An undergraduate student who has been separated from The University of Alabama for at least three academic years may petition the dean of his or her college to apply for readmission through Academic Second Opportunity. The petition must be received in the dean's office prior to the last day of class for the semester in which the student returns to the University. If the petition is approved, the student will be readmitted regardless of previous scholastic performance, unless separation from the University resulted from academic misconduct. In cases of academic misconduct, readmission will be reviewed by the academic dean (or his or her designee) for the school or college in which readmission is sought.

If the application for Academic Second Opportunity is accepted, all previous academic work remains on the student's permanent record, but the grades for previous institutional work are not used in computing the GPA. Grades of "C-" or higher earned during previous attendance at the University are computed as "passing hours" (P) and may be applied to major program, distribution, and graduation requirements. Grades of "D", "D+", and "D-" earned during previous attendance may not be applied to major program, distribution, or graduation requirements. A notation will be added to the student's transcript to denote the Academic Second Opportunity and the approval date. Academic Second Opportunity will apply only to grades earned in courses completed at The University of Alabama and will not apply to coursework transferred from other institutions.

The student then pursues his or her academic program with no University of Alabama GPA, and thereafter is subject to the conditions of warning, probation, and dismissal that govern all students.  The student must complete a minimum of 15 hours in residence at The University of Alabama after Academic Second Opportunity has been awarded to be eligible for degree completion. Once invoked, Academic Second Opportunity cannot be revoked and it may be awarded only once and may not be awarded retroactively. 

A student who has a baccalaureate degree from another institution but was previously a student at UA or who has a degree from UA is not eligible for consideration.