Spring 2021 Add/Drop Deadline and Instructor Drop Policy

January 14, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

The spring 2021 undergraduate student deadline to add, drop, swap, and change class units is Wednesday, February 10 at 11:59 p.m. PST. This deadline applies to all courses not on the Early Drop Deadline list. Please note that some colleges are allowing late drops until later in the semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the goal is for students to finalize their registration by February 10. Please refer students to their college’s academic advising office for information.

Please inform students that they must drop themselves from the waitlists of any courses they no longer wish to take, prior to the Wednesday deadline. On Thursday, February 11 and Friday, February 12, departmental staff can add students from the waitlist to fill seats that other students have dropped. If instructors of record have questions about the process, they may contact their enrollment manager directly.

Details on this policy can be found on the Office of the Registrar website under the “How Do I Add/Drop A Class” tab.

In addition, instructor drops can be enforced during the first three weeks of instruction. The Academic Senate permits the following criteria for instructor drops:

  • Insufficient engagement: In compliance with campus policies on accommodation, instructors should clearly define on the syllabus the terms by which a student may be dropped due to insufficient engagement. These terms must be limited to clearly defined assignments and/or attendance expectations.
  • Published prerequisites: Instructors may elect to drop students for not having completed course prerequisites, provided the prerequisites are published as such under the course’s “Rules and Requirements” of the current Course Catalog in the Berkeley Academic Guide.

Instructors should work with their enrollment managers to process instructor drops should they choose to engage in this practice.

Sincerely,

Catherine P. Koshland
Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education


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