Students are responsible for managing their time at the University and balancing their studies with their other commitments outside of the University. After the term has begun, students may adjust their academic workload by dropping or withdrawing from a course by following the procedures outlined in this section.

Students who find that they are frequently dropping or withdrawing from courses are strongly encouraged to contact their personal Program Advisors.

Please note that the University seeks to process drops and withdrawals in a prompt manner. The removal of the student is valid from the moment of the request, regardless of when Moodle reflects the removal. Work in the class, before or after the drop or withdrawal request, will not count towards a final grade in the class.

Course Drop

A student may drop a course during the first week of the term without academic penalty. A course drop during this time does not appear on the student’s transcript and does not affect the grade point average (GPA).

Course drop requests must be sent from the Online Forms area in the UoPeople Portal. Students are advised to refer to the Academic Calendar to verify the last day to drop a course each term.

Course Withdrawal

Students may also formally withdraw from the course roster after the course drop period has passed, but must do so within the first four weeks of the term. A course withdrawal differs from a course drop in that the course is listed on the student’s official transcript. Withdrawing from a course does not assume withdrawal from the University.

The following consequences apply to a student who withdraws from a course within the first four weeks of the term:

• • • The student receives a grade of “W” for the course.
    • The grade of “W” appears on the student’s transcript.
    • The grade of “W” does not affect the student’s term or cumulative grade point averages.

Course withdrawal requests must be sent from the Online Forms area in the UoPeople Portal . Students are advised to refer to the Academic Calendar to verify the last day to withdraw from a course without penalty.

Courses that have been withdrawn from and then repeated, will be reflected on the transcript as an “R”.

Courses where academic misconduct has been determined may be assigned a grade of Fail “F” at the discretion of the Office of Academic Affairs.

Petition for Late Withdrawal

Students are responsible for completing the required work in all courses in which they are still enrolled after the withdrawal deadline.  Only the most serious circumstances warrant withdrawing from a course after the last day of the withdrawal deadline listed in the Academic Calendar above. However, in the event of a documented emergency after the Course Withdrawal deadline, students may petition the Student Affairs Committee for a late withdrawal.

Late withdrawals are rarely granted by the University. Students should understand that petitioning for a late withdrawal indicates that a non-academic, extraordinary event (like a serious illness or a severe personal disruption, but not including internet problems) occurred after the course withdrawal deadline (during the last five weeks of the term) to make completion of a course or courses very difficult, if not impossible. Evidence that the student’s academic performance has been satisfactory up until to the point of the disruptive event will be an important consideration in the deliberations of the Student Affairs Committee.

To petition, students must first contact their personal Program Advisor to discuss the circumstances requiring a late withdrawal. Afterwards, students choosing to continue with the process of applying for a late withdrawal are required to submit all supporting documentation, in English, with the late withdrawal request to the Office of Student Services no later than the last day of a term.

Late petitions will be considered by the Committee only in the case of extraordinary circumstances and only if the student did not take the final exam. In the event that a late withdrawal petition is approved, a grade of “W” will be issued for the course(s) and will be reflected on the student’s transcript. Students will receive written notification by the Office of Student Services of accommodations offered and/or denied within six weeks.

Administrative Course Withdrawal

Students who do not participate in a course by the end of the 4th week of the term, or who may have participated minimally but earned no credit for any graded assessments, may be subject to an Administrative Withdrawal from the course.

Students who are administratively withdrawn from a course receive a grade of “W” for the course; the “W” appears on the student’s transcript, but the grade of “W” does not affect the student’s GPA.