the extreme in others.
"I would go to class and try, or I would just not go to class," she said.
So she left UNM and returned eight years later after working in Washington, D.C. She said she was ready to come back during those eight years, but this is the only year that made sense because of her children.
She said academic advisers told her that her 1.6 GPA was dismal and she should consider academic renewal.
"When I came back to UNM, I came back with my tail between my legs," she said, adding that everyone around her had advanced degrees, and she wanted one too.
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Also known as academic bankruptcy or starting over, academic renewal is available at most universities across the country, and UNM is no exception.
Kathleen Sena, a registrar, said the process adopted by the Faculty Senate has been refined over the years to make it as self-explanatory as possible. Sena could not say how long it has been available at UNM or how many students have taken advantage of it, but said it is not a common practice at all.
Academic renewal applies to undergraduate, degree-seeking students who left the University and have come back after five years.
Eligible students are able to wipe clean from the slate all C- classes and below taken before the renewal is applied. Those classes will be noted, but will not count for earned credits, satisfy graduation requirements or factor into a student's GPA, according to the Faculty Handbook.
Classes with a C or better count as credit but might not apply toward a degree depending on the degree-granting unit.
Sena said it is certainly a starting point for students who weren't sure what they wanted to do in college or who got bad grades.
When Chamberlin returned to UNM, 47 of her 96 credit hours were above a C.
She said if she hadn't applied for renewal, she would be "hanging out in academic probation."
Before renewal can be applied, students need to have between 12 and 36 credit hours and at least a 2.0 GPA.
Although Chamberlin started back at UNM in the spring, renewal did not kick in until the fall. She now has 76 credit hours and boasts a 4.13 GPA.
"I was horribly embarrassed that I had done so badly in school," Chamberlin said. "It gave me a chance to renew myself."
Sena said academic advisers in each department suggest renewal to eligible students. Students are then "able to come back and not be straddled with course work that they didn't make appropriate grades for in the past," she said.
Students can only apply for academic renewal once, and it is not reversible.
