Withdrawal from Class

Withdrawal from a class or from the college is primarily the responsibility of the student. Withdrawals may be done online at https://my.vcccd.edu or in person at the Admissions and Records Office. It is the student’s responsibility to understand how a withdrawal will affect their academic records, academic standing, ability to repeat the course, eligibility for financial aid, athletic participation, veterans’ educational benefits, and other programs, services, or benefits. Instructors have a responsibility to drop students under certain circumstances as identified below.

Deadline dates for withdrawing from a class may be found on the student’s Schedule/Bill and in the online searchable schedule of classes in the CRN notes – click on the CRN to view notes. Students who do not officially withdraw by the stated deadlines will receive an evaluative grade (A-F, P, or NP). 

Instructors have a responsibility to drop students under certain circumstances as identified below.

A grade of “W” is not calculated in the grade point average (GPA). Courses that receive “W” grades are counted as an enrollment attempt and will affect a student’s ability to repeat the class. Students will be blocked from repeating any course in which they have already received three W, D, F or NP grades in any combination. See Appendix XIV Course Repetition for details. “W” grades are also counted in the determination of a student’s academic standing, and excessive “W”s will be cause for placing students on progress probation. Students are encouraged to consult a counselor regarding the full impact of “W” grades.

Withdrawal after the final deadline may be permitted if it is determined that extenuating circumstances prevented a student from completing and withdrawing from a course. Extenuating circumstances are cases of accident, illness, or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. 

An Excused Withdrawal (EW) may be requested by the student at any time during the semester (effective January 2018) and no later than three (3) years after the term in which the course was taken. Excused Withdrawal shall not be counted in progress notice or dismissal calculations nor shall it be counted towards the permitted number of withdrawals or counted as an enrollment attempt. The financial aid of a student may be affected depending on individual circumstances. A student should consult with the financial aid staff regarding any impact.

Instructor-Initiated Drops

Instructors are required to drop by the census deadline any student who has never attended class or who has stopped attending class. They may drop students who do not attend the first class meeting. The census date for each class is determined by the length of the class and may vary. Instructors may, but are not required to, drop students after the census date for excessive absences. Absence is generally considered excessive if a student misses 1/9 or more of the total number of classes (2 weeks of a full–semester class); however, the nature of the class may require a stricter absence policy. Consult the class syllabus or instructor for more information.

Withdrawing from Semester-Length Classes

Students may withdraw from full semester-length classes through the end of the 14th week. A grade of “W” will be posted to the academic record for withdrawals that occur between the class census date and the end of the 14th week. No grade will be posted to the academic record for withdrawals that occur before the class census date. Students still enrolled after the end of the 14th week will receive a grade other than “W” on their academic record.

The census date for each class is determined by the length of the class and may vary. Consult the class syllabus or instructor for more information.

Withdrawing from Short-Term Classes

Students may withdraw from short-term classes through 75% of the total number of class meetings. A grade of “W” will be posted to the academic record for withdrawals that occur between the class census date and the 75% deadline. No grade will be posted to the academic record for withdrawals that occur before the class census date. Students still enrolled after 75% of class meetings will receive a grade other than “W” on their academic record.

The census date for each class is determined by the length of the class and may vary. Consult the class syllabus or instructor for more information.

Distance Education Drop/Withdrawal

For Distance Education classes, specifically those that are 100% online, the drop policies of the individual instructor (as stated in the syllabus and/or the college’s drop policy) may vary but be based upon the following:

All students are expected to attend the online class regularly, for a minimum number of hours and/or to complete a minimum number of assignments or quizzes as determined by the instructor.

Students enrolled in online classes must regularly login and actively participate or they may be considered non-participatory and thus may be dropped.

Although it is the responsibility of the student to withdraw from a class officially, the instructor also has the authority to drop a student for lack of active participation. The instructor is not required to notify the student after having provided students with the drop policy in the course syllabus.

Specific assignments within an online course can act as attendance or student activity indicators. If the assignment or activity is not completed by a given date, then a student is considered inactive and may be dropped. Attendance assignments or student activity indicators will be determined by individual instructors.

Attendance assignments or student activity indicators must be clearly defined in the course syllabus and fall into one of the following categories:

• Any assignment given before the census or drop dates
• Assignments and/or activities indicating the student has begun to participate in the online class
• Completion of assignments and/or activities by due dates.

Military Withdrawal

Military withdrawal occurs when a student on active or reserve status in the United States military or National Guard receives orders compelling a withdrawal from courses. Upon verification of such orders, the military withdrawal symbol “MW” shall be assigned to all courses affected by the military withdrawal.

Students requesting military withdrawal must present a petition for withdrawal and a copy of the military orders, or other acceptable documentation, which verifies the dates and location of military assignment that compelled or compels withdrawal from classes. Military withdrawal may be requested at any time upon the student’s return to college.

A grade of “MW” shall be recorded on the permanent academic record upon approval of petition for military withdrawal. “MW” grades shall not be counted as one of the three enrollment attempts allowed to achieve a standard (passing) grade of C/P or better, or in the calculation of a student’s academic progress for the determination of academic standing.