The deadline to drop or withdraw has been extended to Wednesday, April 29 at 5:00pm.  This is the last day of classes (and before final exams), which should allow the maximum allowable time for considering a drop or withdrawal.  It is important to note that all requests and signatures must be obtained by the deadline; no late submissions will be accepted.  By choosing this option, courses will display with a grade of “W” on your transcript and will not be factored into your semester or cumulative GPA.

To initiate a drop, students must complete the following steps:

1. Communicate with your academic advisor to discuss the drop.  What are the ramifications of the drop?  This is required before taking any additional steps.
2. Reach out to the Financial Aid Office (finaid@southwestern.edu ) if there are any questions or concerns about scholarship requirements or dropping below full-time status.
3. From your SU email account, email your instructor to request the drop.  Copy your academic advisor on the email.  Once received, your instructor will initiate a petition to drop the section.  The instructor will not initiate the drop unless the email was sent from your SU email and copies your academic advisor.
4. Allow up to two weeks for processing.

To initiate a withdrawal - meaning you plan to separate from the University for the Spring 2020 semester and receive all grades of “W” - students must reach out to the Director of Academic Success, Dave Seiler.  Dave will walk students through all steps of the withdrawal process.

The deadline to change a course from graded to Credit (CR) / No Credit (NC) is April 29 at 5:00pm.

In an effort to provide maximum flexibility with grading, students now have the opportunity to request the CR/NC option.  The CR/NC system is similar to the Pass/D/F system in many ways, but also provides more flexibility for students.  As with Pass/D/F, it is very important to understand the ramifications of selecting this grade type, and conversations with your academic advisor and instructor are vital to this understanding.

In CR/NC grading, a grade of C- or better will be transcripted as a grade of CR.  The CR grade does not factor into a student’s GPA (for better or worse), but does provide credit for the course.  The advantage of the grade of CR is it will apply toward the major, minor, or general education, and this option is available to students in all classifications.  Grades of D or F will result in a transcripted grade of NC.  A grade of NC will not provide credit for the course, but will also NOT factor in the semester or cumulative GPA.  There is no limit to the number of Spring 2020 courses that can be taken as CR/NC.

There are many items to consider before changing a grade type to CR/NC.  These should be discussed with your academic advisor before making a decision:

• Students on academic probation are currently subject to requirements pertaining to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), in addition to grade requirements (12 graded credits with a 2.20 semester GPA).
• Professional schools (med, dent, PT, OT, etc.) and graduate programs accept graded courses, thus CR is not a preferable option for any prerequisite coursework.
• Dean’s List - 12 graded credits required.
• Latin Praise Honors - graduates should strongly consider how a change will impact the cumulative GPA and the possibility of earning these honors.
• Student Life - need to maintain good academic standing for continued participation.
• Athletics - need to maintain good academic standing and complete 24 credits in an academic year.
• Education - if these classes are for teacher certification, discuss with education faculty.