Unofficial Withdrawal Policy

Policy Statement

The College of Coastal Georgia will process Unofficial Withdrawals in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations.

Reason for Policy

The purpose of this policy is to clarify the College’s unofficial withdrawal process to ensure complete adherence with the requirements of 34 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Section 668.22.

Entities Affected by This Policy

This is an institutional responsibility; however, the offices that are affected include Financial Aid, Bursar and the Registrar.

Who Should Read This Policy

All members of the Office of Financial Aid, Office of the Registrar, Office of the Bursar, Faculty, Staff, and all students.

Contacts

Website Address for This Policy

https://portside.ccga.edu/StudentPolicies

Related Documents/Resources

• Federal Financial Aid Handbook
• Policy – Financial Aid Processing
• Policy – Financial Aid Record Retention
• Policy – Return of Title IV Funds
• Policy – HOPE Scholarship Program Reconciliation

Definitions

These definitions apply to these terms as they are used in this policy:

• Last Date of Attendance (LDA): For schools not required to take attendance the LDA can be either the date the student submitted his/her last assignment or test; the last attendance at an academically related activity; or for online classes, the last date the student logged in.
• Unofficial Withdrawal: Defined as the last day the student notified school officials that he/she will not be attending classes any more or by having been given a grade of F or W at the end of the term because the student stopped attending class at some point and failed to complete the official withdrawal process with the College.

Overview

If a student earns a passing grade in one or more of his/her classes offered over an entire semester, for that class in question, an institution may presume that the student completed the course and thus completed the period. If a student who began a class and has not officially withdrawn fails to earn a passing grade in all courses offered over an entire period, the institution must assume, for Title IV purposes, that the student has unofficially withdrawn, unless the institution can document that the student completed the semester.

College of Coastal Georgia uses a “Last Date of Attendance” policy which mandates a professor awarding a grade of F or W, and provide a “Last Date of Attendance” which serves as documentation as to whether the student completed the class. The procedures for Unofficial Withdrawal processing are below:

• After notification from the Registrar’s Office, a report is run by the Financial Aid Office to determine students who have earned no credit for the term;
• Financial Aid reviews the list to determine which students should be withdrawn based on the Last Date of Attendance provided by the faculty member;
• Students whose names are on this list generated by the Office of Financial Aid and who are enrolled in courses from USG Collaborative Programs (e.g. eCore) for which attendance data is not provided will have their information forwarded to the USG program contacts to provide the Last Day of Attendance – as verified by the last date the student engaged in the class;
• The final list is then forwarded to the Office of the Registrar and the Bursar to be withdrawn from the classes and for the Return to Title IV calculation to be performed, if necessary.

INCOMPLETES

The symbol “I” indicates that a student completed a majority of the coursework at the time the student requests the "I", but, for documented, non-academic reasons beyond the student’s control, was unable to meet the full requirements of the course during the semester scheduled. The remaining coursework and the deadline for completion, which should not exceed one semester (excluding summer session), are decided at the time the “I” is assigned. If the coursework is not completed by the deadline, the faculty member will contact the Registrar to change the grade from the “I” to the grade indicated by the faculty on the Incomplete Grade Request form. If no incomplete grade request form is submitted, the grade will be changed to an “F.” If the student does not complete the “I” by the end of the term the student is considered as having earned an F as of the end of the term which does not make it an “Unofficial Withdrawal”.

Responsibilities

The Responsibilities each party has in connection with this policy are:

Forms

None

Appendices

None