Withdrawal From Classes

It is the student’s responsibility to officially drop a class if circumstances prevent attendance. An instructor cannot initiate a withdrawal based on the student’s request.

• Students wishing to officially withdraw from a course on or after the first scheduled class day must file an eForm “Student Application for Withdrawal” located on the CTC website at www.ctcd.edu and submit to their appropriate Texas campus or designated CTC office by the last date to withdraw.
• The effective date of withdrawal is the date that the withdrawal application is received by the CTC representative or received in the Central Campus Records Office, Fort Hood Campus or the Eagles on Call Center. Deadline dates are based on Central Standard time zone (or Central Daylight Saving time when in effect).
• For Central Campus/Distance Learning courses withdrawal dates are available in the applicable semester Central Campus Schedule Bulletin located at www.ctcd.edu/academics/class-schedules.
• Students who used financial aid, military tuition assistance, Veterans Education Benefits or other non-personal funds may be required to repay tuition and fees to the funding agency. Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid or the CTC Veterans Services Office prior to withdrawing. Military tuition assistance students should visit their military Education Center or Navy College office.
• Students may not withdraw from a class for which the instructor has previously issued a grade of “F” or “IP”.
• Servicemembers in the United States Armed Forces or in the Reserves who had to withdraw from CTC due to military obligations should refer to the “Readmission of Member of the United States Armed Forces” section in the Admissions and Registration section of the catalog for additional information.

Administrative Initiated Withdrawals

A student may be administratively withdrawn by a designated member of the administrative staff of the College under the following conditions:

• The student has been placed on Academic Suspension or Disciplinary Suspension;
• The student has an outstanding financial obligation owed to the college; or
• The student registered for a course without the required prerequisite or departmental permission.

Refer to the CTC refund policy in the College Costs section of this catalog as it relates to administrative withdrawals.

Third Attempt to Enroll in a Course

The Texas Legislature eliminated funding to higher education for any courses, other than non-degree credit developmental courses, which contain the same content if attempted by a student for a third or more times at their institution since Fall Semester 2002. This applies to credit and continuing education course work. Attempted courses are defined as any courses in which a grade is earned on a transcript, including repeated courses, courses dropped with a grade of “W,” and courses with grades of A, B, C, D, F, N, P or IP. Certain courses are exempt and may include:

• courses that involve different or more advanced content each time taken such as individual music lessons, Workforce Education Course Manual Special Topics courses when topic changes, theater practicum, music performance, ensembles, certain physical education courses, and studio art.
• independent study courses.
• special topics and seminar courses.
• continuing education courses that must be repeated to retain professional certification.
• remedial and developmental courses if within the 27-hour limit.

CTC will charge the nonresident rate for any course attempted more than two times that cannot be submitted for formula funding. Contact the Associate Dean, Enrollment Services or the Student Services Dean for certain exemptions.

“Six-Drop” Rule per TEC 51.907 (SB 1231)

Effective with the Fall 2007 semester and thereafter, all undergraduate students enrolling for the first time in a Texas public college or university are not permitted to drop more than six courses throughout their undergraduate career. This policy does not apply to courses dropped on or before the census date for which a grade is not entered on the student’s transcript. All college-level courses dropped after the official course census date are included in the six-drop limit to include college-level courses dropped at CTC or another Texas public college or university, unless the reason for dropping qualifies as an exception. The purposes of the rule are to motivate and encourage students to successfully complete their courses and degree in a timely manner, and with less financial loss to all parties concerned. Students should carefully select their courses and minimize the likelihood of dropping a course.

CTC Course Drop Definition and Penalty

For purposes of clarification, a course drop applies to CTC college-level courses in which the student is officially enrolled in the course as of census date and the course will be reflected on the student’s transcript with a non-punitive grade of W. Courses with grades of A B, C, D, F, IP, N or P are earned and are not included in the six-limit course drop.

Once a student has six (6) withdrawals that do not qualify for an exception the student may not be permitted to drop future courses, and the student will receive the grade earned in the course. If a CTC course was dropped that exceeded the six-drop limit, the drop will be removed and the faculty member of the associated course will be contacted to issue the appropriate grade.

Courses Excluded from the Six-Drop Limit

Drops from the following types of courses are excluded from the six-drop course limit:

1. Courses taken by students while enrolled in high school or early college high school for dual credit or for college credit only (early admissions).
2. Courses dropped at private or out-of-state colleges or universities.
3. Remedial, developmental or other courses such as continuing education courses that do not apply to a degree.
4. Drops that require co-requisite enrollment such as a lecture class with a required laboratory are counted as one drop. This does not apply to accelerated instruction in which student is enrolled in a co-requisite developmental course with an intensive reading, mathematics or writing college credit course.
5. Complete withdrawal of all courses in a semester in a single transaction, constituting withdrawal from the institution.
6. Courses not submitted for state funding such as third-course repeats and developmental courses that exceed the 18 semester credit hour limit. This includes CTC courses offered at CTC locations outside Texas and online courses taken by students located outside of Texas whose legal state of residence is not Texas.
7. Courses dropped as a result of documented college error.
8. CTC courses which were dropped for good cause as listed in the Course Drop Exceptions.

Six-Drop Rule Exceptions

Courses dropped for one or more of the “good cause” reasons below are excluded from the six-limit course drop. Students must indicate the reason for the drop on a completed CTC Withdrawal form at the time the withdrawal request is made. If a student does not indicate a reason on the withdrawal form, the course drop will be included in the six-limit course drop unless the drop constitutes a complete withdrawal from CTC. College officials may require documentation.

1. A severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete a course.
2. The student is responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete a course.
3. The death of a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s death is considered to be a showing of good cause.
4. An active duty service as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard or family member of the active duty service member or another individual who is otherwise considered to have a significant close relationship to the active duty member such that the person’s active duty military service is considered to be a showing of good cause.
5. A change in the student’s work schedule that is beyond the control of the student and subsequently affects the student’s ability to satisfactory complete the course.
6. Other good causes as determined by CTC such as Peace Corps or church mission service, institutional academic advisement error, or natural disaster that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete a course.

Note: SB 165 of the 87R-2021 Legislature prohibits a Texas institution of higher education from counting courses toward the number of courses permitted to be dropped if the courses were dropped by a student during the 2020 spring semester or summer or the 2020-2021 academic year because of a bar on in-person course attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill is retroactive.

For purposes of this section, definitions are provided below:

• Family members include spouse, child, grandchild, father, mother, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, first cousin, stepparent, stepchild, or stepsibling. Also, a person who is otherwise considered to have a significantly close relationship to the student.
• A sufficiently close relationship refers to a relationship with any other relative within the third degree of consanguinity, plus close friends, including but not limited to roommates, housemates, classmates, or other persons identified by the student for approval by the institution on a case-by-case basis.

In February 2018 the limitations on the number of courses dropped was amended permitting a seventh-course drop if the student:

• reenrolled at the institution following a break in enrollment from the institution or another institution of higher education covering at least the 24-month period preceding the first class day of the initial semester or other academic term of the student’s enrollment; and
• successfully completed at least 50 semester credit hours of coursework at an institution of higher education that were not exempt from the limitation on formula funding before that break in enrollment.

Appeal Process

Once a student has reached the Six-Drop limit and is requesting to be dropped from one or more classes (not withdrawn from all classes) for the semester, the student must request an exemption from the six-drop rule and provide appropriate documentation to the Associate Dean, Admissions, Registration and Records. Students who do not agree with the Associate Dean’s decision must submit their request for an appeal within 30 days of the Associate Dean’s decision. An appeal request will not be accepted without supporting documentation attached. The Appeal must be submitted to the Associate Dean, Enrollment Services, who will convene the Drop Review Committee. The decision of the Drop Review Committee is final.