Mid-semester grades are going out soon, so it’s quite likely that you’ll come across a student trying to understand what choices they have after they see that grade of D (or F!) in a class. So what are their choices?
Make a plan for success!
Okay, this isn’t an official policy or procedure, but I hope we can all agree that the student should try to meet with their faculty advisor, the teacher of the class they’re failing, or someone in the Academic Support Center, to try to assess their position in the class and (if it seems feasible) try to develop a plan to get their grade turned around and back on track.
If it really seems like the better option is to leave the course…
Withdrawing from a Course
As you know, the first two weeks of the semester are denoted Add/Drop and are a period where students can drop courses without penalty (and if they’ve already paid for it, receive a refund for the cost of that course). But what happens if a student drops a class after that period ends?
As long as the student is dropping the course before the semester (or course) is 60% completed, the student can drop the course and receive a grade of “W” for it on their transcript. That “W” can then be replaced by retaking the course for a grade change (for more on this, see our post on Grade Replacement & Amelioration).
So how does the student withdraw from the course?
- If they have been approved to register online, students can drop it online through the 60% mark (which is the 25th of March for the Spring 2022 semester).
- If they have not been approved for online registration, then the student needs to submit the drop request in writing. The best way to accomplish this is using the Add/Drop form available here: https://castleton.s3.amazonaws.com/files/resources/add-drop.pdf
- Note: The student will need their advisor’s signature on the form, but they will not need to get a signature from the faculty teaching the class they are dropping.
- Students can submit the completed form by coming to Financial and Registration Services or the Registrar’s office to be dropped or they can email the form to the Registrar or Financial & Registration Services.
- If the student chooses to email they should follow up if they do not hear that the form was received and processed.
- Note: The student will need their advisor’s signature on the form, but they will not need to get a signature from the faculty teaching the class they are dropping.
Leave of Absence
Is it more than one course that’s gone awry? Is it because there are special or extenuating circumstances that are impacting the student’s ability to be successful this semester? Then you may want to talk to the student about taking a Leave of Absence.
Ordinarily, students should submit their requests to take a Leave of Absence during the Add/Drop period. However, we all know that incredibly unfortunate and unexpected circumstances can arise (especially those that are medical in nature). So as the official academic policy states, if there are special circumstances, an Academic Dean may approve the leave outside of that period.
If you think the student’s case deserves that consideration, the next step is to encourage them to talk to their academic advisor and then the Academic Dean associated with their program’s college:
- College of Business: Dean Cathy Kozlik
- College of Health & Science: Dean Francesca Catalano
- College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences: Dean Gillian Galle
Not sure which College? You can check out the departments and their associated colleges here: https://www.castleton.edu/academics/the-three-colleges-of-castleton-university/
The Academic Dean will meet with the student to review their case and their concerns and then, if the circumstances merit it, supply the student with the necessary form to complete. If the Leave of Absence has been granted after the Add/Drop window, the student will be withdrawn from all courses they are still enrolled in that semester and will receive a grade of “W” in each one of those courses.
Information on how tuition is refunded/impacted by a Leave of Absence (or Resignation from the University) can be found here: http://catalog.castleton.edu/content.php?catoid=24&navoid=2383#Refunds_for_Resignation_or_Leave_of_Absence
