Registration: Add/Drop and Withdrawal for Undergraduates

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Drop vs. Withdrawal

Drop

  1. Submitted on add/drop form
  2. Requires instructor and advisor signature only during add/drop period
  3. Submission period: first 7 days of class for fall/spring or first 3 days of summer
  4. Removes course from transcript
  5. No limit on adds or drops
  6. Does not affect financial aid or other eligibilities unless student fails to meet full-time status
  7. NCAA Division 1 athletes and international students may not withdraw or take a late drop or withdrawal if the change decreases their enrollment to less than 3.5 units. 
    Students should consult with financial aid, student financial services, international student services, or athletics as needed. 

Withdrawal from a course

  1. Submitted on a withdrawal petition
  2. Always requires instructor and advisor signatures on form
  3. Submission period: after the first seven days and until the 10th week of classes for fall/spring or after the first three days and until the end of the 3rd week for summer
  4. Displays course with “W” grade on transcript
  5. Limited to 2 course withdrawals during academic career
  6. May impair New York State TAP, other New York State aid awards and other eligibilities. 
  7. NCAA Division 1 athletes and international students may not withdraw or take a late drop or withdrawal if the change decreases their enrollment to less than 3.5 units. 
    Students should consult with financial aid, student financial services, international student services, or athletics as needed. 

Add/Drop Policy

During the first seven days after classes begin in any semester or the first three days after classes begin in any summer session, a student may add or drop a course without a permanent record being made of the change. Students changing their schedules within the add/drop period must have written approval of the instructor of each course being added or dropped as well as the approval of their advisor. Students may request from the Academic Petitions Committee a late schedule change with instructor and advisor permission. Approved late changes may result in a $50 late change fee.

Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal from a Course

Twice before graduation, students are permitted to withdraw from a course after the first seven days and until the end of the 10th week of classes for fall and spring semester courses that meet over the entire semester. For courses that meet for half of a semester or during Summerterm, students may withdraw after the first three days and until the end of the third week. The course remains on their transcript, and a “W” grade is entered by the registrar. If a withdrawal form, properly executed, is not submitted before the deadline, the student remains enrolled in the course, and is graded accordingly. Withdrawing from FYP or FYS is not permitted. Students should contact the Student Financial Services Office to determine if withdrawing from a course will jeopardize a NYS grant or scholarship. NCAA Division 1 athletes and international students may not withdraw or take a late drop or withdrawal if the change decreases their enrollment to less than 3.5 units. Students should consult with financial aid, student financial services, international student services, or athletics as needed. 

Medical Withdrawal

Students may apply to the vice president and dean of student life for a medical withdrawal from a course, courses, or the entire semester during the semester for which the withdrawal is requested. Documentation from an appropriate medical, psychiatric or psychological professional must be provided at the time of application.

If the medical withdrawal from all courses is approved, the student must leave campus immediately. The registrar enters a “WM” grade for all enrolled courses. The medical withdrawal would continue for the remainder of the semester and for at least one additional semester. The vice president and dean of student life may grant a medical withdrawal for the semester immediately preceding the semester for which the student is registered, provided (1) the withdrawal is for the entire semester and (2) in her/his judgment, application for the medical withdrawal could have been made and would have been granted for that semester. Only in consultation with the associate dean for academic advising, and under unusual, documented circumstances, may a medical withdrawal be granted for a semester prior to the last semester for which the student was registered. If a withdrawal for medical reasons is approved, the registrar enters a “WM” grade for each course involved. Refer to the university catalog regarding a financial credit that may be available to a student readmitted to St. Lawrence after taking a medical withdrawal in a prior semester. A medical withdrawal from a partial course load does not allow the student to receive financial credit in a future semester.

If a student who is on a medical withdrawal from the University applies for readmission to St. Lawrence, the student’s physician or another certified medical professional must supply the student life office with a letter giving professional assurance that the student has recovered from the medical problem and that there is a reasonable assurance that the student can successfully resume his or her career at St. Lawrence.