Friday is the final opportunity for U students to get out of classes without harming their GPAs.
Although the deadline to drop courses has passed, students may still choose to “withdraw” from classes.The “W” will appear on students’ transcripts, but as a neutral grade, it will not affect the total GPA.
If a full-time student drops enough credits to make them part time, the Registrar’s Office would still view him or her as a full-time student.
“In some cases, they would still be considered full time because they enrolled, paid tuition and attended the term for some time,” said U Registrar Ralph Boren. “We assume they’re full time in our office.”
Students who receive financial aid may lose some or all of their allotted funds-either for a current or future semester-if they fall to part-time status.
“If it’s a total withdraw, we have to return some of the funds to the federal programs,” said John Curl, interim director of financial aid. “It may impact the current semester, it may impact the future one. It’s really dependent on each case, but we are required to ensure they’re making satisfactory progress.”
Students are encouraged to consult a financial aid adviser before withdrawing from a class so their particular cases can be analyzed.
Although transcripts display a “W” for withdrawals, Boren said students who are planning to attend graduate school would not be hurt by the neutral grade.
“Typically speaking, as long as there’s not a pattern of W’s, it would not affect their application to graduate school,” Boren said. “If they have a pattern of withdrawals on their transcripts, that may raise a flag to people who are analyzing transcripts for graduate school applicants, but I don’t think it’s uncommon for students to have one or two W’s.”
Select students can petition the deadline prior to the end of the semester if they have a nonacademic emergency and they petition through the dean of their college, Boren said.
If an emergency, such as a health problem, occurs after the withdrawal deadline, he or she could petition for late withdrawal rather than facing a diminished GPA.
“It has to be something that occurs in their life,” Boren said.