Deadline to drop a course
Understand DNE and DISC, two of the most important academic dates
You may decide to drop a course for personal or academic reasons. Get familiar with the DNE and DISC deadlines so you can plan how best to:
- fulfill your degree requirements
- safeguard your grade point average
- preserve your investment in tuition and fees
Read on to understand how the deadlines work.
DNE deadline
Typically, the Did Not Enter deadline is two weeks after the start of the term (it's different in summer). The DNE deadline is the last day to add a course — and the last day to drop a course with a refund.
When you drop a course before DNE deadline, you will see:
- the course removed from your academic record
- a credit to your account for any tuition fees you already paid
Be careful if dropping a course makes the difference between full- and part-time studies, which may have implications for your status in Canada and your financial situation.
If you decide to add a course once the term is underway, plan to catch up on any assignments or topics already covered. Speak to your instructor to find out how.
New students
If you don't register for courses — or drop them all — before the DNE deadline, the university willl consider your offer of admission invalid, meaning you will need to apply again for admission. Questions? Speak to your admissions officer, whose name and contact info you'll find in your offer letter.
DISC deadline
The DISC deadline, short for discontinued, is the last day to drop a course. The DISC deadline is nine weeks after the first week of courses in the fall and winter terms. You remain responsible for paying tuition, meaning you will not get a refund.
Expect to see a DISC notation on your academic record. The notation does not factor into your grade point average.
Keep in mind these key implications of discontinuing a course:
- It will take longer to complete enough credits to fulfill your degree requirements since you are dropping the course too late in the term to replace it with another.
- You won't be able take a given course if the one you dropped was a pre-requisite.
- You may get thrown out of sync with the course sequence for your degree program (especially in the case of Gina Cody students).
- You will pay more to complete your degree, since you forfeit tuition fees for any course you discontinue.
But, it might be worth it to discontinue a course, to protect your grade point average.
Another key factor: discontinuing a course could bump you from from full- to part-time studies, which many affect:
- your status in Canada if you're an international student
- your financial situation, depending on the criteria of the aid, awards or student loans you're receiving
Speak to an advisor for guidance.
Alternative options
If exceptional and unforeseen circumstances prevent you from dropping or otherwise being unable to complete a course, look into requesting:
Remember that dropping your courses is not the same as withdrawing from the university.