Adding or Dropping a Course

You should consider discussing any changes to your schedule with your academic advisor.

Adding a Course

1^st through 4^th class days (1^st and 2^nd class days in the summer)
You may add a course using the online registration system. Be sure to check your registration information sheet (RIS) for your specific access times.

5^th through 12^th class days (3^rd and 4^th class days in the summer)
To add a course, you must go to the specific department that offers the course you are trying to add. The Moody College of Communication can only assist students in registering for Moody College of Communication coursework. For example, if a student is trying to add an open section of a Sociology course on the 5th class day of a fall or spring semester, the student would need to contact the Sociology department for registration assistance.

After the 12^th class day (4^th class day in the summer)

To add a class late, please follow these steps:

1. Obtain necessary permissions:

Receive an email from the instructor with their permission to register for the course. The email address used by both you and the instructor must be your official UT email addresses.
Receive an email from the department offering the course you wish to add late. This email must be sent from the department or the department's representative to your official UT email address. (If the course you are adding is in the Moody College, you do not need to receive this approval; the Student Advising Office will make this inquiry on your behalf.)

2. Submit the Late Add Petition.

3. Send an email to commstudentadvising@austin.utexas.edu and attach both of the emails containing the permissions that you received. The subject line of your email should be "yourEID Late Add Permission" and it must be sent from your official UT email address.

Dropping a Course

Note that if you with to drop all of your classes, or to drop the only class for which you are registered, you must withdraw from the University. To begin the withdrawal process, you must meet with your academic advisor.

1^st through 12^th class days (1^st through 4^th class days in the summer)
You may drop a course using the online registration system. Courses dropped during this time are removed from your record and will not count toward your six Q-drop limit. Your tuition bill will be adjusted, and you will receive a partial tuition refund if you drop below 12 hours.

After the 12^th class day (4^th class day in the summer) through the mid-semester deadline (or the rest of the session for the summer)
All courses dropped during this time period will be recorded as Q-drops. When you Q-drop a course, a grade of Q is recorded on your transcript for that course. The Q will not affect your GPA. You will not be refunded for a course that you Q-drop.

IMPORTANT: Students are limited to a total of six (6) dropped courses for academic reasons during undergraduate studies. Full details can be found here.

Dropping a class for non-academic reasons before the mid-semester deadline (or through the last class day of the summer)

You may Q-Drop a class for academic reasons by submitting the form below. Otherwise, please make an appointment with your academic advisor to discuss a non-academic drop.

The two options for non-academic drops are as follows:

For course drops due to a health-related issue, you must use the University Health Center’s process to apply for a medical course load reduction. Your academic advisor will need to approve your course load reduction application.
For all other non-academic reasons, you must submit a Non-Academic Drop Petition. This petition must be accompanied by supporting documentation. Your advisor will provide more information.

To request an academic Q-Drop, please submit this form.

Academic Q-Drop

Dropping a class after the mid-semester deadline in a long semester.

You must meet with your academic advisor if you want to drop a course at this point in the semester. The two options for dropping a course are as follows:

You may use the One-Time-Exception if you have not already done so. Or,
You must have an urgent and substantiated non-academic reason for dropping a course.
- If it is before the University Health Center’s medical course load reduction application deadline and the reason for your drop involves your physical or mental health, you must use the University Health Center’s process to apply for a medical course load reduction. Your academic advisor will need to sign your course load reduction application.
- For all other urgent and substantiated nonacademic reasons, you will need to submit a Late Drop/Withdrawal Petition (available from the Student Advising Office). This type of petition requires you to submit:
  - a written explanation;
  - a questionnaire completed by your course instructor regarding your performance in the course; and,
  - supporting documentation.

If you are registered for less than 12 hours of coursework in a fall or spring semester, you are considered a part-time student. Please see this webpage for full details.