For a sixteen-week course, you may withdraw from class and receive a "W" if you do so by October 31. You can do this either online or by filling out a form at the Student Services Center, in the Bisdorf Building. My approval is not necessary.

Beginning November 1, you may not withdraw online. If you try to withdraw by yourself, your transcript will reflect a "F" for the course. If you wish to withdraw after the withdrawal date, you must schedule a conference with me and discuss your reasons for leaving the course. My approval IS necessary then. From this point on, I will allow you to withdraw from a class if you are seriously ill, have an emergency in the family, or have a significant increase in hours or responsibility at work. Doing poorly in a class is not a valid reason for you to withdraw after October 31. According to college policy, you will receive an "F" for the course if, after October 31, we do not hold a conference and if I do not agree to allow you to withdraw. This policy is a result of financial liability that the college has within the Virginia Community College System for students not attending class.

If within the first few weeks of the semester, you miss the maximum number of classes (or sessions) that I allow, I will withdraw you from class.

The grade for a withdrawal is a "W." This grade does not adversely affect your grade point average. However, too many "W's" on a student's transcript suggest that the student is not responsible with his or her academic work, and there is the possibility that a four-year institution to which you are transferring--or an employer to whom you are applying--will not look favorably on such a record. You should also know that if you do not complete a course satisfactorily (the grades "W," "X," "D," or "F," indicate unsatisfactory completion), you may take the same class a second time. If on the second attempt, you still do not complete the course satisfactorily, you must receive special permisssion from the Assistant Dean of English to take the course a third time. This permission is not automatically given. A student may not take the same course for a fourth time.

Withdrawing from a class, or arranging a conference to discuss withdrawal, is your responsibility. If for some reason it is impossible for you to come to campus and talk with me in person, then email or telephone me, using the information listed in the "office information" section of this web site. Please be responsible about this because if you stop coming to class and fail to go through either of the above procedures, you will essentially grade yourself with an "F" for the course.

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