Drop-Back Provision
The "Drop-Back Provision”: an approved special arrangement for a unique set of paired courses that, within certain conditions, a student can drop from one course and be added to the other course after the Week 2 “add” deadline and before the half-week point of the semester, the Week 7 “drop” deadline.
The practice has been in place for certain MATH, CHEM and PHYS courses for decades. It was most recently reviewed and reaffirmed by the university Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum (CUC) in Fall 2018 for the courses and course pairings listed below*.
Course Pairs
There are two categories of course pairs:
- Subsequent courses in an introductory sequence
- Courses of similar material – typically “honors” vs. “regular” courses
MATH uses both categories. PHYS and CHEM use only the latter category.
Mathematics (MATH) Courses
- MATH 101 - SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS I (3)
drop to MATH 111 - CALCULUS: DIFFERENTIATION AND ITS APPLICATIONS (3)
or MATH 112 - CALCULUS: INTEGRATION AND ITS APPLICATIONS (3) - MATH 102 - SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II (3)
drop to MATH 101 - SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS I (3) - MATH 112 - CALCULUS: INTEGRATION AND ITS APPLICATIONS (3)
drop to MATH 111 - CALCULUS: DIFFERENTIATION AND ITS APPLICATIONS (3) - MATH 211 - ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND LINEAR ALGEBRA (3)
drop to MATH 102 - SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II (3) - MATH 212 - MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (3)
drop to MATH 102 - SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II (3) - MATH 221 - HONORS CALCULUS III (3)
drop to MATH 211 - ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND LINEAR ALGEBRA (3)
or MATH 212 - MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (3) - MATH 232 - HONORS MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (3)
drop to MATH 212 - MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS (3) - MATH 321 - INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS I (3)
drop to MATH 302 - ELEMENTS OF ANALYSIS (3) - MATH 331 - HONORS ANALYSIS (3)
drop to MATH 321 - INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS I (3) - MATH 354 - HONORS LINEAR ALGEBRA (3)
drop to MATH 355 - LINEAR ALGEBRA (3)
Chemistry (CHEM) Courses
- CHEM 151/153 - HONORS CHEMISTRY I (3) /HONORS CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (1)
drop to CHEM 121/123 - GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (3)/GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (1) - CHEM 152/154 - HONORS CHEMISTRY II (3)/HONORS CHEMISTRY LABORATORY II (1)
drop to CHEM 122/124 - GENERAL CHEMISTRY II (3)/GENERAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY II (1) - CHEM 201 - ADVANCED TOPICS IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY (3)
drop to CHEM 121 - GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (3) - CHEM 219 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I (3)
drop to CHEM 211/213 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I (3)/ORGANIC CHEMISTRY DISCUSSION I (0) - CHEM 320 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II
drop to CHEM 212/214 - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY II (3)/ORGANIC CHEMISTRY DISCUSSION II (0)
Physics (PHYS) Courses
- PHYS 111 - HONORS MECHANICS (WITH LAB) (4)
drop to PHYS 101/103 - MECHANICS (WITH LAB) (4)/MECHANICS DISCUSSION (0) - PHYS 112 - HONORS ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM (WITH LAB) (4)
drop to PHYS 102/104 - ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM W/ LAB (4)/ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM DISCUSSION (0)
Drop-Back Provision Rationale
The Drop-Back Provision was developed to encourage risk-averse students to take more challenging courses than they are likely to be prepared for. It is best for the student to be in the most appropriate course. It is also best for the courses to have the most appropriate students.
Example: An entering freshman has had high school calculus and received a 4 on the AP Calculus AB exam. The student gets MATH 105 credit from the AP exam, but also needs MATH 102. The student is not confident about his MATH 101 knowledge and doesn’t think her/his high school class was very good. S/he is challenged by the early material in MATH 102. Should s/he continue MATH 102 and risk failing and falling behind in the schedule, or retake MATH 101 for review? The drop-back provision allows her/him to continue in MATH 102 and make a better-informed decision a little later in the semester (past Week 2 but before the end of Week 7).
Drop-Back Provision Practice and Conditions
- Both instructors and the student must agree for the student to drop-back into the lower course. This action is meant to be instructor-initiated (the instructors of both paired courses must approve by signing the paper Special Registration Form) and this "drop-back" should be done as early as possible, and absolutely no later than the published (Week 7) drop deadline. (Note: The "drop-back" option applies to all students in the above listed classes, regardless of their year-of-study. While first-year students have extended drop deadlines during their first year (last day of class in 1st semester, Week 10 in the 2nd), this "drop-back" provision is not permitted after the published Week 7 Drop deadline.)
- After (both) instructor approvals on the paper Special Registration Form, and submission to the OTR, the OTR special registers the student into the lower course. In these unique drop-back situations, the student added to the new course after the normal “add” deadline, that student is not expected to turn in the missed graded work.
Drop-Back Provision - Other (CTIS: Critical Thinking in Sexuality)
Unrelated to the official Drop-Back Provision (for MATH, CHEM and PHYS) documented above, but similar in practice is the ability students have to switch or “drop-back” from LPAP 195 to UNIV 194 (CTIS Workshop). All Academic Calendar deadlines apply. More info can be found at Switching Between UNIV 194 and LPAP 195.
* This course pairing list has remained constant for many years, and in most instances, many decades. In those rare instances where a department may need to make an update or change, the department chair should contact the registrar who will coordinate the proposed update with the CUC chair.