Student Academic Services

1. How do I drop a course?
2. Can I take a course S/U?
3. Can I get an extension?
4. How can I take an incomplete?
5. What can I do about changing an exam?
6. What if I need to change an exam time because of travel plans?

Return to Resources and Information

1. In the first two weeks, you may drop a class and it will be canceled from your record - the course will not appear on your formal transcript. You may not cancel a course you have attended after the second week.
2. Between the end of the second week and Wednesday of the seventh week, you may withdraw passing from a class you are passing by completing a withdrawal form available from the registrar, your advisor, or the dean of student academic services office (Briggs Hall, first floor). The form requires the signature of your advisor and verification from the instructor that you are passing. (Exceptions exist and require a petition. These exceptions are described on the WP form.) If you withdraw passing, you will receive a WP on your transcript. The WP does not count in your GPA.
3. After the 7th week, you may not withdraw passing from a course except for circumstances beyond your control. If this is the case, you may petition the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration for an exception to the faculty legislation. Please be aware that circumstances beyond your control do not include waiting until you have received grades in the course to evaluate your standing, but do include illness, family problems or other personal calamity.
4. You may withdraw failing from a course any time until the last day of classes. This decision is registered as a "WF" on your transcript and counts like an "F" in your GPA. If you wish to withdraw from a course in which you are failing, you must make an appointment with the Dean of Student Academic Services (x6530).

1. In the first two weeks of a term, students who have completed nine courses may decide to take one course per term outside their major or minor on satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. No more than four S/U grades may be listed on your transcript.
   
   
2. Please remember that the S/U option is to encourage your exploration of new areas of study, not for relieving stress or workloads later in the term.
3. The instructor does not know when a student chooses this option. The registrar will convert the grade from the instructor to a satisfactory (C- or above) or unsatisfactory (D+ or below) grade, neither of which counts in your grade point average. You can choose to change an S/U back to a letter grade at any time during your enrollment at Lawrence.
4. A student may not choose the S/U option after the end of the second week of class. Unusual circumstances beyond a student’s control are occasionally considered by the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration, but petitions to add this option late are rarely approved.

1. You may request an extension for an assignment or exams/other written exercises from the instructor. In most cases, the instructor will want information that indicates circumstances beyond your control, such as illness. Quite often, an instructor will require you to discuss these circumstances with the Dean of Student Academic Services for formal verification of your circumstances.
2. If the reasons for your request are private and confidential, you may also choose to discuss these with the Counseling Center staff, who can help you determine what options may help you.
3. If an extension goes beyond the end of the term, you must request an incomplete. For more information, see the following section on incompletes.

1. A student cannot "take" an incomplete. The student should discuss his or her options with the instructor, and then request the incomplete from the Dean of Student Academic Services  before the last day of classes.
2. The Dean will make a decision based on guidelines set by the faculty and in consultation with the instructor. These guidelines do not allow incompletes, except for circumstances beyond a student's control. Please note: faculty legislation allows incompletes for students who have fallen behind because of extenuating circumstances to have the opportunity to catch up, but not to students who wish more time to “do a better job.”

1. If you wish to change an examination during the term, you should follow the procedures for extensions.
2. If you wish to change the time for a final examination, you must petition the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration by Tuesday of the tenth week of classes. Petitions are approved for students who have three exams in a row or have exceptional circumstances. Petitions are not approved for travel, for vacations, or for "spacing" exams for studying purposes.

No exam change will be made to accommodate travel arrangements. We will DENY any such petition even if it means you will forfeit a pre-purchased ticket. No exceptions will be made - even for international travel. Remember to petition for exceptional circumstances PRIOR to ticket purchase.

Copyright © 2001 [Lawrence University]. All rights reserved.
Revised: August 29, 2003.

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