Drop/Add/Withdraw Policy

Purpose

To allow students to drop, add and withdraw from courses in a timely manner.

Definitions

Full Session Courses

Courses that meet for at least 10 weeks over a full academic semester.

Short Session Course

Courses that meet for less than 10 weeks over a full academic semester.

Policy

Full Semester Courses

Drop

• A student may drop a class within the first five (5) business days from the start date of the course to avoid being billed for the course.
• No entry will be made in the student’s academic record if a course is dropped within the first five (5) business days from the start date of the course.
• Faculty have the obligation to enter the letter grade of FN (Failure for Nonattendance) if a student has not attended and/or participated in the course during the first five (5) business days from the beginning of the course. Details on entering grades can be found in the Grading Procedure.

Add

• A student may add a class within the first five (5) business days of a semester.

Withdraw

• A student has the option to withdraw from a course no later than the date upon which eighty percent (80%) of the days in the academic semester have elapsed.
• A full semester course dropped after five (5) business days and before eighty percent (80%) of the course has elapsed will appear on the student’s record as a W (Withdrawal).
• Faculty have the obligation to enter the letter grade of FW (Failure to Withdraw) if a student ceases attending/participating in a course for 14 consecutive calendar days.
• If a student is issued a grade of FW as a result of nonattendance in a course, the FW is a final grade and may impact a student’s financial aid eligibility, dependent upon the last date of attendance entered. The FW is not calculated in the term or cumulative grade point average, but is calculated in the student’s completion percentage.
• Tuition and fees will be assessed for all courses for which the student is registered after the first five (5) business days from the start of the course.
• Courses withdrawn from after the fifth (5th) business day of the course will still need to be paid in full.
• The date of the last day to withdraw from a course can be viewed in the students’ schedule, available via eServices, which can be accessed through SpartanNet.

Short Session Courses

Drop

• Students will have one (1) business day past the first meeting day of the course to drop the course without being billed or having the course appear on the student's academic record (transcript).
• Faculty have the obligation to enter the letter grade of FN (Failure for Nonattendance) if a student has not attended and/or participated in the course for the first five (5) business days from the beginning of the course. Details on entering grades can be found in the Grading Procedure.

Add

• Students must add courses no later than one (1) business day after the first meeting day of the course.

Withdraw

• A student may withdraw from the course no later than the date on which eighty percent (80%) of the instructional days for the course have elapsed.
• A course withdrawn from more than one (1) business day after the course begins and before eighty percent (80%) of the instructional days for the course have elapsed will appear on the student’s academic record as a W (Withdrawal).
• The date of the last day to withdraw from a course can be viewed in the students’ schedule, available via eServices, which can be accessed through SpartanNet.
• Faculty have the obligation to enter the letter grade of FW (Failure to Withdraw) if a student ceases attending a course for 14 consecutive calendar days.
• If a student is issued a grade of FW as a result of nonattendance in a course, the FW is a final grade and may impact a student’s financial aid eligibility, dependent upon the last date of attendance entered. The FW is not calculated in the term or cumulative grade point average, but is calculated in the student’s completion percentage.
• It is the student’s responsibility to drop or withdraw from a course. When a student does not officially withdraw, they will be issued the earned grade in each course for which they are registered and will be responsible for tuition and fees for those courses.

Full Withdrawal

• A student who fully withdraws from the college may be eligible for pro-rated tuition refunds at increments of 100%, 75%, 50% or 25%, dependent upon the date of withdrawal. Student Affairs representatives can provide specific information on the refund eligibility dates for the current semester.

Financial Aid Eligibility

• Financial aid awards are affected by a full withdrawal.
• The College encourages students who are considering a full withdrawal to speak with a financial aid representative to determine the financial impact.

The College reserves the right to administratively withdraw or drop a student for nonattendance in special circumstances.

Switching Sections and/or Modalities

Students may request to switch sections and/or modalities of a course with another course of the same name, that started on the same date, within the first ten (10) business days of the start of the courses. Such a request is initiated by the student with written permission from the new instructor. Students may not switch sections and/or modalities after the eleventh (11th) business day of the start of the courses.

Associated Policies

Minnesota State Community and Technical College Failure to Withdraw Policy

Minnesota State Community and Technical College Failure for Non-Attendance Policy

Minnesota State Community and Technical College Grading Policy

Minnesota State system Board Policy 5.12 Tuition and Fee Due Dates, Refunds, Withdrawals and Waivers