Please see the Academic Calendar for semester-specific dates related to add/drop periods. If you are seeking information about withdrawing from all of your courses for a specific term, please see our Withdrawal Procedure page.
Adding Courses during the Add Period
A student may add courses to his/her schedule through the last day of add on the Academic Calendar for the term or part of term. Students may add classes via My GCSU/PAWS or by submitting an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) to the Registrar’s Office for processing during this period. Students with an advisor hold must obtain approval from their academic advisor to add a class; no additional approvals are required during the add period. Changing sections of the same course does not require the approval of the advisor when using the Add/Drop Card.
Students may not attend, participate in, or receive credit for courses in which they are not properly registered.
Adding Courses after the Add Period
Courses should be added after the add period only in rare circumstances. To add courses after the add period, a student must submit an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) to the Registrar’s Office. During this period, the approval of the department chairperson for the course, the student’s academic advisor (if an advisor hold exists), and the instructor of the course are required on the Add/Drop Card. Following the last date to drop without academic penalty (last day to drop with a W), a petition with the approval of the dean of the college is also required.
Courses added after the payment deadline must be paid for in full on the day that the course is added to the student’s schedule.
Students may not attend, participate in, or receive credit for courses in which they are not properly registered.
Dropping Courses during the Drop Period
Dropping courses refers to reducing one’s course load for a single term or discontinuing enrollment in one or more courses while remaining registered in others courses for the same term. For information on withdrawing from all courses, see Withdrawal from the University.
A student may drop courses from his/her schedule with no penalty through the last day to drop without penalty as published in the Academic Calendar for each term or part of term (usually the fifth of classes in the fall/spring and the second day of classes in the summer). Students may drop classes via Unify/PAWS or by submitting an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) to the Registrar’s Office for processing during this period. Students with an advisor hold must obtain approval from their academic advisor to drop a class; no additional approvals are required during this period. Courses dropped during this period do not receive a W grade, do not count in the student’s 5W count, do not count in the student’s attempted hours and do not appear on the academic transcript. Students will not be charged tuition and fees for courses dropped during this period as long as they remain enrolled in other courses for that term or part of term.
Students attending classes that do not meet until after the published drop/add dates are allowed 24 hours following their first class meeting to adjust their course load and must contact the Registrar's Office to process the drop.
Dropping Courses after the Drop Period
After the last day to drop a course with no fee penalty and with no W, but on or before the last day to drop a course with a W grade as published in the Academic Calendar for each term or part of term, students may drop courses online via Unify/PAWS or by submitting an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) to the Registrar’s Office. Approval of the academic advisor (if an advisor hold exists) is required. No other approvals are required. Students will receive a W grade for courses dropped during this time period, and these courses will count in the student’s 5W count. Courses dropped during this time will count in the student’s attempted hours, which will affect the student’s financial aid and HOPE eligibility. They will also appear on the academic transcript. No refunds will be issued for individual courses dropped during this period. Students may not drop courses during this period if they have previously been assigned a grade of F for excessive absences by their instructor or have been assigned an F for disciplinary reasons. Students who drop a course during this period but who have already earned 5 Ws will receive a WF instead of a W grade, which will be recorded at the end of term.
After the last day to drop a course with a W grade, students may drop individual courses and receive a WF by submitting an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) to the Registrar’s Office. Approval of the academic advisor (if an advisor hold exists) is required. No other approvals are required. A student who drops a course after the last day to drop a course with a W will receive a grade of WF (Withdrew Failing) for the course. A grade of WF counts the same as a grade of F in the student’s grade point average. Courses dropped during this time will count in the student’s attempted hours, which will affect the student’s financial aid and HOPE eligibility. They also appear on the academic transcript. No refunds will be issued for courses dropped during this period. Students may not drop courses during this period if they have previously been assigned a grade of F for excessive absences by their instructor or have been assigned an F for disciplinary reasons.
Late Registration
Current students are expected to enroll for courses on their first available registration date. Late registration should occur only in rare circumstances. Students who delay their registration until or after the first day of the semester will be required to pay all tuition and fees for the semester at the time of registration. If registration occurs after the first five days of classes for the fall or spring terms or the first two days of classes for the summer parts of term, an Add/Drop Card (Course Change Card) (pdf) must be submitted with the signatures of your advisor (if advisor hold has not been removed), instructor, chairperson of each course, and the Business Office. No credit will be awarded for any course for which the student is not properly registered.