2.  Academic Policy: Withdrawals  Regulations Related to Fostering Undergraduate Student Success adopted by President Ross on April 29, 2013  UNC Charlotte Academic Policy: Withdrawals passed by Faculty Council September 26, 2013 to ensure compliance of regulations

3.  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)

4.  April 29, 2013: Regulations adopted by President Ross  September 26, 2013: Policy passed Faculty Council  December 3, 2013: Communication regarding policy change began  Fall Term 2014: Policy goes into effect

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

6.  Campus Communication  Social Media: Facebook, Twitter  Electronic: Email, Websites, TV screens, Moodle, 49er Express, Inside UNC Charlotte article  Printed Material: Posters, table tents, fliers

7.  Faculty and Advisor-Specific Communication:  Email from Faculty Council President/Provost  Suggested Syllabi Language  Best Practices for Instructors  Faculty Handbook  AAIT  Academic Advisor Development Program

8.  Student-Specific Communication  Email announcing policy change to current students  Article in student newspaper and Student Orgs newsletter  Announcement to Student Orgs  Parent-Specific Communication  SOAR materials  Email to parent email address  Article in parent newsletter and magazine

10. 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. (i.e. NOT a ‘Clean Drop’)

11. The Dean of Students Office is tasked by the Policy Statement with developing and communicating standards. Website deploying on May 19

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

13. 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

14. Examples:  Activation for national emergencies or events (DNC)  Deployment of Reservist, National Guard, etc.  Traumatic injury  Death of a family member  Reoccurrence of preexisting condition  Mental well being  Pregnancy Each is evaluated on a case-by-case basis

16. W Policy designed to:  Ensure that students enroll only in those classes they intend to complete, thus freeing up more seats for ALL students.  Encourage students to assign high priority to completing what they start.

17.  Renewed and Redoubled Focus on:  Academic Performance  Responsibility  Accountability

18. Top 5 Reasons Students Give for Withdrawing 1. I was not happy with my grade. 2. I didn’t understand the material. 3. I didn’t like the course. 4. I didn’t like the professor. 5. The subject did not interest me. Dunwoody and Frank (1995)

19. Withdrawing has typically been an “easy out” for students. ‘ Sometimes “W” stands for “wisdom.” ‘ Liberal petitioning process (late Ws). NO MORE….

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

21.  More imperative now to:  PROBE – Why has student chosen courses?  ENDORSE SENSIBLE CHOICES – school/life balance  MONITOR – Refer to resources; use Early Alert  INFORM – Help student know options

22. 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

23. Academic Policies and Procedures website includes most current academic policies: http://provost.uncc.edu/policies Withdrawals website includes most up-to-date implementation information regarding W policy include FAQs: http://provost.uncc.edu/withdrawals

24. Henrietta Thomas, Director, University Advising Center, hlthomas@uncc.eduhlthomas@uncc.edu Dennis Wiese, Senior Associate Dean of Students, dwiese@uncc.edudwiese@uncc.edu Leslie R. Zenk, Assistant Provost, lzenk@uncc.edulzenk@uncc.edu