Adding, Dropping, and Repeating Courses

Adding courses

• Regular Session courses can be added via Access Stout during the first seven calendar days of the semester until (01/28/2024).
• 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Classes and irregularly scheduled courses can be added via Access Stout up until the start date of the course. 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr classes can be added until (01/21/2024) for the 1st quarter and until (03/17/2024) for the 2nd quarter. 

Guide for adding courses through Access Stout

After these dates, any course drops must be processed via add/drop card in the Registration and Records Office or via email registrar@uwstout.edu. Customized Instruction (distance education) students should email outreachreg@uwstout.edu with their add or drop requests.  

Dropping Courses

• Regular Session courses can be dropped via Access Stout during the first fourteen calendar days of the semester until (02/04/2024)
• 1st Qtr or 2nd Qtr courses can be dropped via Access Stout during the first seven calendar days after the session has started. Classes can be dropped until (01/28/2024) for the 1st quarter and until (03/24/2024) for the 2nd quarter. 
• Irregularly scheduled courses can be dropped via Access Stout up until the first day of the course.

Guide for dropping courses through Access Stout

After these dates, any course drops must be processed via add/drop card in the Registration and Records Office or via email registrar@uwstout.edu. Customized Instruction (distance education) students should email outreachreg@uwstout.edu with their add or drop requests.  

After the Late Drop Deadline, course drops must be based on documented extenuating circumstances and must be approved by the Dean of Students Office.

Late Drop Deadlines for Spring 2024

• 1st quarter class: February 22
• Semester class: April 7
• 2nd quarter class: April 22

See Late Drop Policy below for additional information.

Adding courses

• Regular Session courses can be added via Access Stout during the first seven calendar days of the semester until (09/10/2024).
• 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Classes and irregularly scheduled courses can be added via Access Stout up until the start date of the course. 1st Qtr classes can be added until (09/03/2024) and 2nd Qtr classes can be added until (10/22/2024).

Guide for adding courses through Access Stout

After these dates, any course drops must be processed via add/drop card in the Registration and Records Office or via email registrar@uwstout.edu. Customized Instruction (distance education) students should email outreachreg@uwstout.edu with their add or drop requests.  

Dropping Courses

• Regular Session courses can be dropped via Access Stout during the first fourteen calendar days of the semester until (09/17/2024)
• 1st Qtr or 2nd Qtr courses can be dropped via Access Stout during the first seven calendar days after the session has started. Classes can be dropped until (09/10/2024) for the 1st quarter and until (10/29/24) for the 2nd quarter. 
• Irregularly scheduled courses can be dropped via Access Stout up until the first day of the course.

Guide for dropping courses through Access Stout

After these dates, any course drops must be processed via add/drop card in the Registration and Records Office or via email registrar@uwstout.edu. Customized Instruction (distance education) students should email outreachreg@uwstout.edu with their add or drop requests. 

After the Late Drop Deadline, course drops must be based on documented extenuating circumstances and must be approved by the Dean of Students Office.

Late Drop Deadlines for Fall 2024

• 1st quarter class: October 6
• Semester class: November 12
• 2nd quarter class: December 1

See Late Drop Policy below for additional information.

Your inactivity in a course does not constitute a course drop or withdrawal from the university. You will be financially responsible for the course registration unless you notify the appropriate person to drop or withdraw.  Drop information (varying by term) is located above and below this paragraph.  Withdrawal information (dropping all courses during a semester or term) can be found at this link. Refunds calculations are based on the date you contact the appropriate office. 

Regardless of start and end dates, Summer and WinTerm courses can be added or dropped up until the day the course begins.

After these dates, any course drops must be processed via add/drop card in the Registration and Records Office or via email registrar@uwstout.edu. Customized Instruction (distance education) students should email outreachreg@uwstout.edu with their add or drop requests.  

Effective summer 2012, students will be charged a fee of 15 dollars for dropping any class after the "Drop - Retain Record" deadline date. Follow this step by step guide to locate deadlines for dropping courses online. 

Note - Students who drop after the 100% refund period may have tuition refunded per SBS guidelines

For many, but not all courses, students may waitlist once the course has reached capacity/closed. Waitlisting is on a first-come, first-serve basis, that is, students will be moved into the course and notified via Stout email in the order that they waitlisted. As always, it is to your advantage to register and to waitlist as soon as possible. Courses available for waitlisting, but closed from enrollment are designated with a yellow triangle. Follow these directions to waitlist a class.

Note on Waitlisting

* Students will be enrolled in a waitlisted course through the add period in AccessStout described above.
* Students can waitlist for a maximum of 8 credit hours.
* Students must meet the course prerequisite to be added the wait list.  A program card with the instructor's signature allows a prerequisite override can be brought to Registration and Records (109 Bowman Hall).
* If you are concurrently enrolled in another section of the course for which you have waitlisted, your waitlist request will not be processed.  You can, however, waitlist for two sections of the same course.
* Students must have the waitlisted course time available in their schedule to be moved into the course when openings occur.  Students must also have credit hours available (to term maximum) in order to be added to the course.

Traditional students who take online courses and are off campus or their instructor is off campus may email their instructor for permission if they wish to add or drop a course after the online registration period has passed. If permission is granted to add/drop a course, students must forward the email chain to the registrations and Records office (registrar@uwstout.edu) with information including Student name, ID number, course subject, number, section (ex. Engl 101, 002) credit amount, and the instructors permission. If the information is approved then the students add/drop will be processed accordingly. 

Distance education (CI Program) students should email their registration requests with the same information as above to outreachreg@uwstout.edu

Students are expected to complete courses for which they register. Students who wish to adjust their class schedules may add or drop classes before the end of the second week of semester classes and before the end of the first week of quarter classes. Drops made during the first two weeks of a semester course or the first week of a quarter course will not appear on a student's transcript. If students deem it necessary to reduce their program after the normal add/drop period, they should do so as early as possible.

"Withdrawal" or "W" is a drop grade given to students who drop a full semester course after the end of the second week (as designated by the Drop Retain Record date in Access Stout).

Drops of full semester courses after the second week and before the end of the 10th week of the semester require instructor approval.

For help with finding these dates, use the step by step guide to view your course deadlines. The dates to be aware of are: Drop Retain Record date, Drop with Penalty date, and Drop with Greater Penalty date.

Effective Fall 2020 term - Drops of full semester courses after the 10th week of the semester (designated by the Drop with Penalty date in Access Stout) are allowed only when there are extenuating circumstances. Extenuating Circumstances are defined as follows: A new and unexpected extraordinary circumstance that interrupted the student's ability to adhere to UW-Stout's policies, attend classes, or complete the semesters. Things that can fall under "new or unexpected extraordinary circumstances" include, but are not limited to, death of an immediate family member (parent, child, spouse, or sibling), significant physical or mental health issue (for self, or immediate family member) and natural disasters. When there are documented extenuating circumstances, the Late Drop Class Request form can be submitted to the Dean of Students office.  If the Dean of Students corroborates the circumstances and approves the drop, the grade of "W" will be given. The Dean of Students shall inform the course instructor and the associated dean (or associate dean) in the college of the student that the student has dropped the course.

The last day to drop a full semester course is the day classes end (designated by the Drop with Greater Penalty date in Access Stout) for the semester. After this date classes can no longer be dropped. Courses may not be dropped during Evaluation Week.

These drop grades are issued after the drop is processed. The drop grade is posted on the student transcript, however, it does not affect their GPA.

Students who do not attend the first class meeting of a course, or who do not notify the instructor or department chair that they will be absent for special reasons, may, at the instructor's discretion, be dropped from that course if, and only if, other students are waiting to enroll at that time. Instructors may use this form to drop absent students. Please note, however, that many instructors do not use this option. Do not assume that a course will be dropped automatically if you do not attend.

This policy does not apply to students who have permission to return after Labor Day due to work commitments. Please be sure to check the list provided with the class rosters before exercising your option in this policy.

Typically, with the exception of internships and co-ops, courses in which you earn a C or higher are not repeatable for credit, unless required by the major. If you earned a C, C+, B- or B and wish to repeat a course, please obtain a course repeat card, have it signed by your program director, and return it to the Registration and Records office before the fifth day of class. If you earned a B+ or higher in a course you cannot, under any circumstances, repeat the course.

Effective Fall 2016, when a course is repeated at Stout, the highest grade is used when computing the grade point average. All grades remain on the transcript.

Effective Fall 2019, when a graduate course is repeated, the highest grade is used when computing the grade point average. All grades remain on the transcript.