OCInstructional Policies

Add, Drop, Complete Withdrawal, Late Starting Classes

Before courses start: Students may add (providing prerequisites/admission requirements have been met), drop, or completely withdraw via OASIS or in person.

Day one through day three:

Students may register for open courses day one through day three if space is available, without instructor permission
Wait listed students may register for full courses only with instructor signature on the “Over-Enrollment” form, day one through day three. Students may use an email permission to over-enroll for online classes. The automatic waitlist quits running day one of the quarter. They may be added to a waitlist but will not automatically move into the After that students need permission from the faculty.
Students may drop courses via ctcLink, in person or via email at registration@olympic.edu.

Day four through ten:

Students may add courses only with instructor permission. Use the “permission to enroll” section on the “Registration” form, email or specific note stating permission to enroll with your signature and the date. Online students may forward your permission via email to registration@olympic.edu.
Students may drop courses via ctcLink, in person or via email without faculty notice or signature.
Withdrawal from courses is allowed during the first 10 days without transcript notation.

Day 11 through the end of quarter:

Withdrawal from a course with a “W” grade noted on the transcript is allowed to the end of 60% of the quarter. Check specific quarter dates on the Academic Calendar or the OC website.

Day 11 through 80% of the quarter:

The ‘Registrar’s Petition’ process is in effect. Students must present a rationale for the action requested, and class instructors have the option of adding information such as attendance, and may sign or refuse to sign the petition request. Petitions should be submitted in a timely manner and medical or substantiating documentation should be attached to the form. The requested action is subject to the final decision of the Registrar. Approved petitions may result in additional tuition charges. Course withdrawal with “W” grade noted on the transcript requires approval of the Registrar. The “Registrar’s Petition” form must be completed and filed with the Registrar for consideration.

End of the eighth week or 80%:

Last day to officially drop a class and receive a “W” grade.

Early Registration

Washington State colleges and universities offer early registration in order to assist students reach their higher education goals due to specific challenges. Olympic College has the following groups of students who would benefit from early registration because they may need additional assistance in meeting scheduling needs, have a limited amount of time to use their educational benefits before they run out, may need accommodations through Student Disability Services, or are a member of a disenfranchised group.

Olympic College will offer early registration for the following groups:

Running Start students; 2) students who self-identify their military service in the United States Armed Forces or Uniformed Services at the time of application or afterwards (those coded as SVBA, SVBB, SVBC, SVBD, SVBG, SVBH, SVBJ, SVBV, SVBZ); 3) students with disabilities with an approved early registration accommodation through Student Disability Services; 4) students who self-identify on their admission application and with the Resource Center as foster youth; 5) students who self-identify as homeless and provide documentation with the Resource Center; 6) students on an F1 visa status issued on an OC I-20 through the International Education Office; and 7) student athletes who are part of a Northwest Athletic Conference affiliated team at Olympic College.

Refund Policy

100% thru the 5th instructional day.
50% refund, 6th day of the term thru 20th day of the term.
No refunds after the 20th day of the term.
Refunds may be made for tuition, operating fees and special fees unless listed as non-refundable.
For Continuing Education (zero credit) classes:
- 100% classes and workshops canceled by OC
- 90% withdrawal five days prior to the start of the class
- 0% after class starts. However, transfer to other continuing education classes five days prior to class start date are allowed.

Waitlist

Waitlists can be found in your class roster in ctcLink (Links to an external site.). Directions on ctcLink for Faculty are included in the ctcLink Self-Service course.

Once you locate your Class Roster in ctcLink, find the drop down menu labeled "Enrolled Status" just below the Class Roster. Click the down arrow. Choose "Waitlist" (note - this option will not appear if there is not a waitlist). You may click the "Notify" button to send a message to a student, giving them permission to enroll in the course. The student can then forward to registration@olympic.edu stating they have permission to over-enroll the specific class.

If a class is full, students may:

Attend the class on the first day of the class.
If the instructor agrees, the student presents an over-enrollment form. to be signed by the Instructor
Or, if the class is online, students may email the instructor for permission and forward to registration@olympic.edu stating they have permission to over-enroll the specific class.

Over-enrollments will be honored through the first ten days of the term.

Students are given the option to wait list for a full class, if prerequisites are met. Until the Friday before the term starts, if an opening occurs, the student’s name will be automatically moved from the wait list to the class roster via an overnight job. A final manual waitlist run will be done after drops for nonpayment are done on the second day of the term. Students should check their schedule listed on ctcLink regularly for their registration status. The automatic registration may increase tuition owed. Wait list restrictions are:

Course conflicts: Students may not enroll in a wait list and a course that has the same discipline and course number. Time conflicts (overlapping times); if the selected wait list contains a time or course conflict with another class, registration staff may remove the restricted class/wait list from the student’s registration schedule.

Three course limit: Students are limited to three wait listed enrollment entries at any one time.

Instructor-Initiated Drop Policy

In order to comply with Department of Education regulations, OC must drop students from class and return financial aid funds “as soon as possible but not later than 30 days after” becoming aware that a student is not attending any or all classes. Instructors should report any students who have not attended a class no later than the 8th calendar day of the term, so we can begin the process of dropping them and returning their aid. 

The Department of Education has modified and expanded its definition of “academic attendance” and “attendance at an academically related activity” to include the criteria outlined in a new definition of academic engagement as provided under 34 CF 600.2. Academic engagement is the active participation by a student in an instructional activity related to the student’s course of study that is defined by the institution in accordance with any applicable requirements by its State or accrediting agency, and includes, but is not limited to the following academically related activities:

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 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.

Examples of acceptable evidence of academic attendance and attendance at an academically related activity in distance education courses/programs include, but are not limited to:

Student submission of an academic assignment;
Student submission of an exam;
Documented student participation in an interactive tutorial, webinar or other interactive computer-assisted instruction;

A posting by the student showing the student’s participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution;
A posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student’s participation in an online discussion about academic matters; or
An email from the student or other documentation showing that the student initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course (simply emailing to ask not to be dropped is not attendance).

NOT ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE:

A student logging into Canvas without performing one of the above actions.
A student initiating contact and asking not to be dropped without performing an above action.
An instructor initiating contact and the student asking not to be dropped.

An instructor must initiate an administrative drop for a non-attending student no later than the eighth calendar day of the term, if the student does not attend or contact the instructor to indicate their intention to remain enrolled.

INSTRUCTOR-INITIATED DROP PROCEDURE

Use the online form linked below to submit instructor-initiated drop requests:

Instructor-Initiated Drop Form

Important Notes:

Instructor-Initiated Drop requests must be submitted using the online form. Requests cannot be accepted via email. Once we receive this form, we will process within 3-4 days at which time the student will be removed from your roster.
A grade of 0.0 should not be assigned for a student who never began attending. When entering a 0.0 grade into the ctcLink Grade Roster, a "last attended" date after the start of the term must be entered.
The grade of 0.0 can be assigned if a student begins attending a course and at some point stops attending (with an associated last date of attendance reported in the ctcLink Grade Roster).

Student Responsibility
1. Students should attend scheduled class sessions.
1. Students who are dropped through the instructor-initiated drop process and who wish to be reinstated in class must complete normal procedures for re-enrollment, including securing the instructor’s written permission to re-enroll.
Instructor Responsibility
1. Instructors initiate an Instructor-Initiated Drop by completing an Instructor-Initiated Drop form.
1. Forms must be submitted for all students who have not yet participated no later than the eighth calendar day of the term.
Registrar Responsibility
1. 1. Registration will process Instructor-Initiated Drop forms when submitted by an instructor.
  2. Registration will inform the Financial Aid Office of the "Instructor-Initiated Drop."

Why Instructor Initiated Checks are required:

The Department of Education requires Olympic College to verify “Last Date of Attendance” to ensure we stay compliant with federal regulations regarding the treatment of Title IV Funds (Federal Financial Aid).
Registration errors can be corrected in a timely fashion, thereby preventing unnecessary student billing and financial aid issues later in the term or academic year.
This process helps to ensure that our college census data is accurately reported to the state.
Students may only receive financial aid for classes that they are registered for an attending.
This allows Security personnel to locate students in case of an emergency.

Department of Education Policy
Relevant Department of Education Regulations

34 C.F.R. 668.21(a) provides that if a student does not begin attendance in a payment period or a period of enrollment, the institution must return all of the Title IV funds that were disbursed to the student. The Secretary considers that a student has not begun attendance in a payment period or period of enrollment if the institution is unable to document the student’s attendance at any class during the payment period or period of enrollment.

34 C.F.R. 668.21(b) specifies that an institution must return funds for which it is responsible as soon as possible but not later than 30 days after the date the institution becomes aware that the student will not or has not begun attendance.