Dropping or Withdrawing from Courses

Dropping or Withdrawing from Courses

If a student’s personal circumstances dictate the need to reduce his/her academic load, that student should confer with an advisor for assistance in adjusting the number of courses being taken.

Prior to the official date of record, a student may drop a course without it showing as a withdrawal or “W” on their academic transcript. A student should drop eligible courses online through MyNCTC on OneLogin by going to Student Services and then Add/Drop Courses or by emailing Advising at advising@nctc.edu.

A grade of “W” will be given to students who officially withdraw from a course by the deadline noted in the academic calendar. Any course withdrawals after this will be made with the approval of the instructor and the Division Chair. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate the action necessary to withdraw from courses under the conditions outlined above. Requests for withdrawal can be completed online in a student’s MyNCTC account by going to Student Services and then Course Withdrawal Request. The request for course withdrawal must be submitted on or before the last day to withdraw with a “W” (see Academic Calendar in front of catalog for specific date), and it is not available until the official date of record. Withdrawals will not be accepted via telephone.

Students who register for courses are required to drop or withdraw from any courses they no longer wish to attend or a final grade will be assigned. Instructors may drop or withdraw students from courses for non-attendance.

Course Withdrawal

A course withdrawal, which will be recorded on the transcript, is defined as an affected credit course not completed by an undergraduate student who:

• is enrolled in the course by the official date of record.*
• will receive a grade of W which has a non-punitive effect on the student’s grade point average (GPA).
  Official date of record varies according to the length of the course. The most common course lengths are listed below. For the official date of record for all other course lengths, please refer to the Academic Calendar .

The following courses will be exempt from being counted as a withdrawal towards the 6-drop limitation. The courses are as follows:

• College preparatory course drops (including non-college-prep courses dropped as a result of non-attendance in the college preparatory courses),
• Co-requisite courses (courses that are linked together such as a lecture/lab class),
  and
• Dual credit courses (courses that are taken as dual credit while also enrolled in the high school).

Withdrawals that will count towards the 6-drop limit include:

• Students who are withdrawn from the institution for disciplinary reasons.
• Students who are withdrawn for non-attendance by individual faculty members.
• Students who do not meet any of the exemptions listed in the 6 Drop Limit section.

Complete Withdrawal

If a student wishes to withdraw from all courses, he/she must complete the Course Withdrawal Request located through MyNCTC on OneLogin on the Student Services tab. Once a grade has been given for a course, the student must initiate the grade appeal process by the end of the sixth week of the next long semester after completion of the course. See section on Grade Appeal Process .

If a student withdraws completely from the College on or prior to the course withdrawal deadline (see Academic Calendar  for specific date), a final grade of “W” will be recorded for each course in which the student is enrolled. Should a student withdraw completely from the college after the course withdrawal deadline, a final grade will be recorded for each course in which the student is enrolled at the discretion of the appropriate Dean with the advice and consultation of the instructor of record.

Medical Withdrawal

Policy

The Registrar (or designated representative) may grant medical withdrawals to students who must withdraw for medical reasons from all courses for which they are registered at NCTC. It is expected that the appeal will be filed as soon as possible, no later than a week prior to final exams.

Students who receive medical withdrawals after the last day to withdraw without receiving a grade shall receive either an “I” or a “W” in each course for which they were registered.

Procedures

1. Students (or their appointed representatives if they are unable to act for themselves) who seek to withdraw for medical reasons from all courses for which they are registered at NCTC shall, as soon as possible, request medical withdrawals in writing from the Registrar, submitting all appropriate documentation, including a statement from a physician or psychologist, with their written requests.
2. The documentation will be sent to the appropriate deans of the subject areas involved within the appeal. If the appeal involves multiple disciplines, then the request will be sent to the deans to discuss collaboratively providing a recommendation to the Office of Research and Reporting for review.
3. The Deans will be responsible for the validation of documentation.
4. The Registrar will inform the student and instructor of the decision in writing if the request is approved.

Faculty Withdrawals

A faculty member can withdraw a student from a course due to excessive absences. If a faculty member withdraws a student who has exceeded the six-drop limit and who does not meet any of the areas of exemption, the withdrawal slip will be sent back to the faculty member with an indication that the student can no longer be withdrawn from classes due to exceeding the “six-drop limit”. The faculty member will be required to give the student a grade.

Military Withdrawal

If a student withdraws from NCTC because he/she is called into active military service, the college will, at the student’s option:

1. Refund the tuition and fees paid by the student for the semester in which the student withdraws;
2. As determined by the instructor, assign an appropriate final grade or credit to a student who has satisfactorily completed a substantial amount of coursework and who has demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material.

6 Drop Policy

Effective 2007, section 51.907 of the Texas Education Code applies to first-time freshman students who enroll in a Texas public institution of higher education in the fall semester of 2007 or thereafter. High school students currently enrolled in the North Central Texas College Dual Credit and Early Admission program are waived from this requirement until high school graduation.

Based on this law, any Texas Public institution of higher education may not permit students to withdraw from more than six college-level credit courses for unacceptable reasons during their entire undergraduate career without penalty. All college-level courses withdrawn after the official date of record are included in the six-course limit, including courses dropped at another Texas public institution of higher education, unless the student demonstrates to an appropriate college official that one of the following events occurred to the student during the semester or summer session:

• A severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
• The student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
• The death of a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s death is considered to be a showing of good cause.
• The active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United State of either the student or a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s active military service is considered to be a showing of good cause.
• The change of the student’s work schedule that is beyond the control of the student and affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
• Other good causes as determined by the college official.

Contact the Registrar’s Office for further details related to exceptions.

51.907 b.3 Withdraw from the Institution

Withdrawn from the Institution is defined as any student that has dropped all courses for the semester, including any mini-semesters.

The Registrar’s Office is responsible for tracking the number of drops that students have accumulated at North Central Texas College and from any transfer institution of public higher education in Texas. These drops will be indicated on the student’s NCTC transcript.