University Senate By-Laws

II.B.10 Academic Advising and Registration

Adding, Dropping or Withdrawing from a Course

Students may drop courses before the end of the tenth day of classes without transcript notations. After the tenth day of classes and through the eleventh week of the semester, a student may withdraw from one course (for any reason) with permission from the student’s advisor. Students interested in withdrawing from more than one course after the tenth day of classes or interested in withdrawing from a course after the eleventh week of the semester require approval by the student’s advisor and by the Dean or designee of the school or college in which the student is enrolled. Approvals are given only for extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control; poor academic performance is not an extenuating circumstance. Any course withdrawn from after the first ten days of classes will receive a ‘W’ on the transcript. Exceptions to transcript notations can be made only by the Provost or designee. For courses taught outside of the fall and spring semesters, these deadlines will be adjusted in a pro-rated fashion by the Registrar.

Pro forma approvals for no-W withdrawal

• Policy: Pro forma approvals are permitted in the following cases:

• • Section changes (excluding changes from W (writing-intensive) section to non-W sections)
  • When documentation in Student Admin provides clear evidence that the student attempted to drop the course before Day 11 of the semester.
• Procedure: Dean sends schedule revision information to OneStop (onestop@uconn.edu), cc’ing the Office of Undergraduate Advising (advising@uconn.edu), indicating that they are approving the change as a section change.

Criteria for considering and/or approving other no-W withdrawal requests

• Registration errors

          Examples:

• • University registered student for classes, which were later deemed to be unnecessary/inappropriate
  • Documentable OneStop/Registrar error (incorrect data entry)
• University Circumstances

          Examples:

• • Timing issues: class(es) begin late due to weather events
  • Documentable instructor issues where instructor is not following university policies
  • Documentable advising issues, such as misalignment of catalog updates and advising (e.g. repeat rule changes)

• Student Circumstances

Examples: 

• • Veteran circumstances (verified by Veterans office)
  • Documentable evidence that student was physically unable to make schedule changes before Day 10
    • If there is medical or other sensitive documentation included in the student request, it should be sent directly to CSD for initial review

• Students with documented disabilities
  • These requests will be reviewed by the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD), and they will determine if a modification or adjustment is warranted.

Process for reviewing no-W withdrawal requests

• Student makes the request to their school/college dean’s office
  • Student must provide written explanation of circumstances, including full rationale and any supporting documentation for their request
  • Any sensitive documentation (e.g., medical, disability) should be forwarded to the CSD for review

Note: The student should withdraw from the relevant course(s) prior to requesting a no-W withdrawal

• Dean’s office or designee reviews request to ensure explanation is complete and all relevant information is included
  • Student with a documented disability: the no-W withdrawal request will first be forwarded to the CSD for review and a determination will be made if a modification or adjustment is warranted
  • Once the CSD makes a recommendation on the student’s case, they will send approved requests to One Stop, copying the Office of Undergraduate Advising
  • If request is not supported by CSD due to a documented disability, it will be forwarded to the No-W Withdrawal Committee for review
• Dean’s office or designee forwards request to the No-W Withdrawal Committee by emailing advising@uconn.edu for consideration. It should not be forwarded without the following documentation:

1. • Full written explanation of the circumstances (from the student)
   • Documentation of circumstances

• No-W Withdrawal Committee will make a recommendation to Provost or Provost’s designee (Office of Undergraduate Advising)
• Provost or Provost’s designee will make final decision and submit to One Stop Student Services. The Office of Undergraduate Advising will inform students of the outcome of the committee decision via Nexus message. The Office of Undergraduate Advising will also inform the originating Dean’s office representative and One Stop of the outcome of the request.

No-W Withdrawal Committee membership (membership determined each academic year)

• At least three professional advising staff in leadership roles
• OneStop representative (ex-officio member and resource to provide additional information and potential implications of decisions)
• Office of Undergraduate Advising representative serves as chair of committee (evaluates incoming requests, monitors progress, makes final decision, and communicates decisions to appropriate parties)