Academic Withdrawal After The Deadline
(Late Term Withdrawal Without Academic Penalty)
Policy Statement
Each semester the University publishes the deadline for withdrawing from classes without
academic penalty (typically, the 50th day of the semester – see Academic Calendar), after which a letter grade is assigned for each course in which a student is enrolled.
However, in rare cases, students may experience extreme personal hardship beyond their control on or after the published withdrawal deadline that hinders the
continuation of their current class schedule, and they believe the best course of
action is to withdraw from the University or from an individual course after the published
withdrawal deadline.
Students who seek a late term withdrawal must complete a Petition for Academic Withdrawal
After the Deadline Form: one form to request withdrawal from the University (i.e.,
withdrawal from all classes for the semester) or another form to request to drop an
individual course with a W. As part of the petition, a student must provide appropriate
documentation, which supports the date and nature of the personal hardship and shows
how it prevented successful completion of the semester or an individual course.
This policy applies to the current semester only. Therefore, if a student believes
that he/she may qualify for a late term withdrawal, the request should, ideally, be
initiated prior to the end of the semester in which the hardship occurred. However,
the University acknowledges that some hardships may prevent students from submitting
a late term withdrawal request in a timely manner. Therefore, in order to give students
a reasonable window of opportunity to complete the request form and to gather the
appropriate documentation, requests must be submitted no later than the last day of
classes of the semester immediately following, regardless of whether or not the student
is enrolled during that semester. For example, a student who experiences a hardship
after the last day to drop/withdraw without academic penalty during the Fall 2015
term, must submit the request and documentation no later than the last day of classes
of the Spring 2016 term.
Before requesting an Academic Withdrawal After the Deadline, students should consider
the following:
- Students will not receive any refunds for withdrawn courses. Furthermore, withdrawing
from a course or the University could affect a student’s future financial aid.
- This policy is intended to assist students who have experienced a hardship beyond
their control; it is not intended for students who simply chose not to attend class,
failed to submit assignments or take exams as scheduled, and/or failed to comply with
published University dates and other guidelines.
- Only those petitions that are submitted per the policy guidelines (i.e. received by
the appropriate term deadline, completed form with appropriate signatures, documentation,
etc.) will be considered.
- Petitions are not granted automatically; each case is considered individually based
on the evidence the student presents. Even if approved, petitions may take a few weeks
to process through the various levels. Therefore, students should not expect their
petition to have an immediate impact on their GPA or on their current academic status.
- If the petition for Withdrawal After the Deadline from the University is approved, the student will receive a W grade for all courses approved during the
term in question, except for those courses completed prior to the hardship or the
last day to drop/withdraw without penalty (i.e. intersessions, 8W1, etc.). If the
Petition to Drop a Course with a W After the Deadline from a class is approved, the student will receive a W grade for the individual course
in question while grades for courses already completed will remain on the student’s
transcript.
- This policy does not apply to semesters or courses previously completed nor does it
apply to future semesters or courses. If a student believes that extenuating circumstances
existed that prevented his/her ability to make good grades during a previously completed
term; please refer to the Administrative Withdrawal policy in the bulletin.
- This policy does not apply to courses in which the student believes that the final
grade in an individual course was incorrect, arbitrary, or assigned unfairly; please
refer to the Grade Review policy.
- If students are unsure which policy applies to their circumstances, they should consult
the Office of the Registrar or the dean’s office in their college.
After reviewing the entire policy statement and considerations above, if a student
believes that they may qualify for an Academic Withdrawal After the Deadline, they
should complete the appropriate petition form along with all required documentation.
- Hattiesburg students should submit a Petition for University Withdrawal After the Deadline form or Petition
to Drop a Course with a W After the Deadline form to the Office of Student Outreach and Support.
- Gulf Park students should submit either type of petition form to the Director of Student Support for the Gulf Park Campus, who will deliver the forms to the appropriate administrator for review.
- At both campuses, the chair (not the student) should forward the petition to the dean
of the appropriate college within 10 business days, and the dean should forward the
petition to the Office of the Registrar with 10 business days. The Office of the Registrar
will notify the student by email of the petition’s decision.
Students will be notified through their usm.edu email account of the decision.