Schedule Changes and Course Withdrawals

Administrative Procedure 1.202

Students making changes to their class schedule after registering may make those changes online at the Access ECC Student Portal or in the Registration Office B105. According to the following table, Students may change their schedule until 11:59 pm.

Changes that can be made during this time include adding or dropping classes, and changing sections of the same course. Changes will be made only if space is available for effective instruction.

After the schedule change period, students may still add a class with instructor consent if space is available for effective instruction and prerequisites have been met.

All changes to schedules after the start of the semester are subject to the policy.

Withdrawal (W) and Administrative Withdrawal (AW)

Students are expected to attend all enrolled classes and meet the individual attendance requirements identified in the class syllabus. Under no circumstances should a student stop attending class without formally withdrawing.

For each section offered during the semester, the Drop Dates by Section spreadsheet includes: Start date, last date to drop at 100% tuition refund, last date to drop at 80% tuition refund, last date to drop at 50% tuition refund, midterm date, last date to drop, and end date.

Student Initiated Withdrawals

After the schedule change period described in the chart above, students may formally withdraw from a class to receive a grade of W before the last date to drop. The W grade carries no academic penalty and is not used to calculate the student’s grade point average. The W grade will be used to calculate financial aid attempts. Students are responsible for withdrawing from classes they registered for but do not plan to attend. Students should pay close attention to the refund policy.

Faculty Initiated Student Withdrawal

If a student has never attended, faculty must withdraw the student from class by the established 10th day, but no later than midterm.

• While it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to withdraw from classes they are not attending, it is also the responsibility of the faculty to withdraw students who are enrolled but not attending or actively participating.
• Dropping students who are not attending by the 10th day allows the college to report enrollment numbers accurately to the state, impacting apportionment. Faculty do not have to wait until the 10th day to drop students who are not attending or actively participating.
• It is in the best interest of students who are not attending to withdraw them within the schedule change period, when possible, so they do not incur charges or a W grade for classes they are not attending or actively participating.

Faculty reserve the right to withdraw a student from class during the withdrawal period due to excessive, unexcused absence or if the student is not actively pursuing course completion as stated in the syllabus.

To be considered actively pursuing completion in a class, a student must participate in a class or otherwise be engaged in academically related activity, such as contributing to online discussions, submitting assignments, completing tests or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask course-related questions before the identified 10th day of classes (for classes shorter than 16 weeks, by the 100% refund date).

Students not actively participating in accordance with the class syllabus may be withdrawn and held responsible for all tuition and fees associated with the class.

To withdraw a student after the midterm date of a section and no later than the last day to drop, faculty must submit an email to records@elgin.edu with the student’s name, ID, and course information. Faculty cannot withdraw students after the last day to drop.

Withdrawal for Nonpayment

The College reserves the right to cancel a student's enrollment for nonpayment of tuition and fees.

Administrative Withdrawal

Students may not withdraw themselves from class after the last day to drop. Students needing to withdraw due to extenuating circumstances after the last day to drop need to request an administrative withdrawal from the Associate Dean of Student Success (primary contact) or the Associate Vice President of Student Services & Development (AVP, secondary contact). Student requests for administrative withdrawal must be formally submitted after the last day to drop and no later than one (1) calendar year from the last day following the semester in which the class(es) were taken. The process is as follows:

1) The student formally requests an administrative withdrawal from the Associate Dean of Student Success or alternate (AVP) using the AW Request form (available upon request via email to DeanofStudents@elgin.edu). An administrative withdrawal is usually required for all classes the student is enrolled in during the semester in which the qualifying event took place. The request must be accompanied by appropriate documentation identifying the reason(s) for withdrawal and the impact the situation had or will have on the student's ability to complete the semester successfully. The Associate Dean of Student Success office will keep the documentation confidential.

2) The Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP will review the documentation to determine the appropriateness of the request.

3) If the Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP does not believe the request is justified, that person shall notify the student, in writing, of that decision within five school days of receiving the request. Once notified, the student may appeal that decision within five school days to the AVP if the decision was rendered by the Director of Student Success or to the Vice President of Teaching Learning & Student Development if the decision was rendered by the AVP. The appellate party will have ten school days to review the appeal and determine if the AW should be granted. The student will be notified of the decision in writing. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the matter will be concluded. If the appeal is successful, the appellate party will work with the Associate Dean of Student Success or alternate to continue the process as outlined below.

4) If the Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP believes the documentation provides a basis for granting an administrative withdrawal, that person will notify all affected faculty, in writing. Faculty will have five school days to respond, in writing, to the request.

5) Faculty may respond in one of three ways:

• concur with the findings;
• provide a written response opposing the withdrawal; or
• request a meeting with the Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP to review the case.

6) If there is no response by the faculty within five school days, the faculty is deemed to have concurred with the findings of the Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP.

7) If, after consultation with the faculty, the Associate Dean of Student Success or AVP still believes the administrative withdrawal is warranted, one of them will notify all affected faculty of that decision. If there is still disagreement, the faculty have two school days to express their concerns in writing to the Vice President of Teaching Learning and Student Development who will then review the decision.

8) If the request is approved, the student will receive an "AW" (Administrative Withdrawal) in place of a final grade on their transcript.

The AW is not used in the calculation of the student’s grade point average; however, the AW is used in the calculation of credit hours attempted as part of the financial aid satisfactory academic progress policy. The College refund policy will apply to students who qualify for administrative withdrawal.

More information can be found in the related Administrative Procedures, Student Grades 1.103, and Refunds for Credit and Non-Credit Courses 2.102.