Drop/Add

The drop/add process is an online process and is a one week period for 10 week courses. The drop/add period ends at 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday following the first day of the term*.  

The deadlines can be found on the Academic Calendar website.

  • Students may make changes in 10-week and second 5-week course registrations online via the Hub until the end of the drop/add period.
  • Students may also drop first 5-week courses via the Hub during the drop/add period. The online Drop/add process can be used to add first 5-week courses and these must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. of the fifth day of the term.
  • Students will need the instructor’s permission to add courses that have a waitlist.  The instructor should send an email to waitlist@carleton.edu to give waitlisted students permission to add the course.  The email should include the name of the course and the student (s) names who may be admitted.  The student will have one full day after the request is processed to add the course via the HUB.  If the student does not add the course in the allowed time, the instructor will need to send a second request.  Except for the students admitted by permission, students will not be able to use HUB to add the course until there are no students remaining on the waitlist.
  • Labs must be added via the HUB by the end of the first meeting, i.e. if the lab meets on Wednesdays the lab must be added by the first Wednesday.
  • For a student who has not met prerequisites, the instructor must notify the Registrar’s office to waive the prerequisite for the student.  If there is no waitlist on the course, the student will be able to add the course via the HUB after the waiver has been processed.  If there is a waitlist, the student should add their name to the waitlist, and the instructor will notify the Registrar’s Office to give the student permission to add the course.
  • Should an instructor believe that a student has missed too much of a course, the instructor can withhold permission to add a course.
  • After the above deadlines, students may use drop/add cards to add or drop second 5-week courses up until 5:00 p.m. of the fifth day of the second 5 weeks.
  • If a student does not meet the published deadlines, a Petition for Exception to Registration Policy is required.  The petition form requires the signatures of both the instructor and the academic adviser.

When using drop/add cards for anything other than a change from one section to another of a multiple section course, the signature of the instructor(s) involved and the adviser will be required. For a change of course section, only the instructor’s signature will be required (see Change of Section for deadline information). However, a student registered for a course for which another section is offered for different credit must switch sections using the drop/add procedure during published deadlines; the adviser’s signature is required.

Provided the 12 credit minimum is observed, courses may be late dropped until 5:00 p.m. on the seventh Friday of the term for 10-week courses, the third Friday of the term for first 5-week courses, and the eighth Friday of the term for second 5-week courses. Courses described as seminars may be late dropped only with the instructor’s permission (which may be withheld). Courses numbered 100 and 400, as well as those courses related to the senior integrative exercise, may not be late dropped (see point 2 under Senior Integrative Exercise for sole exception to this policy). After the one-week drop/add deadline, a drop results in a grade notation of “DRP” on the transcript and is identified as “course dropped after the normal drop/add period without penalty.” The online “late-drop” process is available for this purpose, and both the instructor’s and adviser’s approval are needed.

No course may be dropped after 5:00 p.m. on the day of the late drop deadline noted above.

While a pattern of frequent use of this option may be interpreted by graduate schools and employers as an indication of inability to complete academic obligations, an occasional “DRP” notation on a transcript is no cause for concern. The Academic Standing Committee (ASC) regards the DRP as a valid elective option for a student in cases where a course cannot be completed for a variety of reasons as well as in cases where students have simply missed the registration deadline. Petitions to remove a DRP notation from the transcript are not usually granted.

Carleton College off-campus studies seminars may not be dropped.

* When the term begins on a Monday, the drop/add period ends at 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday following the first day of the term.  When the term begins on a different day of the week, this period ends at 11:59 p. m. on the fifth day of classes: for example, if the term begins on Wednesday, the drop/add period ends just before midnight on the following Tuesday. 

Campus Handbook: Drop/Add Policy

Non-attendance Drop

As per the Drop/Add policy, any student who: 

  • fails to attend the first two classes in a course for which there is a waitlist, and
  • has not otherwise contacted the faculty member by the end of the second class to confirm enrollment, 

will be officially dropped from the course if a signed request from the instructor is received by the Registrar by the end of the first week of class. 

This faculty prerogative does not relieve a student of final responsibility for proper registration.

Use the Faculty Drop Form to officially drop a student from your course.