Add and Drop Policy
It is the responsibility of the student to be familiar with the Academic Services Calendar deadlines.
The Add/Drop period begins on the first day of classes. Full-term courses may be added via WIN during the first two weeks of the semester (see Academic Services Calendar for dates specific to each term). For part-of-term courses, the time to add is shortened. After the first few days of the add period, access is restricted to “Permission of Instructor (POI)“, and students are required to obtain a POI from the instructor to be able to add the course. Instructions for adding a course with a POI, as well as other Registration How-To’s, may be found here.
The Drop period continues for approximately three more weeks after the last day to add courses (see Academic Services Calendar for dates specific to each term). As long as a student will not be left with fewer than 12 hours, students are responsible for dropping courses in WIN up to the specified drop date. **Part-of-term classes have their own drop/add deadlines.
Late Add Policy
After the last day to add a class, students who want to add a class must consult an academic counselor during walk-in hours in Reynolda 125. During this brief consultation, the academic counselor will determine if extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control resulted in missing the add deadline. If warranted, the academic counselor will provide information about the late add process. It is important to note that late add requests are never guaranteed to be approved. Because it is the responsibility of the student to be familiar with academic dates and deadlines, not knowing about a deadline is not an excuse for missing one. Moreover, instructor permission to join a course late does not supersede university deadlines and/or policy. Students who decide to pursue a late add must 1). communicate with their academic advisor to discuss the implications of the add and obtain their approval, and 2). converse with the course instructor, whose approval must also be obtained. The student must write a personal statement as to why the course was not added prior to the last day to add. Once all statements and approvals have been submitted to the Office of Academic Advising for review, the student’s request will then be shared with the Committee on Academic Affairs (CAA), and this committee will render a final decision.
For all add/drop dates and deadlines for both the Fall and Spring semesters, please consult the Academic Services Calendar; policy also found in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Course Withdrawal Period
After the last day to drop a class, students who wish to drop a class must consult an academic counselor between the hours of 10am-4pm Monday-Friday. Immediately after the last day to drop, there is a period identified as the “Course Withdrawal” period.
The Course Withdrawal Period ends 5 class/business days after midterm due date. See Academic Services Calendar for specific dates. Therefore, if the midterm due date falls on a Monday of a regular class week, the last day for course withdrawal would be the following Monday. If the midterm due date falls on the first Monday of spring break, the last day for course withdrawal would be the first Friday after classes resume following spring break.
To request a course withdrawal:
- First, students must communicate with the course instructor and their primary academic advisor. These conversations are critical to an informed decision about a drop at this point in the term.
- Next, students must obtain a written statement from both the instructor and advisor verifying that an informed conversation has occurred.
- The student then must fill out the Course Withdrawal Request Form along with uploading the statements, and submit the request form before 5 p.m. ET on the last day of the Course Withdrawal Period.
- Lastly, an academic counselor will review the request and notify the student and the University Registrar that the course may be dropped with a grade of ‘W’.