Office of Origin: Records & Registration 
Responsibility: Registrar
Date Adopted: 05-15-18            
Date Reviewed: 11-9-21
Last Date Board Approved: 6-26-18, 3-29-22

Exact deadlines for all class registration actions including adds, drops, withdrawals, and audits are established and published prior to the start of each academic year.  Students may not register for classes after the registration deadline for a semester has passed and will be deferred to the next semester.  Students who have registered prior to the registration deadline may make changes to their schedule through the published add/drop period.  Any exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  All students are responsible for their own schedule and any changes made to it.

Schedule changes made beyond the published add/drop dates require a consultation with an academic advisor and the approval of the appropriate faculty and dean.   Any class added outside of the regular add/drop period, including OE classes, may not be eligible for financial aid funding. The Financial Aid Office will review and approve such requests on a case-by-case basis.

Course pre-requisites and co-requisites are published in the catalog, the class schedule, and may be viewed online via the course look-up function as well as on the student audit. All pre- and co-requisites are strictly enforced and require specific permission to waive.  

Adding a Class

Students adding classes must do so within the published add/drop period for the semester. In general, classes may be added prior to the first scheduled meeting time for each class. Classes for which all pre-requisites have been met may be added online via the student account.

Online (distance learning) classes may be added through 11:59 p.m. the day before the semester begins, as the first meeting is considered to be the first day of the semester.

Open Entry (OE) classes may be added at any time during the semester, except the last two weeks of the semester. Any class added outside of the regular add/drop period, including OE classes, may not be eligible for financial aid funding. The Financial Aid Office will review and approve such requests on a case-by-case basis.

Auditing a Class

To audit is to take an academic course for no credit. Some of the reasons for auditing are personal exploration, enjoyment, gaining insight into a new subject, or skill/knowledge review.  

A student wishing to attend a credit course on a no-credit basis may register to audit the course; however, when openings in a class are limited, preference shall be given to students enrolling for credit. Tuition is paid at the same rate as for a credit course, the attendance policy applies, and all pre- and co-requisites must be met.  

Audited courses are not eligible for financial aid (including grants, loans, or scholarships) or veteran’s benefits funding, and do not count toward program completion or pre-requisite use; audited courses are not calculated in the GPA and do not transfer.

A student may change from audit to credit and vice versa only during the regular add/drop period.

Dropping a Class

Students dropping classes must do so within the published drop dates for the class in order to reverse all tuition and fee charges.  Open Entry (OE) classes added after the regular add/drop period may drop through the end of the third day after registration. Drops can be completed online via the student account during the published add/drop period or in person at any campus. 
A drop initiated after the published drop dates is considered a withdrawal and all tuition and fees remain on the student account.

Guest Student Registration

Students enrolled at another college or university may register for Lake Michigan College classes as Guest students.  Guest students are encouraged to complete and submit a MACRAO-approved Michigan Undergraduate Guest Application prior to registration to ensure return transfer of the LMC credit to their home institution. Guest students are afforded all the rights and responsibilities of LMC students, but are not eligible to receive financial aid from LMC. All course pre-requisites must be met and documentation provided.

Withdrawing from Classes

Students may withdraw online through the student account or by submitting a withdraw form. The Withdraw form can be found in the Student Services area of any campus or online via the student account. Students are encouraged to speak with their instructor prior to withdrawal to ensure withdrawing is the best course of action; to complete the process, students should speak with both the financial aid office and an academic advisor to review the student’s financial and academic situation and understand the ramifications of the withdraw.   
A withdrawal does not qualify for a refund of tuition or fees.

During the first 80% of the class a student may withdraw with a guaranteed “W” grade, without the permission of the instructor, so long as the class is not part of a second-admit program.  During the final 20% of the class, the student must request permission of the instructor to withdraw.  The withdrawal is not guaranteed at this point and is granted (or not) solely at the discretion of the instructor.  If the withdrawal is not granted, the student will receive the grade earned for the class.  

Students may not withdraw past the last day of a class. Withdrawal dates for each semester are listed in the Academic Calendar.

A withdrawal is not considered official until the withdraw form has been submitted or the withdrawal action completed online.  Non-attendance, verbal notice, or conversation with an instructor does not constitute an official withdrawal. 

Withdrawals for classes which are part of a second-admit program are issued only at the discretion of the appropriate faculty or program director and are not guaranteed at any point.  Program-specific details regarding withdrawal are outlined in the program handbook.

References:    
Health Science program handbooks
Michigan Undergraduate Guest Application