2025 - 2026 Catalog

Academic Policies & Requirements

Office of the Registrar - (541) 881-5804

Consulting academic calendars and being knowledgeable about academic requirements and policies is a crucial part of being a self-advocate and experiencing student success. The following are the academic policies students most often need to know during their college career.

CLASS CHANGES (ADD/DROP)

It is the student's responsibility to withdraw from classes. Here are important points to be aware of before dropping classes:

• Students are responsible for the grades received and all tuition and fees charged if they merely stop attending.
• Adding or dropping a class may change a student's financial aid status, enrollment status, or athletic eligibility (if applicable).
• Full-term courses which are dropped before the end of the 4th week of the quarter (fall, winter, and spring terms) will not appear on a transcript. Courses dropped during weeks five through eight of the quarter (fall, winter, and spring terms) will be recorded with a "W" for withdrawal on a transcript.
• Withdrawal deadlines can be found in the yearly academic calendar.
• Course withdrawal deadlines are different for non-standard courses and summer quarter because their quarter lengths are shorter.
• After 5:00 pm Mountain Time on the second day of classes in a given quarter, students must have written approval from the instructor for admission to a class.

The Student Services Center provides ADD/DROP forms and accepts the forms when completed, or classes can be dropped online at https://my.tvcc.cc/ics via the student's TVCC Student Portal. Students are urged to contact the Student Services Center for more assistance Students are strongly encouraged to consult with their academic advisor or faculty advisor prior to making any adjustments to their schedule, to ensure they stay on track with their given academic program. Check the Academic Calendar here.

AUDITING CLASSES

Students may choose to audit a class. An audit exempts students from examinations, but the instructor may require class attendance and participation. No college credit is received for audited courses, regular tuition and student/course fee charges apply, and audits are not eligible for Financial Aid and do not count towards a student's enrollment status. Signing up to audit or reversing audit status is permitted only through the 5:00 pm Mountain Time at the end of the 4th week of the given quarter (deadlines are different for summer quarter, please view academic calendar). Students are responsible for withdrawing from class if they are unable to attend. Permission to audit a class must be granted by the instructor of the course in question.

STUDENT MILITARY LEAVE

A student at TVCC who is a member of the military and who is ordered to federal or state active duty for more than 30 consecutive days has the right to receive a grade of incomplete, withdraw from a course, and the right to a credit for amounts paid for room, board, tuition, and fees as described in ORS 341.502. Each student must initiate and review this process with their instructor(s). After this review students must notify the Registrar's Office in writing of their decision. For more information see Student Military Leave of Absence Policy Code JECE.  

WITHDRAWING FROM COLLEGE

It is a student's responsibility to know policies and deadlines for withdrawing from college. Students wishing to withdraw from a current quarter must fill out and submit a Complete Withdrawal form. Students may withdraw until the end of the 8th week of instruction during the regular school year, until the end of the 3rd week in a four-week summer session, and until the end of the 7th week in an eight-week summer session. All applicable withdrawal dates and deadlines for each academic term can always be found in the TVCC academic calendar. Students withdrawing from Continuing Education and seeking a refund should contact the Continuing Education office for more information.

ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWALS

Administrative withdrawals, which are initiated by the instructor, are rare and may take place only under these circumstances:

• A student is absent for at least 2 class sessions or 50% of the scheduled class time during the first week of the quarter; and
• The absent student has made no prior arrangements with the instructor for missing class.

Administrative withdrawals are always initiated prior to the end of the second week of the term during fall, winter, and spring terms, and prior to the end of the first week of the term for the summer 8-week term and the summer first 4-week term (withdrawal date differs for the summer second 4-week term). Students should never assume they will be administratively withdrawn from class. Non-attending students must submit a completed withdrawal form to the Student Services Center if their intent is to withdraw from all of their classes for that quarter, or to go through the course drop process described above if intending to drop a specific class. Students not completing the formal withdrawal process will receive failing grades and are responsible for all tuition and fees.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Students must be registered in classes in order to attend. Students are expected to attend class each time the class meets. Excused student absences may be permitted by the instructor, but all class work must be completed. Students need to make arrangements with instructors for completion of missed work. Certain programs may require attendance and participation in clinicals, practicums, conferences, and conventions. Transportation to and from these activities is the responsibility of the student. Absences due to participation in field trips, inter-collegiate athletic contests, and other trips arranged by the college may be excused with advance notice to the instructor. In such cases the student is responsible for completing the content and assignments missed during the absence as determined by the faculty.

GRADUATION

Degrees, diplomas, and certificates are conferred at formal commencement ceremonies held each year in June. It is the student's responsibility to request a graduation evaluation via a graduation petition to ensure that all requirements are completed. A graduation petition, available from the Student Services Center or online, should be completed and submitted two terms in advance of a student's intended final term to assure timely evaluation.