WITHDRAWALS, DROPS AND CREDIT ADJUSTMENTS

Attendance Policy

Please note that online courses have due dates and are not self-paced. The VU Distance Education Attendance Policy is based on the premise that students will complete all assigned course work by the established due dates.  Failure to complete an assignment by the established due date is interpreted as an absence from the class.

Any student who misses an assignment will be subject to attendance warnings and classroom concern notices from their instructor. Multiple attendance warnings and classroom concerns may result in administrative withdrawal.

FACULTY-INITIATED WITHDRAWAL OF STUDENTS FROM CLASS

Students who miss class hours totaling twice the number of credit hours awarded for the course, or the equivalent of two weeks of class instruction, are eligible to be dropped from class. Faculty will be using the “TAPS” program–Tracking Attendance and Performance of Students–to issue warnings for non-attendance and to drop students for non-attendance with the following final grades:

• WN: Withdrawal for non-attendance, Not failing
• WF: Withdrawal for non-attendance, Failing

***Please Note: When a faculty member drops a student due to non-attendance/inactivity in a course it does not excuse the student from the tuition charges or other financial obligations.***

Only the student may appeal such a drop for non-attendance, and the student has two possible avenues for appeal.

1. The student may appeal directly to the faculty person for readmission to the course and must provide evidence of extenuating circumstances that caused the absences. The faculty person has the option to readmit the student at his/her own discretion.
2. The student may appeal the drop for non-attendance through the DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE by completing a DROP PETITION APPEAL form within five business days from the date of the notification. The Dean of Students will then review the appeal, consult with the faculty member and, potentially, the student and render a decision to grant or deny readmission into the class. If there is extenuating information/evidence unknown to the faculty person or Dean of Students, the student is responsible to provide that information/evidence. The review is conducted by the Dean of Students or a designee.

Drops & Credit Adjustments

Withdrawals through the Distance Education Office must be submitted using one of the forms below. Please consult the Refund Schedule for last allowable date to withdraw.

****Drops cannot be accepted by our office after those dates.****

Students may either print off the form (PDF format), complete, and fax to 812-888-2054 or save the form to their computer (Excel format), complete, and email as an attachment to DISTED@VINU.EDU. Requests made to the Distance Education Office to withdraw will not be processed without this completed form. Please consult the Refund Schedule for the amount of tuition that will be refunded (or charged if you have not yet paid for your course).

Refund Schedule and Last Dates to Withdraw from Courses

Student-initiated withdrawals will not be permitted after the last date to withdraw except in the case of extended illness, family emergency or other such unavoidable causes and then only with the consent of the class instructor, the student's academic advisor and the dean of the division of the student's major.

Students are to be aware of their responsibility for making decisions in time to meet calendar deadlines. Students should also be aware that withdrawals requested after these deadlines to avoid lower than desired course grades will not be considered.

Withdrawal from Classes

Since your acceptance of the financial aid package indicates your agreement to meet the minimum credit hour requirements for your awards, withdrawing from one or more classes may jeopardize your aid. In other words, if you drop below the minimum number of hours or you drop out completely, you may be required to repay the University some or all of the aid you received.

For example, if you received a Federal Pell Grant based on full-time enrollment and you drop to eleven hours or to five hours, you may have to refund some of the grant to the University or the Department of Education. Also, remember that you must make academic progress to maintain your eligibility for future aid. Before withdrawing from or dropping classes, it would be wise to check with the Financial Aid Office.

Please note - Students are required to have textbooks and course materials by the course start date. Failure to purchase textbooks is not justification to delay beginning coursework and will not result in 100% refund if dropping the courses.

Students who officially withdraw during the first week of regular classes during a Fall or Spring semester will receive a 100 percent credit adjustment of tuition; during the second week-75%, the third—50%, and the fourth—25%. After the fourth week, no credit adjustment will be given. Accelerated courses (14, 12, 10, 8 week courses) run off of a different schedule.

Withdrawal Process

In order to withdrawal from a class you must use the Distance Education Withdrawal Request form (opens in a new window) and submit it to the Distance Education Office. Any drop or withdrawal for VDE students will always result in financial aid recalculation and the student may owe financial aid money back to the University. It is the students’ responsibility to contact the Financial Aid office to determine the amount to be owed and how it will impact future enrollment. Please consult the Refund Schedule below for the amount of tuition that will be refunded (or charged if you have not yet paid for your course).

You may return the form by fax or by e-mail.

Email: DISTED@VINU.EDU
Fax: 812-888-2054

Contact the Vincennes University's Bursar's office for tuition refund/credit amount for withdrawal. Contact the Vincennes University's Financial Aid Office for the amount of financial aid to be returned to lender upon withdrawal. VU Financial Services (Bursar and Financial Aid): 812-888-4244 or 800-742-9198

Requests made to the Distance Education Office to withdraw will not be processed without this completed form. Withdrawals are processed using the date the Distance Education Office receives the form.

Students should also be aware that withdrawals requested after these deadlines to avoid lower than desired course grades will not be considered. Student-initiated withdrawals will not be permitted after these dates except in the case of extended illness, family emergency, or other such unavoidable causes.

PLEASE NOTE: Any drop or withdrawal for Vincennes Distance Education students will always result in financial aid recalculation and the student may owe financial aid money back to the university. It is the students responsibility to contact the Financial Aid Office (fa@vinu.edu or 812-888-4361) to determine the amount to be owed and how it will impact future enrollment.