What does Drop, Withdrawal, or Audit mean?
What is a Drop?
A “drop” refers to dropping one or more courses from a student's schedule while still staying enrolled in others. The dropped course will not appear on a student's transcript, and the payment made for it will be refunded. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the drop deadline at the start of each semester.
What is a Withdrawal?
A "withdrawal" is the action taken to remove a student from a course after the drop/add period, up until the deadline date listed for the term. Withdrawal may be initiated by a student or instructor by completion of forms provided by the Office of Student Affairs and will result in a grade of "W" or "W2." Students who are withdrawn from classes will not receive refund of fees. Withdrawals may have an effect on a student's financial aid, VA benefits, or Standards of Academic Progress. Signature of the instructor and the official last date of attendance are required on the Audit/Withdrawal Request form. Before withdrawing from a class, students should speak to an academic advisor. Students cannot withdraw from a class if it is their third attempt taking the course.
Instructor-Initiated Withdrawal
Instructor-initiated withdrawals occur when a student has been inactive and/or absent in a course. It is the student's responsibility to communicate with their professor if they will be absent. Students are required to complete any coursework assigned in online courses by the assigned deadlines to avoid an instructor-initiated withdrawal. An instructor-initiated withdrawal will appear as a "W2" grade on a student's transcript.
Students should review the academic calendar for important drop and withdrawal dates each term. Withdrawals count as attempts, which may impact Student Academic Progress for students receiving financial aid.
What is an Audit?
Non-dual enrollment registered students may change course registration from credit earning to "audit" status. Class tests or examinations are not required of the student auditing the course; however, class attendance is expected.
Eligibility
Students must:
Eligible students may drop classes online using the student information system. Students are reminded that they are solely responsible for any errors in registration. Students should always make a copy of their course transactions when adding or dropping classes. Note, students on restrictions, requiring college preparatory courses or changing courses which have a corequisite, laboratory or clinical component, will need to make these changes at the Student Affairs office.
Financial aid recipients, veterans and other students whose programs require specific credit hour enrollment should be aware that dropping from a class may change their award eligibility and may reduce the amount of aid they receive for the term.