Dropping/Adding Courses

Specific regulations are given below for undergraduate students. The following apply to all students.

Dropping or adding courses is done via Rensselaer's Web registration system. Detailed instructions are available in the class hour schedule.

Responsibility for dropping or adding courses prior to the deadline, rests entirely with the student. Failure to fulfill the responsibility because of an oversight, ignorance, or possibility of low grades is not sufficient grounds to petition for permission to drop or add a course after the deadline. It is the policy of the Institute that no petitions for the retroactive dropping or adding of a course except under extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control. No credit will be given for a course in which the student is not properly registered. Failure to attend a class for which a student is registered or unofficial notification to the instructor does not constitute dropping a course and will result in an Administrative "F" ("FA" grade).

The following additional regulations apply to program adjustments:

• Undergraduates may add a course any time during the first ten class days of a semester.
• A student may change sections of a course any time during the first two weeks of the semester.
• A student may drop a course any time during the first eight weeks of the semester.
• If a full-time undergraduate student is taking less than 12 credit hours, the Director of the Advising and Learning Assistance Center must approve.
• During the summer sessions, courses may be added during the first week of each session. Courses may be dropped any time before the end of the third week of classes.

Exceptions to the drop/add rules can only be made by the Academic Standing Committee via the Director of the Advising and Learning Assistance Center. Students wishing exceptions must petition with supporting documents from parties involved, such as instructors, adviser, or medical director.

Students who have approval to drop a course after the eighth week of classes will receive a grade of "W" in the course.

Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to register after the start of the last week of classes for the term.