Attendance Policies
Dropping or Adding Classes
Students can make changes in their schedule (commonly known as drop and add) from the time of their initial registration up through the last day of the first week of the semester online via One.IU. Drops after the first week of class require a student’s advisor’s approval, and adds require that both the advisor and the instructor of the class approve the late add. Students receiving financial aid should be aware that dropping a course may change the amount of aid for which a student is eligible and may require that the student repay some of the money already received.
Students must drop classes officially; stopping attendance in a class, or never attending the class or simply not paying for the class do not cause the student to be dropped from the class(s). After the middle of the semester, students need both the advisor’s and instructor’s approvals in order to drop a class. In the final quarter of the semester, classes can be dropped only with the approval of the dean of the student’s school. Such late withdrawals are usually approved only if illness or emergencies are involved.
Dropping and Adding classes is done using an electronic form (eDrop/eAdd), which are routed for appropriate approval through IU workflow.
While withdrawals do not change a student’s GPA, more than 10 withdrawals without well-documented medical or other serious reasons will trigger the federal government’s definition of “not making academic progress” and may result in the loss of eligibility for certain types of aid.
Refunds for Dropped Courses
The official first day of classes for each semester is used to determine the refund period. Refunds are determined by the date of the drop activity. For electronic drop/add processing which begins as of the second week of classes, the date the student initiates the request is used as the drop date if all approvals are secured.
Refunds are based on the following schedule:
Courses Scheduled for 9–16 Weeks
For withdrawal during:
1st week of classes—100% of course fees
2nd week of classes—75% of course fees
3rd week of classes—50% of course fees
4th week of classes—25% of course fees
5th week of classes and after—No refund
For courses scheduled for fewer than nine weeks, see the refund chart at Student Central.
Check the Student Central website for exact refund dates. After the fourth week, if you decide not to attend a class, don’t just walk away from the class without officially withdrawing from the class or from the university; you will receive an F in any classes not dropped. The university does not withdraw students from classes simply for failure to pay fees.
Every student must officially withdraw from a class before a refund may be considered. If students do not withdraw, they will be awarded a grade of F, and they will be required to pay for the course before they can register for additional courses in future semesters.
