Agencies and organizations which provide financial assistance/scholarships (federal and state government, businesses, etc.) may have requirements relative to withdrawal, course repeats and grade forgiveness which are more stringent than those described below. It is your responsibility to verify the effects of enrollment and/or withdrawal upon your financial assistance (financial aid, scholarships, grants, etc.).
According to State Rule 6A-14.0301, you may attempt the same course only three times at Valencia College including the original grade, repeat grades and withdrawals at any point in the term. The same course usually means the subject prefix and course number are the same when posted on a Valencia College transcript. Courses that have been deemed equivalent will all count as attempts even if the current course number is not the same as your previous attempt(s). Being enrolled in a course for credit beyond the Drop/Refund Deadline counts as an attempt. The Drop/Refund Deadline for each term is listed in the Important Dates and Deadlines document.
Notice to Students Seeking to Withdraw from a Course(s)
Before you withdraw from a course, you should be aware that course withdrawals:
- Will increase the cost of your education.
- May affect your financial aid status and may require repayment of federal financial aid.
- May affect your transfer grade point average.
- May result in your having to pay the full cost of instruction fee to retake the course.
- May affect your anticipated graduation date.
- May result in your being denied access to limited access programs.
- May affect your eligibility for the Honors Program.
- May affect your immigration status if you are attending Valencia on a non-immigrant visa.
- Will result in your required repayment of course fees paid by a Bright Futures scholarship.
To withdraw from a course(s) you must access registration on Atlas. The Withdrawal Deadlines for each term are published in the Important Dates and Deadlines document. All requests for withdrawals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the Withdrawal Deadline date.
Before you withdraw:
- Talk with your professor to discuss your progress in the course.
- See a Student Services staff member to discuss how a withdrawal will affect your career and education plans and/or the status of your financial aid.
After the Withdrawal Deadline
If you do not withdraw from the class by the deadline, you will receive the grade you earned.
A student who has documented major extenuating circumstances may petition to be dropped after the published deadlines. Major extenuating circumstances are defined as, and limited to, the following:
- Death of an immediate family member.
- Documented medical emergencies resulting in medical confinement or incapacitation of a defined length.
- Military call or recall to active duty.
Students wishing for more information about the petition process should review the procedure published with the “Late Drop (Administrative Refund)" form, available via Atlas.
Conditions That Apply to a Third Attempt in a Course
You may have only three attempts at Valencia College per course including the original grade, repeat grades, and withdrawals. Upon the third attempt,
- you will be charged the full cost of instruction fee;
- you will receive a grade of A, B, C, D, F or I (Incomplete); and
- should you withdraw or be withdrawn, your grade will be changed to an F.
If you receive an I (Incomplete) and complete the required course work by the end of term for the following full term, the professor will change your grade from I to the appropriate grade (A – F). If you receive an I and do not complete the required course work by the end of term for the following full term, your grade will be changed by your professor in accordance with the syllabus. If no grade is submitted by the faculty member to replace the I, your grade will be changed from an I to an F.
Dual Enrollment students may not attempt a class a third time.
Conditions that Apply to a Fourth Attempt in a Course
College-Level or Technical Credit Course
Permission to register for a fourth attempt, based on major extenuating circumstances, may be requested through an academic appeals process.The Fourth Attempt Appeal Application must be submitted no later than 1 week (5 business days) prior to the start of the term for which the request is made. For example, if the start of the term is Monday, May 8 the deadline for submission of your appeal would be Friday, April 28 by 11:59 PM. All conditions applicable to a third attempt also will apply to the fourth attempt for which you receive approval through the academic appeals process. The Fourth Attempt Appeal form can be found in Atlas under Student Forms. Further information about this appeal process is available through Student Services on each campus.
Developmental Course
If you are unsuccessful in three attempts in the same developmental course:
- You will be advised to contact public and/or private providers of developmental instruction to gain the required skills. Lists of private providers are available in any campus Answer Centers;
- You will not be permitted to register for a fourth attempt in the course, but, after seeing a Student Services staff member, you may be permitted to register for another course(s) as determined by the Student Services staff member; and
- After you have gained the skills, you will be required to retake an entry test and score out of the course in which you have been unsuccessful.
- Permission to register for a fourth or subsequent attempt, based on major extenuating circumstances, may be requested through an academic appeals process. The Fourth Attempt Appeal Application must be submitted no later than 1 week (5 business days) prior to the start of the term for which the request is made. For example, if the start of the term is Monday, May 8 the deadline for submission of your appeal would be Friday, April 28 by 11:59 PM. All conditions applicable to a third attempt also will apply to any subsequent attempt for which you receive approval through the academic appeals process. A grade of A, B or C from a fourth or subsequent attempt will forgive grades from previous attempts.
Further information about this appeal process is available in Student Services on each campus.
Administrative Withdrawal
(College Policy: 6Hx28: 6-08.1 Student Fees and Refunds)
You may be administratively withdrawn without your permission for failure to satisfy financial obligations to Valencia College or for non-compliance with Florida statutes and rules, or Valencia College policies and procedures related to student behavior and conduct. If you are administratively withdrawn, your records will be placed on hold and you will receive a grade of W for all course work attempted.
Repeated Courses/Grade Forgiveness
State Rule 6A-14.0301 addresses repeated courses and grade forgiveness and states that you may not repeat a course for credit if you have earned an A, B or C in the course, or if you have had three attempts in the course at Valencia College.* You may appeal to register for a fourth or subsequent attempt through an academic appeals process based on major extenuating circumstances. This appeal must be submitted to Student Services by the Fourth Attempt Deadline established by Valencia College and is listed in the Important Dates and Deadlines document.
You cannot be given multiple credits for the same course unless the catalog course description indicates the course is a “multiple credit course.” These courses such as band, choir, selected topics, internships, etc., may be repeated for credit; repeats of these courses will not count as attempts for the full cost of instruction fee or for withdrawal; and grade forgiveness cannot be applied.
You may not take for credit a course for which you have earned Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES, or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit.
In a limited access program, you are not guaranteed the opportunity to repeat any course(s) even a second time. For specific information, consult with the appropriate Academic Dean, Program Director, or Student Success Coach.
Grade forgiveness means that one grade in a course replaces another grade in that same course. The same course means that the course is either identical in course prefix and course number, or has been determined by Valencia College to have the same course objectives and learning outcomes. For grade forgiveness to be applied, certain conditions must be met.
Conditions of Grade Forgiveness for Valencia Coursework at the Associate Degree Level
- Grade forgiveness is applied automatically to your Valencia College courses when the conditions for grade forgiveness are satisfied.
- There is no limit on the number of different courses in which grade forgiveness is applied at Valencia College.
- Forgiven grades, and the courses in which you earned them, will always appear on your transcript.
- “Multiple credit courses” may be repeated for credit, but grade forgiveness cannot be applied.
- You may not repeat a course for grade forgiveness for which you previously have earned a grade of A, B, C, or S+.*
- For courses you have repeated, only your highest earned grade will be included in your GPA calculation. A "W" or "I" does not count as an "earned grade," so "W" or "I" will not forgive A, B, C, D, or F.
- You may not use Advanced Placement, College Level Examination Program, Credit by Examination (Local), DANTES, Excelsior, Experiential Learning or Internships to forgive the grade in a course in which you have earned an A, B or C. You may use CLEP credit under the repeat course policy for D or F grades only. Within the guidelines of the repeat policy, all attempts for a course will be counted in your GPA until you earn a grade of C or better when only the last attempt will be counted. If you earn an acceptable CLEP score in a course in which you have earned a D or F, the CLEP credit will be recorded and the D or F will no longer be computed in your GPA. No letter grades or quality points will be assigned.
- You will not receive grade forgiveness for any course that counts toward your degree and is repeated after you have been awarded the degree from Valencia College.
- Applying the above-stated conditions of grade forgiveness, you may use an Honors section and a non-Honors section of the same course interchangeably for grade forgiveness; however, if grade forgiveness is applied to an Honors section due to your successful completion of a non-Honors section of the same course, no Honors credit will be awarded for your successful completion of the non-Honors section.
There is no consistency among colleges and universities with respect to forgiveness of grades and the way in which repeated courses are computed in a student’s grade point average. Limited access programs at Florida colleges, universities and private institutions might consider the extent to which a student has used grade forgiveness and the effect on the student’s GPA when selecting students for admission. Some institutions have a limit on the number of times grade forgiveness can be used. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the transfer institution in order to be certain of its forgiveness policy.
