Students have different options to drop classes at any point in the semester depending on when they make the decision to drop a class, said Kelly Frazer, the School of Undergraduate Studies’ senior academic advisor.
According to the University’s add/drop policy, students can add and drop a class online between the first and fourth class days. Between the fourth and 12th class days, students can drop a class online, but to add a course, they will need to go to the school’s department and request to be added. Classes dropped between the first and 12th class days can be refunded.
In exceedingly rare circumstances, classes can be added after the 12th class day, but Frazer said instructors are not required to help newly added students make up past assignments.
“It would have to be at the consent of the instructor, consent of the department,” Frazer said.
Classes dropped between the 12th class day and the mid-semester deadline for academic reasons are considered academic drops. These drops show up as a “Q” on the student’s transcript and count toward the state’s six-drop limit.
After the mid-semester deadline, students can obtain a One Time Exception drop, which counts as a regular academic drop, or they can drop a class for nonacademic reasons. Nonacademic drops are also “Q” drops but do not count toward the limit of six. Reasons for nonacademic drops include death in the family or severe illness.
Frazer said for nonacademic drops, some schools require documentation. For nonacademic drops for medical reasons, students can obtain documentation through the Counseling and Mental Health Center or University Health Services.
“Students can do what is a medical course load reduction,” Frazer said. “In the case of the School of Undergraduate Studies, if a student requests a medical course load reduction and that request is approved through the CMHC or UHS, we honor that.”
Assistant registrar Bethany Bell said students often don’t know about the “swap” option available in the University registration system.
“Oftentimes, we have a lot of students say, ‘I dropped this class in order to add this class, but now that class is closed,’” Bell said. “We always say, ‘Next time use a swap option,’ so only drop if you can be successfully be added to that other course.”
Frazer said students should also be cognizant of how dropping a class could affect their degree progress.
“Sometimes courses are really sequenced and the degree plan is really structured, and dropping one thing could sort of cause a ripple effect moving forward,” Frazer said.
