Guidelines for Approving Late Course Drop

In the event of serious/extended illness (inclusive of mental health conditions of a chronic or acute nature), a death in the family requiring extended bereavement counseling, accident or other incapacitating event necessitating student withdrawal from a course, approval for late drop may be granted with the provision of appropriate documentary evidence. Such requests will only be considered when both request and supporting documentation are received prior to the end of instruction. After this period, students who are unable to take final exams or in-course assessment equaling or exceeding 20% of the course grade may be eligible to apply for mitigation instead.

While each case will be considered on an individual basis, in the case of late drop on medical grounds, a recommendation from the attending physician, counselor, or registered medical practitioner must accompany the late drop request, and withdrawal from the course must be explicitly recommended for the request to be approved. Letters of support or letters simply documenting prior/ongoing treatment are insufficient to warrant approval. For full consideration, recommendations from attending medical practitioners should include the following elements:

• Dates during which the student has been under the practitioner's care, including the date of last visit/consultation
• Statement of diagnosis
• Description of the impact of the diagnosis on student's ability to succeed academically and maintain enrollment in the course from which withdrawal is being sought
• Specific recommendation of course drop for the prevention of adverse health impacts or to facilitate ongoing treatment made unfeasible by continued enrollment
• Any other factors supporting a medically-necessitated late withdrawal

Other Extenuating Circumstances

In exceptional circumstances a late drop request may be initiated at the recommendation of the student’s home department or another administrative unit (e.g. receipt of a recommendation from ARRO indicating a student exceeds the number of allowable credit hours and must drop an elective course) prior to the close of instruction. Such cases should be rare and documentary evidence issued by the requesting office should be provided.

Disclaimer:

1. The LC reserves the right to determine the validity of all documentation and justifications presented as part of the late drop request process. The decision to approve a late course drop is at the sole discretion of the LC and will be based on a thorough review of the provided evidence in the context of these guidelines. The LC does not guarantee the approval of any late drop request and advises students to consider the potential implications of such decisions.
2. The LC also reserves the right to revise or amend the above guidelines at any time without prior notice to ensure compliance with the broader policies of City University of Hong Kong or in response to any regulatory changes. Students are advised to check regularly for the latest updates.