Drop date set

Published in Long Beach City College's Viking newspaper in 2005.

The final day to take a withdrawal from classes and receive a W is today Thursday, Nov. 17 and students may obtain a change of schedule card in the admissions office in Building A on the LAC and AA on the PCC.
According to LBCC policy, a student who drops a class after the deadline must receive a letter grade other than a W. Petitions for a withdrawal grade may be filed after the deadline if serious circumstances occur.
"It's not a question of how many W marks a student may have, but if the student is completing less than 50 percent of the classes they enroll in," dean of admissions and records Ross Miyashiro said.
Based on a 12-unit semester, a student may be placed on progress probation after failing to complete less than half of the units, according to the LBCC catalogue. Also, a student may suffer the same consequences if grades fall below a 2.0 average, the policy states.
LBCC policy also requires that a student on probation for at least two semesters and who has failed to complete counseling intervention and make up the deficiencies in the student's academic record shall be dismissed from the college.
Students re-taking a course and passing after previously withdrawing will transfer with the W on the transcripts the policy reads. Since federal and state laws prohibit the altering of a transcript, the W will not be wiped out, the catalogue explained.
"A withdrawal grade is not classified as a sub-standard grade," Miyashiro said. "Most institutions ignore the W mark. As a former transfer evaluator at a California State University, I just lined it out and only concerned myself with graded courses."
Student Yin Chang said she accepts and agrees with the deadline. "Our timing is good, we give students a long period to decide if they want to continue with a class," Chang said. "Early this semester, I withdrew a class, but I've withdrawn from more classes in the past, placing me on progress probation, but my counselor says I'm doing fine now."
According to a memo from Academic Affairs sent out by interim Vice President Donald Berz, hundreds of students were recorded as never attended on the final grade rosters for 2004 and 2005 when they should have been reported on census sheets in the first two weeks of class.
Students with questions may log on to www.lbcc.edu or contact the admissions office on the LAC at 938-4136 and the PCC at 938-3944.