Course Withdrawal Guidelines

Guiding Principles

Students are permitted to withdraw from a course during the Fall and Winter semester until the registrar’s published date each semester. During Short Term, students are permitted to withdraw from a course until the second day of classes. Students withdrawing from a course in this manner will have no notation on their transcript. Students are not permitted to withdraw from a course (without approval) if doing so will reduce their course load to less than a full-time status (considered three or more credits total during the Fall and Winter semesters and one credit during Short Term).

Students are expected to be aware of deadlines for course withdrawals and to make decisions by the appropriate deadlines regarding their course enrollments. In turn, faculty are responsible for providing feedback to students on an ongoing basis regarding their course grades and progress.

The College recognizes that circumstances beyond the control of the student may occasionally require a student to consider dropping a course or courses beyond the established deadlines or withdrawing to a credit load below the minimum required to be considered a full-time student. In the interest of fairness and equity to all students, the reasons for such withdrawals must be limited in scope. As such, late withdrawals or requests to reduce a course load below the minimum, are only possible in the case of (a) debilitating and documented medical or psychological conditions or (b) unanticipated and documented personal emergencies beyond the control of the student. Although faculty and staff may recommend that a student consider withdrawing from a course, it is the responsibility of the student to initiate and complete the process outlined below.

The Office of Accessible Education and Student Support  and each student’s Student Support Advisor are available to assist students with questions about withdrawals, to help navigate this process, and to provide referrals to on-campus resources for additional support.

Obtaining a late course withdrawal:

  • If a student wishes to withdraw from a course after the deadline or to withdraw below the minimum course load required because of a debilitating and documented medical condition, the student she student should discuss their situation with the Student Health Support Coordinator at Health Services or the Director of Counseling & Psychological Services. If the student’s request meets the criteria, they will provide a letter the student can include when petitioning the Academic Standing Committee for a late course withdrawal. 
  • If a student wishes to withdraw from a course after the deadline or to withdraw below the minimum course load required because of an unanticipated and documented personal emergency, the student should discuss their situation with the Director of Student Support. If the student’s request meets the criteria, they will provide a letter the student can include when petitioning the Academic Standing Committee for a late course withdrawal. 
  • The student must submit theletter of support  with a petition to the Academic Standing Committee. The form must be submitted no later than the last day of classes (not final exams).
  • The Academic Standing Committee reviews all requests for late withdrawals and all requests to withdraw below the minimum credit load required. Following review, the Academic Standing Committee then emails the student as to whether the request was approved or denied.
  • Courses approved for withdrawal after the official drop date will receive a grade of W that will remain on their transcript. The student’s GPA will not be impacted by this.