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The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

The Student News Site of Central Oregon Community College

The Broadside

COCC’s late withdrawal dates: Helping or sabotaging students?

Late+withdrawal+dates+call+into+question+the+success+rate+of+student+class+completion.
Late withdrawal dates call into question the success rate of student class completion.

Central Oregon Community College allows students to drop out of their classes up to the very last moment: the week before finals.  However, the students do not get a refund and instead receive a “W ” on their transcript, which shows other universities that they withdrew.

This withdrawal date is late in comparison to other schools. During spring term, Oregon State University: Cascades campus scheduled the last day for students to drop a class without a refund, and receive a W on their transcript, is May 15.  The University of Oregon’s last day to drop is May 17.  COCC’s last day is June 3.

The flexibility of this withdrawal date raises some questions about whether this sets students on a route to success or failure.  Amanda Layton, an academic advisor at COCC shared her thoughts on the late withdrawal policy.

“I see both perspectives on how the late withdrawal policy is helping students be successful and also enabling some bad habits.  Students that use the late withdrawal policy often or every term are the students that might not be doing well in school and by pushing the date up earlier, it might motivate them to get on top of their classes earlier,” Layton said. “However, I do like the late withdrawal policy because things happen in life to students where the late withdrawal policy allows them to not have an ‘F’ on their transcripts and I think that is very helpful to students who need it.”

Matty Karcsay, a student from COCC, offered a different point of view on the date and how this affects students’ accomplishments at COCC.

“I’ve only used the late withdrawal date one time when I was failing a class,” Karcsay said. “However, I think if the date to withdraw from classes was earlier it would push me to procrastinate less and get on top of my grades earlier in the term or from the start instead of knowing, worst case scenario, that I can drop classes up to the last week.”

Regarding changing the withdrawal date at COCC, there has been no conversation about changing it anytime soon and the date to withdraw from classes will remain the same.

Hallie Reed/For The Broadside

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