Schedule Changes and Course Withdrawals 1.202

Schedule Changes

Students making changes to their class schedule after registering may make those changes online at https://elgin.edu/portal or in the Registration Office Building B, Room B.105. Students may make changes to their schedule until 11:59 p.m. according to the following table.

Changes that can be made during this time include adding classes, dropping one class and adding another, and changing sections of the same course. Changes will be made only if space for effective instruction is available. For online courses, students may add a section until 11:59 pm the day before the section starts.

After this time frame, students may still add a class with instructor consent if space for effective instruction is available and prerequisites have been met.

All changes to schedules after the start of the semester are subject to the refund policy at https://elgin.edu/refunds.

Withdrawal (W) and Administrative Withdrawal (AW)

Students are expected to attend all enrolled classes and to meet the individual attendance requirements as identified in the class syllabus. Under no circumstances should a student stop attending class without formally withdrawing.

For each section offered during the semester, Drop Dates by Section at https://elgin.edu/withdraw includes: Start date, end date, midterm date, last date to drop at 100% tuition refund, last date to drop at 80% tuition refund, last date to drop at 50% tuition refund and last date to drop.

Student Initiated Withdrawals

After the schedule change period described in the chart above, students may formally withdraw from a class to receive a grade of W prior to the last date to drop. The W grade carries no academic penalty and is not used in the calculation of the student’s grade point average. The W grade will be used in the calculation of financial aid attempts.

Faculty Initiated Student Withdrawal

If a student has never attended, the faculty must withdraw the student from class no later than midterm.

Faculty reserve the right to withdraw a student from class during the withdrawal period due to excessive, unexcused absence or if the student is not actively pursuing completion of the course as stated in the syllabus. To be considered actively pursuing completion in a class, a student must participate in a class or otherwise be engaged in academically related activity, such as contributing to online discussions, submitting assignments, completing tests or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask course-related questions prior to the identified 10th day of classes (for classes shorter than 16 weeks, by the 80% refund date). Students not actively participating in accordance with the class syllabus may be withdrawn and held responsible for all tuition and fees associated with the class.

In order to withdraw a student after the midterm date of a section and no later than the last day to drop, faculty must submit an email to records@elgin.edu with the student's name, ID, and course information. Faculty cannot withdraw students after the last day to drop.

Withdrawal for Nonpayment

The College reserves the right to cancel a student's enrollment for nonpayment of tuition and fees.

Administrative Withdrawal

Students may not withdraw themselves from class after the last day to drop and need to request an administrative withdrawal from the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs (primary contact) or the Associate Vice President of Student Services & Development/Dean of Students (AVP, secondary contact). Requests for administrative withdrawal must be formally submitted after the last day to drop and no later than one (1) calendar year of the last day following the semester in which the class(es) were taken. The process is as follows:

The student formally requests an administrative withdrawal from the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or alternate (AVP) using the Office of the AVP AW Request form (available via email request or in the Dean of Students office). Administrative withdrawal is usually required for all classes the student is enrolled in during the semester in which the qualifying event took place. The request must be accompanied by appropriate documentation identifying the reason for withdrawal and the impact the situation had or will have on the student's ability to successfully complete the semester. The documentation will be kept in a confidential file in the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs' office.

The Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or an alternate will review the documentation to determine the appropriateness of the request.

If the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or alternate does not believe the request is justified, that person shall notify the student, in writing, of that decision within five school days of receiving the request. Once notified, the student may appeal that decision within five school days to the AVP if the decision was rendered by the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs, or to the Vice President of Teaching Learning & Student Development if the decision was rendered by the AVP. The appellate party will have ten school days to review the appeal and determine if AW should be pursued. The student will be notified of the decision in writing. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the matter will be at an end. If the appeal is successful, the appellate party will work with the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or alternate to continue the process as outlined below.

If the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or alternate believes the documentation provides a basis for granting an administrative withdrawal, that person will notify all affected faculty, in writing. Faculty will have five school days to respond, in writing, to the request. Faculty may respond in one of three ways:

• concur with the finding;
• provide a written response opposing the withdrawal; or
• request a meeting with the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or alternate to review the case.

If there is no response by the faculty within five school days, the faculty is deemed to have concurred with the findings of the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs or AVP.

If, after consultation with the faculty, the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs and/or AVP still believes the administrative withdrawal is warranted, one of them will notify all affected faculty of that decision. If there is still disagreement, the faculty have two school days to voice their concerns to the Vice President of Teaching Learning and Student Development who will then review the decision.

If the request is approved, the student will receive an "AW" (Administrative Withdrawal) in place of a final grade on their transcript.

The AW is not used in the calculation of the student's grade point average; however, the AW is used in the calculation of credit hours attempted as part of the financial aid satisfactory academic progress policy. The College refund policy will apply to students who qualify for administrative withdrawal.

Related Administrative Procedures:

2.102 Refunds for Credit and Non-Credit Courses
1.103 Student Grades