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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

A Series of Articles About the Dreaded Withdrawal Deadline—Number Five


I’ve discovered that writing five articles in as many days is pretty intense. It wouldn’t be bad if ‘certain people’ didn’t expect me to go to meetings and do other work too.  I was reading an article in a very well respected educational magazine while in the check- out line at Tops. I learned that if I can elevate myself to diva status I can start getting all kinds of perks—someone to drive me to work who isn’t related to me, a dish of red only M&Ms in my office each morning, my own bathroom, my own diet coke machine, a massaging chair at my desk, a foot massager under my desk, a secretary who isn’t always looking for a better job,  an unlisted phone number, a $150,000 wardrobe, and a publisher for my mystery novel—all this could be mine. All I need to do is to stand up and declare myself a writing diva. Consider it done! Now I’m just going to answer these last withdrawal questions and then sit back and wait for my perks.

Q: What is the latest the students can withdraw in person on November 21st in the Registrar’s Office?
A: We are open and accepting withdrawal forms until 4:45 on Friday.

Q: When you say the students and faculty can withdraw online on Saturday, November 22, how late in the day will the system be open to accept withdrawals?
A: You may issue withdrawals up until 11:59 p.m. and still make the 11/22/08 deadline. The same is true for the students.

Q: If I miss the withdrawal deadline what other options do I have?
A: This is the same question the students ask us and then they won’t leave our window until we tell them something. In your case, giving the student an “I” may be appropriate assuming he was there for most of the course and can complete it without taking the entire course over again. If you give a student an incomplete you need to fill out the Incomplete Contract form available in your department. An option which we will be giving to the students is to repeat the course next semester. When you repeat a course the most recent grade goes into your GPA and the previous grade is excluded.

Q: If I withdraw a student can I then reinstate them and give them a final grade?
A: Yes, you can do that. It’s a cumbersome task from our end because Banner makes it very difficult to remove the “W” and open the record back up to receive another grade. Please don’t withdraw people with wild abandon with plans to reinstate them later. It’s allowed but not really in the spirit of the grading process.

Q: I’m the diva so I get to ask the last question…and you HAVE to answer it! What is the last day to withdraw student from a fall semester class AND what must you remember to do when you withdraw them?
A: That is actually two questions…

Q: Don’t care. I’m the diva. Answer!
A: Fine. I have until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, November 22 to withdraw a student and I must remember to enter his last date of attendance when I withdraw him. Satisfied?

Not until I get that coke machine…

Deborah Benjamin
Registration and Records
11/21/2008