Drop, credit/no credit, grade replacement deadlines this Friday October 19th!

Drop, credit/no credit, grade replacement deadline this FRIDAY, October 19th! I’ve included some good information for you below to help you understand this critical drop deadline.

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To Drop or Not to Drop, that is the question….

For many of you, you have taken your first exams and you have received your first major score in college classes.  I want to give you some very common warnings and some good advice on what to do if you are less than pleased with your first exam or major paper.

Terms to know:

1)      Drop – When you remove a class from your schedule and there is no record of you having taken the class at all.  The deadline for a drop is October 19th at 5pm.

2)      Withdrawal – When you try to drop a class after the drop deadline.  You must petition by proving that you had extenuating circumstances that prevented you from dropping by the drop deadline.  You have to provide official documentation and have your instructor fill out an evaluation in order for the petition to be reviewed.  If your petition is accepted, then you will have a W in the class, but it will still show up on your transcript.

3)      Credit/No Credit – If you want to continue in a class but don’t want it to count for a grade, then you can elect a course as credit/no credit.  It means that if you earn a score of C or better, then you will get the credit hours for the class and it will show up as CR in your transcript, but there is no grade attached to it.  If you earn below the C, then then you will not get the hours for the course, and it will show up as NC on your transcript, but it will not impact your GPA.  The course that is under credit/no credit will not count toward any major, minor, general education requirement.  It is only considered elective credit at that point.  If you do credit/no credit, then you cannot do the grade replacement on the same course.  This option is especially good if the class is already an elective.

4)      Grade Replacement – If you want to retake a class to replace the grade, then you can elect to do a grade replacement on that course.  Remember that if you do a credit/no credit, then the grade replacement is no longer an option.  Grade replacement is a good option if the course in question is required for your major or minor for example.

5)      Petition – The procedure you must take in order to withdraw from a class after the drop deadline.  This involves providing a narrative and evidence of extenuating circumstances that prevented you from dropping the class before the drop deadline.  Petitions have to be reviewed and it is no guarantee that the petition will be approved.

Cautionary Messages:

1)      “I didn’t do well on the test, but I’m doing really well on the homework and quizzes and I have some extra credit coming up so I’ll be fine.” – This is a misconception that carries over from high school.  In college, the tests and major papers are often weighted much more heavily than the homework and quizzes, so a good rule of thumb is that if you get below a C on your test or paper, come in to talk with an advisor.

2)      “I didn’t do well on the first exam, but if I just get A’s on the next tests from here on out, I’ll still pull a decent grade in this class.” – Many times, the instructors set up first exams to predict performance on future exams.  If you earn below a C on your first test or paper, you will definitely want to meet with the professor to ask about their opinion on whether you should continue to take this class for credit.  You may be nervous to speak with your instructor, and if that is the case, then set an appointment with your advisors and we can go from there.

Honestly, no matter how well you did in high school, or how much you may feel badly about a grade you aren’t proud of, no matter how much you will tell yourself that you will do better next time, I strongly recommend that you speak with an advisor about your situation.  This is the time to do it and it becomes much much more difficult to do anything about classes after the drop deadline.

Information about Dropping or doing Credit/No Credit:

1)      Dropping a class – You have to drop classes on your own, if you speak with an advisor or instructor about dropping a class, they will not do it for you, you must drop it by going into your Integrate account and dropping the course.  I always tell students that after you drop a class, you should log out and log back in to make sure that you actually dropped the class.  The drop deadline for a semester course is OCTOBER 19TH by 5pm.  It is highly recommended that you speak about this to an advisor and instructor before you drop a course. The LAS Main Office in 2002 Lincoln Hall always has walk-ins so you can speak with an advisor about your situation. You can also speak with your DGS advisor or your departmental advisor to get advice on dropping courses.

2)      What happens if I want to drop a class on October 20th or later (after the drop deadline)?  You will need to petition to withdraw the class at this point.  You will not be able to drop the course, rather, if your petition is approved, then the course will show up as a W rather than as a grade.  (see above in terms for definitions).  For more information about dropping classes, you can go to http://www.las.illinois.edu/students/courses/changes/.

3)      I need these hours for the class, but I don’t want it to count as a grade, is there anything I can do? Yes, there is something call credit/no credit.  Please read the description above in the terms and go to http://www.las.illinois.edu/students/courses/loadcredit/ for more information.

4)      What if I know I need this class and want to retake it later to replace my grade, can I do this?  Yes, there is something called the Grade Replacement Policy.  The deadline to complete and submit the grade replacement for courses this semester is OCTOBER 19TH.  If you are taking a course over again and are hoping to replace the grade, then you must submit the grade replacement form by October 19th.  Please go to http://www.las.illinois.edu/students/courses/repeating/ for more information and for a link to the form.