By now, students and faculty have probably noticed the line inside the Admissions Office and that’s because the last day for students to withdraw from any class is Monday.
Bill Mulrooney, director of admissions, said that this opportunity is to the advantage of students since the office is not open to the public on Friday.
Mulrooney also said a withdrawal from a class means a student will receive a “W” on his or her permanent record and if someone walks in on Tuesday and wants to withdraw, it’ll be too late.
“At this point, they are in the class and it has to be serious mitigating circumstances which are verifiable and have to be approved by me,” Mulrooney said.
Although it is rare, Mulrooney said such circumstances include: automobile accidents, hospitalization, or something as tragic as the death of an immediate family member.
“That’s why it is really important for anyone who is thinking about withdrawing from their class, maybe because they feel they are not doing well, to make that decision and withdraw on or before the deadline,” Mulrooney said.
For exactly this reason, student and water polo player Allyson Steiner decided it would be better to withdraw now than to receive a bad grade.
“I’m withdrawing from Math 70 because I’m too busy and not doing well in the class,” Steiner said.
Mulrooney said there is no limit to the amount of times a student can take a particular class or withdraw from it, but there is a rule for repeating a class and receiving an “F” more than twice.
“To take the class a third time you must get special permission from the dean of that division and if you fail a third time, you’re not going to take it a fourth time, it just won’t happen,” Mulrooney said.
Furthermore, Mulrooney said that although numerous W’s in a particular course may be allowed, it does have an impact on the student’s progress probation.
“If you have taken at least 12 units or better and 50 percent or more of your total units attempted are ‘W’, then you’re put on progress probation,” Mulrooney said.
In addition, he said students who find themselves in this situation should work on reducing that percentage total below 50 percent because if it remains at or above, there is a possibility they can be dismissed from school for progress disqualification.
“It’s a state law that was passed in 1983, but in order to make these corrections, a student should take courses and not drop from any so that the percentage of passed classes will be higher than those that have been withdrawn,” Mulrooney said.
Mulrooney adds that it is the responsibility of the student to officially withdraw from a class and to not assume that the instructor will do so just because the student stopped attending class.
“Students may get a big surprise because the professor doesn’t have to give them a ‘W’ and they could end up with anywhere from an ‘A’ to an ‘F’, Mulrooney said.
Business major Jasmine Higgins said she’s withdrawing from Math 23 because of the hardship of trying to work and maintain her classes.
“I have fourteen units and I’m falling behind in that class. I already have a ‘D’ at this point and I don’t want to get an ‘F’ so I will take it again in the winter at L.A. Harbor College,” Higgins said.
Likewise, political science major Giovanni Dolce said he withdrew from all of his honors classes, only keeping one journalism class.
“I feel like I just dropped out of school after withdrawing from so many classes because I started out with 18 units, now I’m down to three,” Dolce said.
Mulrooney said that the withdrawal deadline applies to fall semester courses and students with six or eight week courses should check with their instructor to find out what their withdrawal deadline is, because it isn’t the same as a full time student.
“The Admissions Office closes at 7 p.m.; if they’re knocking at the door at five minutes after, they’ll have missed the deadlinethe door will lock at 7 p.m.,” Mulrooney said.
