Administrative Course Registration Cancellation

I. REASON FOR THIS POLICY

This policy governs registration cancellation of a student who never establishes participation in a course through academic engagement, thereby protecting the student’s GPA, ensuring the student is not charged for the course, and reducing the false inflation of University course enrollments and DFW rates.

II. DEFINITIONS

Academic Engagement. Per federal regulation 34 CFR 600.2, academic engagement is the active participation by a student in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study, including but not limited to, the following:

• Attending a synchronous class, lecture, recitation, or field or laboratory activity, physically or online, where there is an opportunity for interaction between the instructor and students;
• Submitting an academic assignment;
• Taking an assessment or an exam;
• Participating in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction;
• Participating in a study group, group project, or an online discussion that is assigned by the institution; or
• Interacting with an instructor about academic matters.

III. POLICY

1. Faculty Notification. A faculty member may initiate administrative registration cancellation for any student who fails to establish academic engagement within the first three weeks of a course.
2. Third Week Timeline. The University shall cancel a student’s registration in a course upon notification from a faculty member if the student fails to participate through academic engagement in that course by the end of the third week of the course session. In cases of a wait-listed course, faculty may choose to initiate the drop prior to census.
3. Pre-Warning To prevent cancellation of students who intend to engage in a course, the University will notify any student at risk of administrative cancellation due to lack of participation through academic engagement using the University’s identified platform for early alerts immediately after the first week of the course session.
4. Course Payment. If payment for the course had been made, the University will refund 100% of the charges for the course in accordance with South Dakota Board of Regents and federal requirements. If payment for the course has not been made, the University will update the student’s bill to reflect actual charges which would not include charges for the course that was administratively cancelled. The Financial Aid Office will make adjustments to the student’s financial aid award, if applicable, based on the student’s enrollment. The Office of Veterans Affairs will update enrollment certifications as necessary. Athletic eligibility will be recalculated, if applicable.
5. Course Reinstatement. A student shall have the right to petition for re-enrollment into the course in which the student’s registration was cancelled. Reinstatement requires faculty approval and is not guaranteed.

Exclusions

A student shall have the right to petition for re-enrollment into the course in which the student’s registration was cancelled. Reinstatement requires faculty approval and is not guaranteed.

Exceptions

None

IV. PROCEDURES

1. Faculty shall submit an early alert through TrojanConnect according to the University’s established schedule for alerts for every student who has failed to establish academic engagement after the first week of the course.
2. Academic Support Services shall contact all students reported by faculty who have failed to establish academic engagement in a course to notify those students of their risk for being administratively cancelled from the course.
3. Following the third week of the course, faculty shall submit a notification through TrojanConnect for each student who has failed to establish academic engagement within the course, requesting the administrative cancellation of the student.
4. The Registrar’s Office will remove the student from the course(s) in the registration system. This action subsequently removes the student from the class roster, learning management system, and the student’s transcript. The Registrar’s Office will notify the student of the action taken and will also recalculate athletic eligibility, if applicable.
5. The Financial Aid Office (FAO) will recalculate scholarships, grants, and loans based on the reduced credit hour load after all course cancellations have been performed by the Registrar’s Office. The FAO will notify students of any reduction in scholarships and financial aid and return funds to their proper sources as prescribed in federal, state, and outside agency policy.
6. The Office of Veterans Affairs will submit update enrollment certification to the VA that reflects the change in credit hours and tuition and fees.
7. Course Enrollment Reinstatement
   1. When a student is removed from course, the Registrar’s Office will notify the student via email.
   2. The student has three business days to petition for reinstatement.
   3. The student completes the online Course Registration Reinstatement Petition Form provided in Section V of this policy.
   4. Upon receipt of the petition, the Registrar’s Office forwards the request to the respective instructor via email within 24 hours.
   5. The instructor approves or denies the petition.
      1. If approved, the Registrar’s Office reinstates and notifies student, instructor, advisor, Financial Aid, and Cashier.
      2. If denied, the Registrar’s Office notifies the student, instructor, advisor, and dean/dept chair.
   6. The student may appeal to the respective dean/dept chair from the college/program in which the course is owned.

V. RELATED DOCUMENTS, FORMS AND TOOLS

Course Registration Reinstatement Petition Form

VI. POLICY HISTORY

Adopted: 04/28/2025