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Senate Bill 1231
(LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF COURSE DROPS)

Under section 51.907 of the Texas Education Code, "an institution of higher education may not permit a student to drop more than six courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at another institution of higher education." This statute was enacted by the State of Texas in Spring 2007 and applies to students who enroll in a public institution of higher education as first-time freshmen in fall 2007 or later.

Any course that a student drops is counted toward the six-course limit if "(1) the student was able to drop the course without receiving a grade or incurring an academic penalty; (2) the student's transcript indicates or will indicate that the student was enrolled in the course; and (3) the student is not dropping the course in order to withdraw from the institution." Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to drop a course without having it counted toward this limit, but it is the responsibility of the student to establish that good cause. Contact the Registrars Office at your local Texas State Technical College for more information before you drop a course.

Policies and procedures for implementation of this statute are being developed and will be published as soon as they are available.

TSTC students affected by this statute who have attended or plan to attend another institution of higher education should become familiar with that institution's policies on dropping courses.

Schedule Changes

Currently enrolled students may add courses, drop courses, or change sections before classes begin by contacting their program advisors. After classes begin, all students may change their schedules by obtaining course schedule change forms from their instructors and/or department chairs and submitting them to the Admissions & Records Office by the deadline published in the TSTC college calendar. Changes are effective only when this process has been completed.

Drops and Withdrawals

Students may drop courses or withdraw from the college by completing a course schedule change form, obtaining the appropriate approval signatures, and submitting the form to the Admissions Office. The effective date is the date the course schedule change form is received in the Admissions & Records Office. Deadlines for course drops and withdrawals from the college are published in the TSTC college calendar.

Withdrawal from any developmental course may require the approval of the Director of Supplemental Educational Services. Students who are taking developmental education courses due to TASP compliance or pre-requisite issues may not drop their only remedial course without withdrawing from all courses.

Students who concurrently drop and add the same number of credit hours in a simultaneous transaction do not incur additional charges or receive refunds. See "Refunds for Changes in Enrollment" in the Refunds section for more information.

Courses that are dropped prior to the official census dates do not appear on the student's transcript. After the official census dates, students who drop courses or withdraw from the institution receive marks of "W" (Withdrawal), provided the forms are received on or before the published deadline.

Students who withdraw from the College must ensure that all library books and laboratory equipment are returned and all financial obligations are settled before they leave.

Refunds for Drops/Reduction in Course Load

Students who drop credit courses and reduce their course loads while remaining enrolled at the college will have their tuition and per-credit-hour fees refunded, based on the official drop date recorded by the Admissions & Records Office. Students who concurrently add and drop the same number of credit hours will not be charged or refunded for these simultaneous transactions.

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