1332 Revision of Class Schedules (Add/Drop/Withdraw) - Bachelor’s Level

Return to: 1300 University Academic Regulations  

Students who wish to revise their class schedules must follow the procedure appropriate for the period of time in the semester (see Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated) below). During the published registration periods for each semester, students may revise their schedules by accessing PAWS. Schedule revisions are defined as any changes to a student’s schedule and include adding, dropping and/or withdrawing classes.

All schedule adjustments must be completed by the official deadline as published in the online Semester Calendars at paws.gsu.edu. Printable calendars can also be found at registrar.gsu.edu.

1332.10 Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated)

Students are responsible for formally adding, dropping or withdrawing from courses using the online registration system, PAWS at paws.gsu.edu. Students may not attend a course unless they have registered for that course, nor should students simply stop attending a course unless they have formally dropped or withdrawn from that course. Students should be aware of the financial obligations and academic impact of adding, dropping or withdrawing from courses. Students should contact the Student Financial Management Center and their academic advisor for more information.

Course Add: Students who are eligible to register for classes may add courses to their official registration schedule by accessing the online registration system in PAWS. See Registration Procedures .

Course Drop: Students who wish to remove a course from their academic record must drop their course in PAWS prior to 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the late registration period (see the Academic Calendar for official dates). Dropped courses do not appear on the student’s official academic record (which includes their academic transcript) and do not incur tuition and fee charges. Note: Dropping courses and lowering your credit hours for the term may have consequences academically or financially including Federal Student Aid, VA Educational Benefits, etc. See Course Load  for additional information on course load requirements. (For information on course drops due to failure to pay tuition and fees, see Payment of Tuition and Fees ).

Course Withdrawal: After the end of the late registration period and up to the semester midpoint (see the Academic Calendar for official dates), students who wish to no longer attend or participate in a course may withdraw from that course using the online registration system in PAWS. Withdrawn courses appear on a student’s official academic record (which includes their academic transcript) and incur charges. Undergraduate degree-seeking students are limited in the number of courses they may withdraw from without academic penalties. Students will receive a grade of W or WF for any class withdrawn during this period depending on whether or not they have exceeded their limit of withdrawals with a grade of W.

After the semester midpoint, students may no longer initiate a withdrawal from a course on PAWS. Courses that are not officially withdrawn prior to the midpoint will be awarded grades based on academic performance.

Note: Withdrawing courses for the term may have consequences academically or financially including Federal Student Aid, VA Educational Benefits, etc. See Course Load  for additional information on course load requirements.

Limits on Withdrawals with a Grade of W

1. Students are allowed to withdraw with a grade of W a maximum of six times in their undergraduate bachelor-level careers at Georgia State.
2. The limit on withdrawals does not apply if a student withdraws from all classes during a term before the midpoint. However, students are only allowed to withdraw from all classes prior to the midpoint twice without having their withdrawals count against the limit. Students who withdraw from all classes a third or subsequent time will automatically receive a grade of WF in their classes if they have reached their limit of Ws.
3. It is possible that a student will withdraw from more than one class in a particular semester and not have enough Ws left to use a W in all those classes. In that case, classes will be awarded a W based on the date and time the student initiated the withdrawal from that class. For example, if a student had taken five Ws in their career at Georgia State and then withdrew from three of the four classes in which the student is enrolled, the student’s sixth W allowed would be assigned to the class from which the student withdrew first. The student would receive a WF in the other two classes. In these cases, students may make an appeal to the University Advisement Center or the student’s Office of Academic Advisement to shift the W from one class to another. Such requests must be made no later than the end of the subsequent semester in which the student withdrew from the classes. (Whether a student is enrolled in the semester after the semester in which the student withdrew from the classes does not change this time limit.) Students may not shift Ws between semesters.
4. The following types of withdrawals do not count against the limit on withdrawals with a grade of W.
   • Emergency withdrawals (see Emergency Withdrawal).
   • Grades of WF (withdrawal failing which equals an F for GPA calculation purposes).
   • Grade of WM (withdrawal military).
   • Grade notation of “-” before the grade of W indicating non-attendance documented by the professor.
   • Withdrawals for nonpayment.
   • Withdrawals from courses numbered below 1000.
   • Withdrawals taken in semesters before Fall Semester 2006.
   • Withdrawals taken at other institutions.
5. If a course has a separate co-requisite lab or support course with a different course number, withdrawing from both courses simultaneously shall count as a single W with respect to the limit on voluntary Ws. This provision only applies to course that must be taken concurrently.
6. This policy applies to all degree-seeking undergraduate bachelor level students. It does not apply to non-degree students (such as post-baccalaureate and transient students).
7. Students who are withdrawn by faculty or the Office of the Registrar are subject to this policy. See Course Withdrawal (Faculty Initiated) for more information.

Students formally withdrawing from all classes may be entitled to a partial refund of their fees (see Scholarships and Awards Offered Through a College or Department ).

See Withdrawals and Drops from Off-Campus Courses and Cancelled Courses through Non-Academic Withdrawal for additional information on course withdrawals.

1332.20 Withdrawals and Drops from Off-Campus Courses and Cancelled Courses

In general, if a student voluntarily withdraws from an non-campus based course, then the normal withdrawal policy applies (see Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated)). If the course’s schedule does not match a Georgia State University term, then the mid-point of the course will be the mid-point of the period from the first meeting of the course to the last meeting of the course.

If a course is cancelled by Georgia State after the first week of classes, then the student may choose between the following options:

• They may have the course dropped from their schedule (even if the course is cancelled after the end of Late Registration), or
• They may take a W in the course, or
• In coordination with the course instructor and the department chair, the student may develop an academically appropriate plan to complete the course. These plans must be approved by the instructor and the department chair.

1332.30 Course Withdrawal (Faculty Initiated)

Students are responsible for consulting the course syllabus for specific instructor policies regarding such matters as penalties for missing the first class, an exam, an assignment or a project. These may include, among the other things, being withdrawn from a course. Students are expected to observe all policies governing the class. Faculty must clearly state these policies in the course syllabus. When a faculty member determines that a student is in violation of one of the class policies (for example, has missed a required assignment or has excessive absences), that faculty member may withdraw the student from the course. Courses involuntarily withdrawn by a faculty member count towards the student’s limit on withdrawn courses. Students involuntarily withdrawn prior to the midpoint of the course will be assigned a grade of W unless they have exceeded their maximum number of withdrawals allowed (see Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated)). Students involuntarily withdrawn after the midpoint of the course will be assigned a grade of WF. Note that a WF is treated as an F for GPA calculation purposes. Using the official Georgia State University email system, the faculty member will notify a student who is involuntarily withdrawn, and within ten days of this notification, the student may petition to the department chair for reinstatement in the course.

Students involuntarily withdrawn from all classes may be entitled to a partial refund of their fees (see Tuition and Fees ).

1332.40 Emergency Withdrawal

Students may request an emergency withdrawal when a non-academic emergency situation occurs that prevents them from completing their course work (e.g., severe medical problems, traumatic events) and when the timing or nature of the emergency prevents them from voluntarily withdrawing from their classes. (See Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated).) Emergency withdrawals are subject to the following restrictions:

• Students must initiate an application for an emergency withdrawal no later than two academic years after the semester in which the courses were taken.
• Students may request emergency withdrawals in a maximum of two semesters of their enrollment at Georgia State.
• Students may not request an emergency withdrawal after degree conferral.

Emergency withdrawals normally apply to all the courses a student took in a semester. In exceptional cases, emergency withdrawals may be granted for some of a student’s courses. Students requesting an emergency withdrawal in some but not all of their courses must provide documentation to justify a partial withdrawal.

If a student is granted an emergency withdrawal, W grades will automatically be awarded. W grades awarded as a result of the emergency withdrawal process do not count against the student’s voluntary withdrawal limits. (See Adding / Dropping / Withdrawing Classes (Student Initiated).)

For further information on emergency withdrawals, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at deanofstudents.gsu.edu.

1332.45 Military Withdrawal

Withdrawal for Military Service: Refunds and Grades

Full refunds of tuition and mandatory fees and pro rata refunds of elective fees may be considered for students who are:

1. Military reservists (including members of the National Guard) who, after having enrolled in courses and paid tuition and fees, receive orders without prior notice to active duty, reassigned for temporary duty, or mandatory training and the orders prevent completion of the term;
2. Commissioned officers of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) who receive deployment orders in response to a public health crisis or national emergency after having enrolled in courses and paid tuition and fees and the orders prevent completion of the term;
3. Active duty military personnel who, after having enrolled in courses and paid tuition and fees, receive reassignment, a temporary duty assignment, or a training assignment without prior notice and the orders prevent completion of the term; or,
4. Otherwise unusually and detrimentally affected by the activation of members of the reserve components or the deployment of active duty personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States who demonstrate a need for exceptional equitable relief.

This policy does not apply to a student enlisting in the Armed Forces prior to or during a semester, unless the student presents documentation showing his/her date to report to initial training was changed without the student’s prior knowledge and the new reporting date prevents completion of the term.

Students must officially withdraw and submit official orders to the Office of the Registrar, Sparks Hall 224, prior to leaving for the assignment. The student is not eligible for a military withdrawal in any course in which the student has completed the course requirements (for example, taking the final exam or submitting the final paper) and/or a grade has been assigned. Elective fees are to be prorated according to the date on which the student officially withdraws. Students who withdraw and receive a full tuition refund will receive a grade of “WM” (military withdrawal) for all courses from which the student has withdrawn.

Appeals Committee

Per the BOR’s policy on Military Service Refunds, 7.3.5.3, requests for exceptional relief are made directly to the president of the institution and the president will make a determination on each request expeditiously.

Requests for course withdrawals due to military service will first be considered by the certifying officials in the Office of the Registrar. If a student’s request is denied and the student feels his/her case requires exceptional relief due to an unusual or detrimental activation, then the request will be considered by the Military Outreach Committee.

The Military Outreach Committee consists of academic advisors, VA benefit certifying officials, ROTC representatives, associate deans and university representatives from the Counseling Center and Affirmative Action. This committee will make recommendations to approve or deny students’ requests to the Vice President for Enrollment and Provost/VP for Academic Affairs.

Appeals of the decision of the Vice President for Enrollment and Provost/VP for Academic Affairs may be initiated by the student within 5 business days of notification of the Vice President for Enrollment’s decision and will be considered by the Provost.

Appeals of the decision of the Provost may be initiated by the student within 5 business days of notification of the Provost’s decision and will be considered by the President.

1332.50 Non-Academic Withdrawal

See the Student Code of Conduct: http://codeofconduct.gsu.edu/