Dropping a Student from a Class

The procedure for dropping a student from your class depends on whether the drop is initiated before or after the Smart Start and census dates. Here is the current information from the Alamo Colleges Director of Curriculum Coordination & Transfer Articulation.

How to Withdraw (Drop) a Student in ACES

For specific census and withdrawal dates:

Fall 2022 - Summer 2023 Academic Calendar with Holidays

22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf

Semester Dates Fall 2022.docx

Faculty Role in Student Success

MyMAP (My Monitoring Academic Progress) is a personalized tool to help students and faculty/staff monitor students’ progress towards a certificate or a degree. Your role is to provide timely feedback so students can take responsibility for their own success.

Required faculty actions to drop or add students
What	Who	When	How	Why
Smart Start drops (drop for first DAY non-attendance )	All students	By 11:59pm Weds of the second week of class	ACES – Faculty - Web Services - Faculty and Advisors - Student Course Withdrawal - detailed instructions are available here Faculty emails student prior to drop (see suggested verbiage below) Students also receive a generic email from the system when they are dropped. Questions? Contact dst-academicsuccess@alamo.edu	Student Success policy – students are expected to attend the first DAY of class. Online students must complete the initial attendance activity within the first three days.
Census roster Verification	All students	Census date	ACES – Summary Class List link Drop students in ACES using Smart Start link, if appropriate FYI, FTICs are now indicated on Summary Class List	Need accurate rosters for state funding, financial aid, 6-drop, and 3-peat
Early Alert progress reports in Grades First	All students, all parts of term (excludes dual credit parts of term)	3-weeks and midterm, or equivalent for short parts of term Refer to *22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf* for more information	Instructor receives an email with a link to fill out progress report. 3 items: is student at-risk of not passing; Alert Reason (from list), and comments (optional). At-Risk email from faculty will automatically be sent to student.	Student Success policy – Faculty will provide feedback on progress Advising sessions for targeted students at-risk in multiple classes
Midterm Grades in ACES	All students	Midterm grading turns off at 11:59pm on the Monday following the middle of the part of term Refer to *Fall 2021 Important Faculty Information.pdf*	ACES – Midterm Grades link 22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf W is not an option for midterm grades	Communicates progress to students; advisors/counselors can see info in ACES
Last Date to Drop/Withdraw	All students	~ 75% of the part of term *Refer to 22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf* (see note about 6-drop below)	ACES – Student Course Withdrawal link Drop counter is displayed W is not an option after the last date to drop	Existing practice
Final Grades	All students	11:59pm on the Monday following the end of the part of term *Refer to 22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf*	ACES – Final Grades link *22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf* Last Date of Attendance is required when you enter W or F	Affects students – inaccurate records (missing grades) can negatively impact students’ ability to transfer and Financial Aid. Need to identify students who earn an F because they stopped coming to class (for Federal reporting).

Note – “When” is based on 16-week courses. Specific deadlines for shorter parts of term and open learning classes will be established and communicated to the appropriate faculty. Refer to the email you received from dst-academicsuccess@alamo.edu titled Important Semester Info.

Reporting is available to chairs on number of Smart Start drops, Early Alert requested and completed, and midterm grades submitted, by individual faculty.

Additional Resources in ACES, Faculty Tab, Faculty Resources box:

Important Semester Info (includes Semester Dates), FAQs for Smart Start, After Census Drops, Midterm Grades and Early Alert Progress Reports, Editing Progress Reports, Dropping Students, Posting Final Grades, and Assigning Incompletes.

Smart Start Drop – “The First DAY Counts”

Students who do not attend the first day of class will be dropped by their instructor. For fully online courses, students are expected to complete an attendance verification activity by noon of the 3^rd class day. The graded assignment can take the form of a discussion post or a short quiz asking the student to acknowledge important information required for the course.

Please contact students you plan to drop using the Canvas inbox, Alamo email, or both. Suggested verbiage for emailing students before initiating a drop:

Dear [Student]

The Alamo Colleges have a Student Success policy with an emphasis on a good start to the semester. Students are expected to attend class on the first day and throughout the semester. Students who do not attend the first day class and who do not contact their instructor will be dropped.

Because you have not attended this class and you have not contacted me, I am dropping you from this class. Note that this drop could impact your financial aid award and the amount you owe. I encourage you to enroll in an additional class in another part of term.

If you feel this is an error, please contact me immediately.

Sincerely,

[Instructor]

Smart Start Withdrawal Process.docx

Dropping Students after Census in ACES

Effective Fall 2017, there is a new process for withdrawing students, both from a class and the institution. Requests can be initiated by students, faculty, and advisors. The old process required manual completion of the drop by the Center for Student Information (they processed approx. 30,000 drops per semester). If a student dropped via Admissions and Records, there was not any communication to faculty. If the student was in an online class, they would disappear from Canvas, and the faculty member had no information about their last date to drop.

The new process includes opportunities for drop‐counseling, ensures regulatory information is collected, and results in automated communications to all involved parties.

Please see your chair, Alamo Talent, or the Automated Withdrawal Process link in ACES ‐> Faculty tab ‐> Faculty Resources box for more information about this process.

If the 6‐drop count is blank, please email the CRN, Subject, Student’s Name and Banner ID to dst-academicsuccess@alamo.edu.

For specific census and withdrawal dates:

Fall 2022 - Summer 2023 Academic Calendar with Holidays

22-23 Imp Sem Dates Info 7-29-22.pdf

Semester Dates Fall 2022.docx