As a student at Iowa State, there is a good chance that at some point in your college career you’ll enroll for a class, begin attending it and realize that the class isn’t for you. It might be because it’s boring to you, is far more difficult than you expected or any other reason.

If this happens to you, there are easy steps you can take to drop the class.

There are some limits for drops though. If you come to Iowa State as a freshman, you are only allowed to drop a total of five classes, per the Dean of Students Office website.

During the first five days of the semester if you decide to drop a class, you can do it by yourself in AccessPlus. These drops do not count against your drop limit, and you need no further action than merely dropping the class in AccessPlus.

For the period after the first five days until the Friday of the tenth week of classes, there are a few more steps to the process.

First, students must go to their adviser and get a drop slip from them. The adviser must sign the form, and you must fill out the form as well. Next, you need the professor of the class you’re dropping to sign the form as well.

“Speak with your adviser before making the decision, because that way you can understand how the drop can affect your four-year plan and graduation requirements,” Shawna Saad, associate registrar, said.

After you get all the signatures needed, take the slip to the Registrar’s Student Scheduling Office at 10 Enrollment Services.

In recent years, there has been a fee charged to students for dropping a class. Beginning in the Fall of 2017 this fee will go away, replaced by a “records and documents fee” as part of tuition for students. This fee will cover drops as well as transcript requests and other costs. This information can be found on the tuition fees portion of the Iowa State website.

For any time after the Friday of the tenth week of classes drops are not permitted, except for some special circumstances, and in that case, requires the signature from the student’s specific college.

This information can be found on the Office of the Registrar’s website as well.

The steps are straight forward, and are easy to follow. Don’t be afraid to drop a class either, it’s a common occurrence.

“You should get all the information possible, from adviser and instructor, before deciding to drop a class so you fully understand any implications,” Saad said.

Saad also advised to watch how dropping a class will affect your total credit hours, which can also affect financial aid.  

If you have any complications or further questions when thinking about dropping a class, Saad said that the Office of the Registrar and Student Services are always willing to help.