The following is from UAMS College of Health Professions Academic Affairs Policy 01.00.03 (revised Feb. 11, 2021).
Policy
Applicants to undergraduate programs in the college may request consideration under the Fresh Start Policy. This policy does not apply to currently enrolled students or to admission to a post-baccalaureate program. The Academic Fresh Start Program does not apply to the Standards of Academic Progress for financial aid applicants. Therefore, the student may not qualify for financial aid based on prior academic performance.
Under the Fresh Start Policy, applicants to undergraduate programs may request that all academic credits, as well as the grades assigned to them, that they earned more than seven years before the anticipated date of registering for classes in the UAMS College of Health Professions program to which they have applied shall not be considered in determining 1) their acceptance to that program or 2) the prerequisites, electives, or professional courses they have completed. If the request is granted, all courses taken at all colleges and/or universities of attendance that are more than seven years old by this date will be removed from consideration irrespective of the grades earned. That is, the Fresh Start Policy may not be applied to selected courses in a given term or terms or to only those with certain grades. The policy applies to every transcript documenting the applicant’s attendance and grades earned. Thus, none of the courses excluded by granting such a request may be counted toward the completion of any prerequisites, electives, or professional courses.
If the request is granted, only academic work completed less than seven years prior to the date of registration in the intended program will be used in calculating the applicant’s grade-point average and determining transfer credit for admissions. This will be so noted on the UAMS College of Health Professions academic transcript if the applicant is admitted. A Fresh Start may be granted only once to any student. It is not to be confused with the prerogative each UAMS College of Health Professions department has to selectively decline to accept for transfer credit any course or courses taken more than seven years before the intended date of registration on the grounds that the knowledge in the discipline(s) in question, and thus the content of the course(s) as currently taught, has changed so extensively in the interim that it (they) no longer will fulfill the prerequisite or other transfer requirement for the given UAMS College of Health Professions program.
Procedure
Applicants seeking consideration under the Fresh Start Policy must complete and submit the Petition for Admission under the Fresh Start Policy form to the UAMS College of Health Professions Office of Admissions prior to the application deadline or the deadline for receipt of transcripts of the specific UAMS College of Health Professions program to which the individual is applying.
Submission mailing address:
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Health Professions
4301 West Markham Street #619
Little Rock, AR 72205
Or email to CHPAdmissions@uams.edu