Late Withdrawal From Courses
Petitioning for Late Course Withdrawal After the Withdrawal Deadline
These policies apply to Undergraduate Students only. Graduate students should contact the Graduate School for more information.
Students who are facing significant mitigating circumstances and who have missed the withdrawal deadline may submit a Petition for Withdrawal After the Official Withdrawal Deadline.
- Regardless of circumstances, late withdrawal petitions are not guaranteed to be approved.
- Due to the uniqueness of each petition, processing time can vary from student to student's case.
Please be aware that College of Charleston employees, other than designated confidential resources, are expected to report information they receive about prohibited discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This means that if you tell us about a situation involving sexual harassment or violence, or other form of discrimination or harassment, we have to share the information with the College’s Title IX Coordinator.
Students may speak to someone confidentially by contacting the Office of Victim Services at 843-953-2273, Counseling and Substance Abuse Services at 843-953-5640, or Student Health Services at 843-953-5520.
The following are examples of conditions/situations for which withdrawals may be approved. Late withdrawal petitions are not guaranteed to be approved.
- Severe accident, injury, illness, or surgery with prolonged recovery
- Severe complications or a precipitating event resulting from a chronic medical or mental health condition
- New diagnosis of a life-threatening illness
- Severe medical condition(s) resulting in extended missed coursework
- Complications of pregnancy requiring mandatory extended bed rest.
- Severe illness or death of a parent, sibling, spouse, or child
- Medical, legal, or other complications from sexual or other violent assault
- Employment conflict arising after the "W" deadline
- Impact from a natural disaster
The following examples are not considered extenuating circumstances justifying late course withdrawal.
Petitions citing the following situations will not be considered.
- Actual failing, fear of failing, or fear of receiving a grade less than one would desire
- Professor’s refusal to issue an “incomplete” or excuse excessive absences
- Under the impression that you could academically recover after a deficient midterm grade
- Initially enrolling for greater than 12 semester hours while knowingly employed full time or attempting to work two full-time jobs
- Failure to take advantage of the withdrawal period
- Failure to withdraw properly
- Failure to resolve registration holds that may prevent you from withdrawing during the withdrawal period
- A decision to change a major, drop a major or minor, or transfer to another institution, thus eliminating the need for a course
- Not following appropriate guidelines for course pre-requisites.
An approved late withdrawal decision is final. More detailed information about course withdrawals can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
These policies apply to Undergraduate Students only. Graduate students should contact the Graduate School for more information.