Students have just over a week to drop full semester courses or to change them to pass/not pass status.
The last day to drop a course is Oct. 27 for full-semester classes and for those enrolled in second-half-semester classes, the last day to drop is Nov. 17.
A course drop must be approved by an adviser and the course professor. Once signed off on, the class will appear as an “X” on a student’s permanent record.
The university advises researching and understanding how a course drop can affect student status before dropping, as a course load not meeting full-time status could affect scholarships and financial aid.
The same deadline applies for students who wish to change to pass/not pass. Not all classes are eligible for pass/not pass status, including most non-elective classes required for a student’s major. The Office of the Registrar recommends consulting with an academic adviser for permission to switch a class to pass/not pass.
The end of the tenth week of each fall and spring semester is a student’s last chance to drop unless there are extenuating circumstances approved and signed off by the dean of the student’s college or an authorized representative.
No drop limit
Students are no longer limited to the number of classes they may drop.
The Iowa State Faculty Senate made the decision to remove the drop limit in 2022.
According to 2022 Faculty Senate Documents, no other Big 12 conference school has a drop limit policy, nor does the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa.
Although some senators argued students may take advantage of the unlimited number of drops, senators argued for the change due to the implementation of Workday Student for student records.
According to Faculty Senate documents, “significant backend configuration work” would have been required to implement a drop feature into Workday Student.
The same document indicates the drop limit policy originated in the 1960s when students enrolled in college to avoid the military draft. The document states students would proceed to drop the classes they registered for and repeat the same process the following semester.
Previously, students were limited to five drops during their academic career if they started at Iowa State. Transfer students were allowed four drops.
Other dates
Classes will recess for Thanksgiving break Nov. 20-24, before heading into final exams, which will wrap up the fall semester Dec. 15.
Course registration begins for graduate and veterinary students Oct. 18, and students with successively fewer credits completed will complete registration in descending order after Oct. 18, as shown in the chart from the registrar.
