Excused Withdrawal Guidelines

Granting Excused Withdrawal (EW) Due to an Extraordinary Condition

Granting Excused Withdrawals is allowed under current Title 5 regulations, and there is no exemption required to do this. The option to grant excused withdrawals was established in regulation in 2018.

Pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 5 (title 5) section 55024(a)(10) and 58509, a district need not record a withdrawal (W), or grade on the transcript of a student who withdraws due to fire, flood, or other extraordinary conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In these cases, districts are permitted to record no evaluative or non-evaluative symbol.
• Districts also have the option of recording an EW for these students.
• Additionally, Title 5 , section 55024(e) allows districts to grant an excused withdrawal to a student who withdraws due to specific events beyond their control, such as:
  • a job transfer
  • family illness
  • incarceration
  • transfer or release from a jail or prison
  • immigration actions
  • accidents, illnesses, or other student specific circumstances
• Excused withdrawals are not counted toward progress probation and dismissal calculations or toward the number of permitted student withdrawals. 

How to Request an Excused Withdrawal

To request an *Excused Withdrawal (EW) due to an extraordinary condition, please submit the Petition for Exception of Registration Policies.

• On the petition, please include details on how you were affected by this extraordinary condition and the course information.
• At times students may be asked to receive faculty support depending on the condition.

Note About Official Transcript Documentation *The EW grade symbol will appear on a student’s official transcript but will not count in the Grade Point Average (GPA) or as an attempt.