Official Withdrawal from University
A student who must withdraw from college should obtain an “Official Withdrawal” form from the Student Success Coordinator. This form must be completed for official withdrawal from the University. An unofficial withdrawal results in failure in all courses.
Medical Withdrawal
A student who has a medical condition that prevents her/him from completing all of the coursework in a given term may request a medical withdrawal from the Registrar’s Office at any time during the term. In order for the request to be granted, documentation from a medical professional may be required and the medical condition must prevent the student from successfully completing all of her/his courses for the term. In the event that the request is approved, the student will receive a “W” for all of her/his courses for the term. If the request is made after the completion of 60% of the term, the student will receive no refund for tuition, fees, room, and board. Students who receive a medical withdrawal for a given term are not impacted in their ability to register for future terms unless already impacted by other policies, such as academic sanction.
Administrative Withdrawal
Residential Students
Students are expected to be properly registered for courses and to abide by all drop/add and late registration procedures and deadlines stated in the UJ catalog and/or communicated by the Registrar. Students are also expected to attend all courses in which they are enrolled.
In certain circumstances, a student may be administratively withdrawn from their courses. Although the college reserves the right in each instance to determine when administrative withdrawal appears appropriate, normally this process will be initiated when a student is not attending the courses for which he or she is registered or when attendance and work for over half of those courses are erratic. Administrative withdrawal will only take place after one or both of the following conditions have occurred:
The student does not respond appropriately to reasonable requests from faculty instructors, his/her advisor, the Registrar, the Dean, and other University personnel for explanation of nonattendance.
The student is on academic probation and is not following through with expectations for academic recovery.
If the student has authorized disclosure of educational records to his/her parent(s)/guardian(s) under FERPA, the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) may be notified.
Online Students
Online students at the University of Jamestown are expected to participate in their courses multiple times each week. If a student does not have any academically-related activity in any of their classes for 12 consecutive days (including weekend days), they will be administratively withdrawn from the university. They will also be removed from courses scheduled in subsequent terms. A student who does not have any academically-related activity in one of their courses but is participating in other courses will be removed from the course in which they are not participating.
A student who is administratively withdrawn from the University of Jamestown is still financially responsible for the cost of the entire term for which they were enrolled.
A student who is administratively withdrawn may re-enroll at the University of Jamestown in future terms following the filing of an appeal and contingent upon approval from the appeals committee.
Extended Absence Policy
While occasional absences from a class session should be addressed with instructors directly as needed, students may be faced with a longer period of absence from classes due to extended illness, surgery, personal issues, or other circumstances. Students are highly encouraged to schedule elective medical procedures that will lead to extended absence from the course to periods of time outside of the academic term, so as not to disrupt their participation in academic activities. However, the university recognizes that this is not always possible.
For absences that will last longer than two weeks, students must petition the Dean of Academic Affairs for an extended absence from the university. The petition will include a rationale for the request and an expected date of return to full participation. The Dean will engage with the student in an iterative process to determine the viability of their request and whether it can be granted. Approval for such an extended absence is not guaranteed. If it is granted, the Dean will work with the student and their instructors to determine how the extended absence will be implemented. This policy assumes that students granted an extended absence will return to full course participation within the current term.
During the extended absence, students should expect to continue working in their classes as their circumstances permit. Students will be expected to communicate regularly with their instructors and the Dean to keep them apprised of their situation and their expected return to regular course participation. Failure to do may result in a revocation of the extended absence and subject the student to penalties listed in their course syllabi for unexcused absences.
Given the wide range of activities that happen in university classes, it is not possible to guarantee that the university can accommodate an extended absence in all classes. If it is determined that an extended absence is not possible in a course or courses, the student may be required to withdraw from the course or courses that cannot be accommodated. If this is true of all classes for which the student is registered, then the student may be granted a medical withdrawal from the university for that term. The implications of these decisions for tuition refunds, financial aid, and university status will be discussed with the student as part of the iterative process before decisions are finalized.
**Attendance (Current language from UC catalog)**
The participation of students in all regularly scheduled classes is considered an important part of the academic procedure. It is assumed that students will conscientiously fulfill this responsibility when classes are scheduled and will contribute to class activities. An instructor may consider irregular attendance in his/her evaluation of students' education achievement. Students are responsible for ascertaining attendance requirements for each course in which they are enrolled.
Specific policies related to excused and unexcused absences can be found in the [Student Handbook.](https://uj.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2022-2023/university-student-handbook/academic-and-administrative-policies/absence)
Leave of Absence
ACADEMIC LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY FOR UJ ONLINE STUDENTS
Leave of Absence (LOA) refers to a specific period during a degree program when a student will not be attending/participating in their online courses. An LOA must meet certain requirements to be counted as a temporary interruption in a student’s enrollment rather than being counted as a full withdrawal from the university. There must also be a reasonable expectation that the student will return to courses once the LOA has expired for the LOA to be approved.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be enrolled and participating in class the term preceding the beginning of the LOA.
- Must be a degree seeking fully online student.
- LOA application must be filed prior to completion of a student’s current 8-week enrollment term.
- An LOA cannot be taken in the middle of an 8-week term.
- Cannot be out of attendance for more than 180 days in a 12-month rolling period.
- A student who does not return from an LOA will be withdrawn from UJ effective the last day of documented attendance/participation in their prior class.
- A student can return early from an LOA by contacting the UJ Retention & Student Success Coordinator as long as a new term will start after the date the request to return has been approved.
LOA Request Process:
- Student must initiate LOA process with UJ’s Retention & Student Success Coordinator prior to the end of their current term.
- Student will complete an LOA form on which they will state the reason for the LOA along with the date they want their LOA to start (day after current 8-week term) and the date they plan to return to class (first day of desired term).
- LOA must be approved by UJ’s LOA committee.
- If approved, the LOA will officially end on the day prior to the scheduled return date.
- The Retention & Student Success Coordinator will explain the impact of how taking the LOA will impact the student’s Federal Title IV funds as well as the terms of the student’s loan repayment obligation upon withdrawal or graduation.
- UJ will not assess any charges to the student while on an LOA.
- Title IV funds will not be disbursed to a student while on an LOA unless Title IV funds were already in process prior to the start of the LOA.
- If the LOA is not approved and the student does not continue to the next term OR the student does not return as scheduled from an approved LOA, this time of nonattendance will be counted against any grace period for Title IV student loan repayment.