Students may not withdraw from a course after the final drop date for the semester. The withdrawal date is published each semester in the academic calendar posted on the Records Office website.
Exception to the Withdrawal Policy
A student experiencing a serious illness, injury, or unusually difficult personal circumstances may request an exception to the withdrawal policy by submitting documentation of these circumstances to the Registrar. The student will receive a W for all courses for which withdrawal is approved. Requests for exemptions must be submitted in writing within one calendar year of the end of the semester in question.
Failure to Withdraw from Classes
Failure to attend scheduled class meetings is not evidence of the student's intent to withdraw from a course. Students wishing to withdraw from courses must withdraw online or submit a Registration Drop/Add form to the Records Office during the official drop period. Students can not withdraw from a course either online or in the Records Office after the official last day to withdraw for the semester or summer term. Failure to withdraw officially from any course will result in a grade of F if the student has not successfully completed the assigned work.
Students who are receiving Title IV financial aid and have stopped attending UTC classes without withdrawing officially will have their change in enrollment status reported to the U.S. Department of Education as required. The grade of F will be changed to WF by the Records Office for internal use only. The WF will be the equivalent of F for all academic purposes.
Academic Recognition and Honor Societies
The University recognizes scholarly achievement in a number of ways. The dean's list includes each semester the names of all students who achieve an average for the semester of at least 3.2 with a registration of 6 graded hours or more. Institutional credit will not be counted in the grade point average for graduation or honors.
Dean's List
The dean's list includes the names of all students who achieve an average of at least 3.2 with a registration of a minimum of six graded hours or more each semester. Developmental courses do not count toward the determination of GPA for graduation or honors.
General University Graduation Honors
The University grants graduation honors to students with distinguished academic records. The graduation honors are:
| cum laude | granted when the student's cumulative and UTC GPA at the end of the final semester is 3.5. |
| magna cum laude | granted when the student's cumulative and UTC GPA at the end of the final semester is 3.75. |
| summa cum laude | granted to the student with the highest cumulative and UTC GPA for the graduating class. |
The student with the highest cumulative and UTC GPA average will be awarded summa cum laude if his or her average is at least 3.9. The University will recognize more than one summa cum laude graduate in the event of a tie.
Graduation honors will be inscribed on the diplomas. Institutional credit will not be counted in the grade point average for graduation or honors. Grade point averages are not rounded. These standards apply to all undergraduate degree candidates, regardless of the catalog under which they entered.
Academic achievement, either in general or in specific fields, is recognized by a number of organizations:
Alpha, the scholastic honor society of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, elects to membership seniors who have maintained a very high scholastic average (3.75 or higher). Election is by vote of the faculty members of Alpha.
Alpha Lambda Delta, national honor society for women and men, elects to membership those freshmen who have a 3.5 average on at least 12 graded hours in the first semester or a cumulative average of 3.5 at the end of the freshman year.
Golden Key, is a national honor society for all juniors and seniors, either full or part time, who have been at UTC for one year and who have maintained at least a 3.3 grade point average.
Mortar Board, a national honor society for senior women and men, elects to membership those who at the end of their junior year have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 and who have demonstrated outstanding ability in leadership, scholarship, and service to the University.
Phi Eta Sigma, national honor society for men and women, elects to membership those freshmen who have a 3.5 average on at least 12 graded hours in the first semester or a cumulative average of 3.5 at the end of the freshman year.
