Course Withdrawals

General Information

After students have confirmed registration during the second week of the semester, they are normally expected to complete all their classes, with the exception of a fifth class dropped within the first three weeks. Students may not withdraw from a course simply because they are not doing well in it, do not like it, or do not need it. However, circumstances may arise that make it unreasonable to expect a student to complete the entire course load.

Students may be permitted to withdraw from a course when their ability to complete the course is seriously impaired by unforeseen circumstances beyond their control. These may include: significant illness, a family emergency, or some other serious problem in a student’s life that has a significant impact on the ability to complete academic work. In this case, students should talk to their dean, who may do one or more of the following:
- - make sure students are making appropriate use of on-campus resources.
  - ask for medical documentation.
  - consult with students’ faculty to determine which course is most appropriate to withdraw from.
Withdrawals are sometimes permitted in the event that students find they have been placed in a class for which they lacked adequate preparation.
Withdrawals always require consent of both the dean and the instructor.
International students with an F-1 or J-1 visa who are dropping below 3.0 units (below full-time enrollment) must receive prior authorization for a withdrawal from Patti Lausch. Students in this situation should make an appointment to meet with Ms. Lausch. For more information, please refer to this document on dropping below the required course load.

Deadlines

Bryn Mawr College policy precludes withdrawing from a course after the final work for the course is due. If the course is at Penn, Swarthmore, or Haverford and that institution has an earlier deadline, the earlier deadline applies. For example, the deadline to withdraw from a Haverford course is the last day of classes.

Transcript

The course will be listed, but “WD” will be recorded instead of a grade.
The grade of “WD” will not affect your grade point average.
The course will not count towards any requirements or the 32 units needed for graduation.

Progress towards the Degree

In making the decision to withdraw from a course, students should talk with their deans about how to make up for the lost credit and should keep in mind the rules regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress.

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