Apr 21, 2025
News/Notes for Undergraduate Academic Advisors: Heritage Speakers Courses | Did You Know: Academic Forgiveness Policy (3.21)
Heritage Speakers Courses
- Starting in the Fall 2025 semester, the Languages and Literatures Department will be offering for the first time the French for Heritage Speakers course in addition to the Spanish for Heritage Speakers course!
- FREN 3159 French for Heritage Speakers | Section 01 | 12:00 MWF | 3 credit hours | Instructor Consent Required
- SPAN 3006 Spanish for Heritage Speakers | Section 01 | 10:00 MWF | 3 credit hours | Instructor Consent Requires
- Why take a Heritage Speakers course?
- These classes are designed specifically for heritage speakers of Spanish and French—students who grew up speaking these languages at home. These courses:
- Meet the linguistic needs and interests of heritage speakers
- Award 18 retroactive credits if students earn a B or higher. Retro-credits include: SPAN 1001, 1002, 2001, 2002, 3003, and the heritage speakers' class itself.
- Build a sense of community with other heritage speakers while strengthening language skills; it fosters appreciation for the Hispanic and Francophone cultures and languages
- Count toward multiple programs:
- Fulfill the language requirement for graduation
- Satisfy the Spanish Certificate and the French Certificate (12 - 15 credits)
- Apply to the Linguistics Certificate (12 credits)
- Count toward the Spanish Minor (21 credits), Spanish Major (36 credits); French Minor (21 credits) and the French 2+2 Major
- These classes are designed specifically for heritage speakers of Spanish and French—students who grew up speaking these languages at home. These courses:
- For more information, view the online French and Spanish pdf informational flyers or attached to this email.
Did You Know: Academic Forgiveness Policy (3.21)
- The Academic Forgiveness Policy (3.21) provides an option for undergraduate students to seek one semester of forgiveness for past academic coursework, after separation from UNI.
- Students who have been separated from UNI for four or more years and who have experienced academic challenges affecting their grade point average, may wish to seek academic forgiveness as a means to restarting their academic career in order to graduate.
- Academic forgiveness is a request to remove one (1) identified semester of previously completed coursework at UNI (regardless of the number of credit hours in the semester) from UNI’s calculated grade point averages. All classes within the identified semester are included as forgiveness is not applicable to individual classes.
- Eligibility for academic forgiveness requires that an individual:
- is a former undergraduate student at UNI for one or more semesters, and
- has been separated from UNI (non-enrolled) for four consecutive calendar years or more, and
- has not already earned an undergraduate degree from UNI or another accredited institution, and
- has completed an application to re-enroll at UNI, or is re-enrolled at UNI following the designated separation, and
- has submitted an Application for Academic Forgiveness within one academic year of a return to UNI, and
- is free from unresolved holds placed on enrollment by any UNI offices, and
- is seeking academic forgiveness for a semester in which an academic ethics violation of level three or higher was not founded.
- Review full information on the General Qualifications and the topic of Academic Records, Standing and Financial Aid Awards before guiding a student to complete the Application for Academic Forgiveness.
- For more information, with questions, or to have a student start this process, please contact Lori VanHooreweghe (Office of Academic Advising | Bartlett Hall 0089 | lori.vanhooreweghe@uni.edu | 319-273-3406)
Institutional Academic Advising Vision & Mission Statement (revised Spring 2016) [See Academic Advising Mission, Vision, Goals & Outcomes webpage]
- Vision Statement: UNI aspires to create the best possible advising experience for each student.
- Mission Statement: Academic Advising is a critical component of the teaching and learning environment at UNI. Advising is a personalized educational experience, empowering students to explore, articulate and achieve their academic, career and life goals.