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Rapid Alert Program

The Rapid Alert Program (RAP) is an early alert advising program designed to support students experiencing academic difficulty. Instructors work with advisors to provide collaborative academic interventions when needed. You can prevent and avoid D’s and F’s on your transcript by dropping/withdrawing from courses or by getting academic support.

Instructors issue RAP alerts regarding non-attendance and poor academic performance.

If you have received a RAP alert, review the topics below. If you do not find answers to your questions, please contact the Gateway Student Success Center at 928.523.4772 or via email at gateway@nau.edu.

Non-Attendance

I thought I dropped this class already!
I haven’t missed a class yet.
I thought my professor would drop me from the class.

Dropping/Withdrawing from a Class

How it appears on your transcript.
What should I consider before I drop a class?
If I drop a class, can I add another class to make up for it?
How do I drop a class?

Improving my Grade

What do I do if I am failing a class?
Academic resources for improving a grade.
Other factors affecting grades.

Grade Replacement and Grade Averaging

What if I have to take a D or an F?

Non-Attendance

I thought I dropped this class already!

Check your class schedule on your LOUIE account. If the class still appears on your schedule, you have not successfully dropped the class.
How to drop a class

I haven’t missed a class yet.

Sometimes there is some confusion on class sections or dates. Check your schedule on LOUIE to make certain you are attending the correct section and days of the class you originally enrolled in.
LOUIE

I thought my professor would drop me from the class.

It is true that there are “administrative drops” that occur for some courses requiring successful completion of pre-requisites, but it is the student’s responsibility to check their class records in LOUIE to be certain they are accurate.

Dropping/Withdrawing from a Class

Before dropping a class, it is important to understand how it is recorded on your transcript

Dropping/Deleting without a “W” – commonly referred to as “dropping” a class because it will not appear on your transcript. However, this must occur before the Dropping/Deleting without a W deadline.
Drop with a “W” – also known as withdrawing because the class still appears on your transcript, but the grade reported is a “W” to indicate withdrawal. “W’s” do not affect your GPA. W’s can influence competitive graduate school applications (i.e. medical school, law school); but they are not a concern for the general graduate student.
Academic Timeline

What to consider before you drop/withdraw from a class:

Full-time status
Housing
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Insurance (Health and Automobile)
Major
Adding mini courses

Full-time Status

There are multiple definitions/interpretations of “full-time” for a term (semester) and an academic year. At NAU full-time status ranges from 12-15 depending upon the office or program requirements. Also, some offices/programs consider the full academic year, i.e. Spring and Fall when determining full-time status; others consider only the single term. For example, Financial Aid considers the full year so you could take 9 units your first term and still retain your financial aid if you take 15 units the second term, because this totals 24 units for the academic year.

FYI , you only need 75% of the 24 units to remain in good financial aid standing; therefore, you could have a total of 21 units for an academic year. Just a reminder, reducing your credit load may prevent you from graduating in four years.

Housing

If you drop below full-time status, your housing contract may be jeopardized. First, talk to the hall director in your residence about the situation. Second, you must speak with Residence Life to review the details of your contract.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

In many cases, scholarships require students to carry a specific number of units (credits). If you decide to drop a class, be sure to call the scholarship office 928.523.8633 or contact Financial Aid to make sure that it does not affect your funding.

Financial Aid packages vary. Please contact the department for detailed requirements of your individual plan.

Insurance

Often when students attend college, they will be placed on their guardian’s auto and health insurance. Depending on the policy, you may be in danger of losing your insurance if you drop below full-time status. Check the policy guidelines for insuring dependents.

Major

Before you drop a class, check with an academic advisor to discuss strategies for success. Certain majors prefer you complete the class and repeat it, rather than dropping it.

If I drop a class, can I add another class to make up for it?

There is a short period of time at the beginning of each term in which you can add a class without filing a Petition. Consult the Academic Calendar to find out if you have missed the deadline. If you have, you will need to complete a Petition to Enroll/Add After the Deadline Form.

Adding Mini Courses

Mini courses range from 1-3 units and have varying cycles of 5-weeks, 8-weeks, and 10-weeks. Enrolling in mini courses can help you maintain full-time status and/or keep you on track for degree progress. Some of these courses, especially PES and PRM, require additional fees. You can search for classes on the NAU website or use the class search function in LOUIE. Be certain to select the correct term (i.e. Spring 2008), campus (i.e. Flagstaff Mountain), and session (Mountain 5 week, etc.) when searching for courses.

How do I drop a class?

To drop a class:

Go to your LOUIE Student Center
Click on Drop a Class.
Select term
Your current class schedule for that term is displayed.
Click the box in the “Select” column next to the class you wish to drop.
Click Drop Selected Classes.
Click Finish Dropping.

Drop dates vary from semester to semester. Visit the Registrar's Office and click the appropriate term. To drop a class after the deadline, you must complete a Petition to Drop a Class after the Deadline form. Be aware, you should be prepared to submit supporting documentation explaining circumstances for dropping past the deadlines, and documented; unavoidable, extenuating circumstances are generally required.

Guidelines for Petition to Drop a Class

Petition to Drop a Class after the Deadline

Improving my Grade

What do I do if I am failing a class?

Adjusting to University coursework can be challenging. If you are failing a class, the first step is to meet with your instructor.

All instructors have office hours to meet with students.
Be persistent; if the meeting times don’t coincide with your schedule, then phone or email the instructor to schedule another appointment.
Be specific about what you need to do to improve your grade, i.e. extra credit, resubmitting assignments, calculating necessary scores of future assignments
If you cannot improve a grade, meet with your advisor to discuss strategies for dropping a class. (link to Drop a class header)

Academic resources for improving a grade.

Don’t panic if you are failing a class; NAU has numerous resources on campus to help you achieve academic success. The key is to find which one addresses your needs and works best for you. Beyond tutoring and study groups, there are also workshops for time management, test anxiety, testing strategies, and study skills. Consider which source fits your scheduling needs. For example, if your schedule is so busy that you can’t visit the Learning Assistance Centers (LAC) in person, check into online or in-hall tutoring.

All of the resources listed below are free of charge for NAU students:

Learning Assistance Centers(LAC)

Supplemental Instruction

English Writing Center

Academic Success Workshops

Other factors affecting grades.

Grades may not always reflect academic ability or take life situations into account.

There are many things that influence academic performance. Maybe it isn’t the difficulty of the class work. Sometimes it’s other factors interfering with the class work.

Take a moment and think about areas where you can use some support. Visit the links below for suggestions on the many factors that can help improve your academic performance.

Academic Discipline

General Determination

Goal Striving

Commitment to College

Academic Self-Confidence

Emotional Control

Grade Replacement and Averaging

What do I do if I have to take a D or an F?

If you decide to continue a class and you end up with a failing grade, you need to know NAU’s grade replacement and grade averaging policy. Please meet with your academic advisor before you repeat a class.

Highlights of the policy are listed below:

If you want to replace a grade, you must take the class at NAU. Grades from other institutions will not replace an NAU grade.
You can repeat up to 18 units of credit for grade replacement.
When you repeat courses in which you received a grade of a D or F, the grade repeat is automatically posted to your transcript- no extra paperwork required.
After you have used up your 18 units in grade replacement, grades for additional repeated courses will be averaged.
Individual courses, whether it is grade replacement or grade averaging, may only be repeated two times. For example: If you take BIO181 and you get a failing grade, you may take this course two more times to improve your grade.
Units (credits) are earned once for a course that is repeated no matter how many times you repeat the course.
A few programs do allow a repeat for the grade of C, but this requires a petition. See Grade Replacement and Grade Averaging Policy.