 Withdrawals  “Undergraduate students may receive a grade of W for no more than 16 credit hours over their academic careers.”  Applies to entire undergraduate student body beginning Fall 2014, but does not apply for W’s in courses prior to Fall 2014  Consolidates withdrawal deadlines to the 9 th week  All withdrawals will appear on transcript as W or WE (extenuating circumstances)

 Goals of New Policy  Encourage students to assign high priority to completing what they start  Encourage student success by reducing the number of unsuccessful course attempts and related undesired consequences: ▪Student debt ▪Untimely graduation  Ensure that students enroll only in those classes they intend to complete, thus freeing up more seats for ALL students

 September 27, 2013: W Website Launch  December 3, 2013: Faculty/Staff Communication Launch  March 10, 2014: Student and Campus-Wide Communication Launch

Three critical clauses: 1. Students who experience serious extenuating circumstances (personal or medical crisis or military deployment) may petition for a withdrawal that does not count against their career W limit. 2. The student is expected to submit the petition during the term the crisis begins. If approved, a grade of WE will be recorded for each course 3. Courses marked WE do not count in GPA or tuition surcharge calculations.

What is an Extenuating Circumstance?  Personal Crisis  Medical Crisis  Military Deployment or Activation

Scope of authority  Must have 3 rd party documentation  Letterhead  Signatures  Dates  Verifiable  Event occurred within the term of the request  No grades for the term posted Must be beyond their control

SPREAD THE WORD ACCURATELY!  Reinforce Univ.-wide messaging  Distinguish “drop” vs. “withdraw”  Understand other areas impacted (FA, housing, VA, visa students, etc.)  Emphasize enforcement

POINTS TO STRESS:  Register as early as allowed  READ and UNDERSTAND syllabus  GO TO CLASS first week  If petitioning for extenuating circumstances, must be done within SAME semester

Academic Policies and Procedures website includes most current academic policies: Withdrawals website includes most up-to-date implementation information regarding W policy include FAQs:

Henrietta Thomas, Director, University Advising Center, Leslie R. Zenk, Assistant Provost,