Students can retake any course taken at U-M Ann Arbor, but the following policies apply: 

• If they earned a grade of A+ through C, P (Pass), CR (Credit), or S previously, they won't earn additional credit or honor points for a retake. The later course appears on the transcript with the notation "Not for Credit” (NFC). 

• If they earned a C- through D-  previously,  they will receive honor points but no additional credit toward a degree. The later course appears on the transcript with the notation "REP” (Repetition). 

• If they earned an E, F, or U previously, retaking the course could earn them both credit toward a degree and honor points (depending on the grading system used). There is no special transcript notation. 

• In all cases, both grades will remain on the transcript and (if taken as graded) are included in GPA calculations.

Initial Add/Drop Period

• Students can change classes without penalty during the initial add/drop period, which is the first three weeks of a full term and the first two weeks of a half term. See the Registrar’s Calendar for dates.

• Students are responsible for making up any coursework or assessments that occurred from the start of the term to the time they added the course. 

• Even before the end of the third week, you have the option to have your course listed as “closed” or “permission of instructor/department." Talk to your department office to change your course settings.

Late Add/Drop Period

Students can request to drop a course after the add/drop deadline by completing the online “Late Drop” process in Wolverine Access.

• • The late drop deadline is about two-thirds of the way through the term. See the LSA Academic Calendar for exact dates.

  • In this case, their transcript will show a W for the course.

Late adds require your approval and an electronic override for the student, usually arranged through your departmental office. Instructions: Late Drop/Add/Swap/Edit.

Retroactive Drop/Add

After the late drop/add period, students must petition for a Retroactive Add/Drop. 

• These are rarely approved and only in extreme cases where something non-academic has happened that has prevented the student from being able to complete the course. 

• The student must have been passing the course prior to the petition request.

Retroactive late adds are scrutinized closely. The student must have compelling reasons for why they delayed adding the course. 

Will I be notified if a student drops or adds my course during the initial drop/add period?

No. Many students are making adjustments to their schedules during this time. Your rosters should be updated regularly as students drop and add. 

What happens when a student submits a late drop request?

• The request is routed to you to indicate the student's last date of participation and whether or not you recommend approving the request. 

  • • • Drops will be processed even if you do not recommend approval, unless the student has an academic misconduct case in the class. 

      • You'll get one email reminder if you don't respond to the request within 72 hours, but if you don't respond after that, the request will be pushed through without your comments. 

• The request is then routed to the student’s advisor or LSA Student Records for approval, who will check to see if there is a pending academic misconduct case or if there could be an impact on student status. 

• In most cases, the late drop request will be approved and routed to the Registrar’s Office for approval. Sometimes requests are escalated to the Office of Student Academic Affairs. 

• If it's approved, the student will receive official notification that the late drop has been processed. If it's denied, the student will likely get further instructions from their advisor. 

This entire process takes from 48 hours to a few weeks. We recommend that students continue to participate in the class until their late drop request is officially approved. 

What do I do if a student submits a late drop request after I have accused them of academic misconduct?

Students are not allowed to drop a course in which they have a pending case of academic misconduct, or one in which they have been found responsible for academic misconduct. If you receive a late drop request for a student in this situation, please complete the late drop request form, indicating that you do not recommend the drop and including a note regarding an academic misconduct case. We also recommend you reach out to lsajudicial@umich.edu to ask them to pause the late drop request. 

Term withdrawal within the term

Students can request a term withdrawal until the last day of classes, and they are usually  approved without question. If their request is after the initial add/drop deadline, they will get W grades for all of their courses for the term. 

Retroactive term withdrawal

After the last day of class, a student would need to submit a petition to request a retroactive term withdrawal. 

• Retroactive term withdrawals are rarely granted and only in cases where extenuating non-academic circumstances prevented a student from being able to complete a term withdrawal prior to the last day of classes. 

• Documentation is required. 

• If approved, they will get W grades for all of their courses for the term. 

Prerequisites

You can set prerequisites for your courses, and both Atlas and the LSA Course Guide display prerequisites to students. Advisory prerequisites are a guideline or recommendation. Enforced prerequisites are enforced during registration. 

There are three types of prerequisites:

• Courses: You can advise or enforce students to have completed certain courses (or their equivalents) before registering for your course. 

• Group membership: You can restrict enrollment to students in a particular student population, class standing, or academic community, e.g., history majors, first-year students, Comprehensive Studies Program.

• Permission of instructor or department: These courses require all students to obtain approval from the instructor/department and request an electronic override to register.

Closed classes

During registration, classes that reach capacity will be listed as "closed" to students. On occasion, classes reopen if a department raises the enrollment capacity or adds additional sections. 

Before the initial add/drop deadline, you can have your course listed as “closed” or “permission of instructor/department." Talk to your department office to change your course settings.

You can also allow a student into your course even if it is closed. See Overrides, below.

Waitlists

Waitlists help you fairly manage enrollment in closed classes. Specific procedures vary by department, so check with your department for procedures that will apply to your course so you can include them in your course description in the LSA Course Guide.

While names appear in the order in which were added to the list, instructors and departments can manage waitlists based on the priorities they believe are most fair --  for example, class standing or declared major. 

Overrides (Electronic Permissions)

An override allows a student to enroll in a class they might not otherwise be able to, such as

• Closed courses from the waitlist

• A class that requires instructor or department consent 

• A class in which the student does not have the enforced prerequisites
  
  

After getting an override, students can then enroll through Wolverine Access. Contact your department to understand how overrides are handled.

Students may not enroll in two or more classes that meet at the same time or overlap even briefly, unless one of the classes does not meet on a regular basis, such as an independent study, research, or internship that permits independent work. 

• Students who register for conflicting or overlapping courses must seek permission from both instructors and are responsible for any issues or exam conflicts that arise from scheduling classes that overlap. Instructors are not obligated to accommodate time conflicts. 

• Students may be dropped from courses that conflict, per department policy.

How do students know if they are enrolled in conflict classes? 

When a student registers for classes, if they attempt to enroll in classes that overlap they will receive an error message in Wolverine Access. The student must then actively select “override time conflict” in order to be able to register in classes that overlap. 

Students also receive multiple emails from the Office of Student Affairs informing them that they are registered for overlapping classes and that they are in violation of the Time Conflict policy.

What do I do if a student lets me know that my class overlaps with another? 

Students should not enroll in classes that overlap. If you are ok with the overlap (and the possibility of the student missing your class or leaving early/arriving late) please let the student know. This approval does not need to be submitted to any college office - the student will simply retain the approval in case an issue arises later. If you do not approve of the overlap let the student know and inform them they will need to drop one of the overlapping courses. 

A student enrolled in a class that overlaps with mine and has now realized the final exam times overlap. What do I do? 

If the student requested approval for the class time overlap and you approved the request, you must offer an alternate exam time to the student. If the student did not request approval or you denied their request, you do not need to offer an alternative exam time to the student. The student may need to choose which final exam to take and which to miss. Please note: after the late drop deadline a student may not withdraw from a class on the basis of having conflicting exam times.