Records & Registration

For the purposes of this catalog, regular-term classes are defined as sixteen-week classes that follow the semester dates on the Aca­demic Calendar as approved by the Board of Trustees.

Registration Process

New students and returning students (students who have experi­enced a break in enrollment) are required to register for classes with the assistance of an Academic Advisor. Most new, returning, and continuing students (students who have not experienced a break in enrollment) can register for classes online through Student Self Services in Iowa Western Community College’s online student portal, Reiver Online Campus (ROC). Assistance is available, and encouraged, through an assigned academic advisor. Class atten­dance is not permitted until the registration process has been com­pleted. Registration dates and instructions are available in ROC and at the Records and Registration Office.

Late Registration

Students have until the day before the start of a term or session to complete their initial registration. To provide students with the best chance to succeed, students are not allowed to register once the term or session has begun regardless of whether or not the class has met. This policy applies to the fall and spring terms, as well as all accelerated sessions, including summer and winterim.

Changes in Registration

Changes in registration include adding and dropping classes. Stu­dents can make changes to their registration online through Student Self Services in ROC through the first week of a semester. Students who wish to make changes to their schedule after the first week of the semester must complete a Change of Registration form, secure a signature from their assigned advisor, and then take the completed form to the Records and Registration Office before the correlating deadline. A change in registration is not official un­til it is received by the Records and Registration Office. It is the responsibility of the student to see that all forms, with appropriate signatures, reach that office.

Adding a Class

After initial registration, students may add a regular-term day class to their schedule through the first week of the term, and they may add a regular-term night or weekend class prior to the second meeting of the class. Deadlines for adding all classes are posted online at www.iwcc.edu and in ROC, and they are also available at the Records and Registration Office. After the posted deadline for adding a class has passed, students may register for classes under extenuating circumstances only with the permission of the appropriate Academic Division Dean. Regular tuition and fees will be charged for all added classes.

Dropping a Class

Students may drop a class from their schedule any time up to the posted last day to drop for the term in which the class is scheduled. Specific drop dates are posted online at www.iwcc.edu and in ROC, and they are also available at the Records and Registration Office. Students who drop a class before the term begins will display no activity for that class on their transcript. Students who drop a class after the term begins will display a grade of “W” for that class on their transcript. Please refer to the Refund of Tuition and Fees  section of this catalog for information regarding the financial impact of dropping a class.

Sixteen-week term: A student may drop a class through the twelfth week of a sixteen-week term.

Eight-week term: A student may drop a class through the sixth week of an eight-week term.

Interim classes: A student may drop an interim class through three-fourths of the length of the class.

Students who fail to drop by the aforementioned deadlines must remain enrolled in scheduled classes. Failure to attend class once registered does not cancel registration or tuition and fees. Failure to drop a class will potentially result in a failing grade being recorded on the student’s transcript.

Official Withdrawal from College

Withdrawing from college means dropping all classes for which a student is registered in any given semester. Students who find it necessary to withdraw from college may do so through Student Self Services in ROC through the last day to drop. Students who need to withdraw from college can also complete a Withdrawal Form, secure a signature from their assigned advisor, and then take the completed form to the Records and Registration Office before the last day to drop, as outlined above. Specific drop dates are posted online at www.iwcc.edu and in ROC, and they are also available at the Records and Registration Office. Students who withdraw from college before the semester begins will display no activity for those classes on their transcript. Students who with­draw from college after the semester begins will display a grade of “W” for those classes on their transcript. A withdrawal is not official until it is received by the Records and Registration Office. It is the responsibility of the student to see that all forms, with appropriate signatures, reach that office.

Students who register for classes but do not plan to attend must do one of three things prior to the first day of the semester in order to avoid being subject to Administrative Withdrawal or potentially receiving failing grades: withdraw online through Student Self Services in ROC, complete a Withdrawal Form, or notify the Records and Registration Office in writing. Failure to attend class once registered does not cancel registration. Students who fail to withdraw by the last day to drop must remain enrolled in scheduled classes. Failure to officially withdraw from college will potentially result in failing grades being recorded on the student’s transcript.

Please refer to the Refund of Tuition and Fees  section of this cata­log for information regarding the financial impact of withdrawing from college. Information is also available in ROC.

Medical Withdrawal from College

A student who documents medical reasons for withdrawing from classes will be permitted to withdraw from classes, with a “W” recorded on the transcript, beyond the official drop date. The student must present a document from an appropriate medical professional citing the reason for the required withdrawal. The document must list the date of the first medical visit and the date the student will be permitted to return to regular classes. The request for withdrawal must be presented prior to the last day of the semester for which the withdrawal is desired. The student must withdraw from all classes scheduled in the semester of the request. No refund will be given in the case of a medical withdrawal.

Administrative Withdrawal

The college may administratively withdraw a student at any point in a semester or term, from a single class or multiple classes, for reasons that include but are not limited to the following: non-atten­dance, non-payment, and violations of the student code of conduct.

Administrative Withdrawal for Non-Attendance

Students who are administratively withdrawn for non-attendance will be subject to an Administrative Withdrawal Fee of $10.00 per registered credit hour at the time of the withdrawal, and will not be charged tuition and college service fees. Students who are administratively withdrawn for non-attendance will not receive a grade and, therefore, will display no activity for those classes on their transcript. Students who are administratively withdrawn for non-attendance are eligible to register for classes in the current term or any subsequent term after paying their balance in full. However, they will not be eligible to re-enroll in the classes from which they were administratively withdrawn.

Administrative Withdrawal for Non-Payment

Students who are administratively withdrawn for non-payment will be subject to an Administrative Withdrawal Fee of $10.00 per registered credit hour at the time of the withdrawal, and will not be charged tuition and college service fees. Students who are administratively withdrawn for non-payment will receive a grade of “W” for those classes, which will display on their transcript. Students who wish to continue in classes from which they were withdrawn may re-enroll in those classes prior to the end of the semester or term after making payment for full tuition, college service fees, and late fees. Students who re-enroll in classes will receive a Re-enrollment Refund equal to one half of the assessed Administrative Withdrawal Fee.

Administrative Withdrawal for Violations of the Student Code of Conduct

Students who violate the student code of conduct are subject to disciplinary sanctions, including administrative withdrawal from a single class or multiple classes, as well as the imposition of regis­tration restrictions at the course, discipline, or program level. Registration restrictions may also limit students’ access to register for classes based on the course delivery method. Students who are administratively withdrawn for violations of the student code of con­duct will be charged full tuition and fees for the classes from which they were administratively withdrawn. Students who are adminis­tratively withdrawn for violations of the student code of conduct will receive a grade of “W” for that class or for those classes, which will display on their transcript. Eligibility to register for classes in subsequent terms and sessions will depend on the violation. Stu­dents who have been sanctioned with a registration restriction will have a registration hold placed on their account, and they will be required to register for classes through the Records and Registration Office after meeting with their assigned advisor or designated college official. Students who are eligible to register for classes in subsequent terms or sessions may do so after paying their balance in full. Some students will not be eligible to register for classes in subsequent terms and sessions.

Repeating a Course

Students may repeat a course as many times as they wish for an improved grade. However, students may not repeat a course and then choose the better of the grades. The most recent grade will be used to determine the cumulative grade point average, and only credits from the repeated course will be counted toward graduation requirements. Courses taken at other institutions are accepted for replacement of courses taken at Iowa Western. However, the origi­nal grade will remain on the student’s Iowa Western record and will be used to determine the cumulative grade point average.

Academic Transcripts

Official transcripts may be ordered online through the National Stu­dent Clearinghouse, www.studentclearinghouse.org, for a nominal fee. No transcript of credit will be issued until all financial and other obligations to the College have been met. Unofficial transcripts are available to students through Self Services in ROC, and can be requested at the Records and Registration Office. Unofficial transcripts provided by the Records and Registration Office will be marked “Student Copy”.

Legal and Preferred Name

Iowa Western Community College recognizes that some students choose to identify themselves within the campus community with a preferred first name that differs from their legal name. As long as the use of the preferred first name is not for the purpose of misrepresentation, the College acknowledges that a preferred name can and should be used wherever possible, except when use of legal name is required for college business or legal need.

Legal Name Change

Students who wish to change their legal first, middle, and/or last name must request the change through the Records and Registration Office. Legal name changes require legal documentation, including legal ID, driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, court order or other legal document, or marriage license. Examples of use of required use of legal name during the course of college business include college transcripts, employment and payroll docu­ments, financial aid documents, account statements, and immigration documents.

Preferred Name Change

Students who wish to add or change their preferred first name must request the change through the Records and Registration Office. After a change to preferred first name has been processed, it may be necessary to request a new ID card, username, and/or email account name through the Help Desk. Preferred first name will be used whenever possible during the course of college business, including but not limited to course rosters, student/staff ID cards, housing records, and IWCC email accounts. It is a violation of this policy to indicate a preferred name for the purposes of misrepre­sentation or fraud. Fraud and misrepresentation may also violate Iowa Western Community College Code of Conduct. In some situ­ations, it may be necessary for students who have changed their preferred name to clarify that their preferred name is different from their legal name.

Retention of Student Records

Iowa Western Community College retains the official academic record of enrollment and credit earned in the college’s credit programs (transcript) in perpetuity. 

Students who believe there is an inaccuracy in their official aca­demic record (transcript) must notify the Records and Registration Office immediately. After student enrollment documents are de­stroyed, the official academic transcript cannot be changed. The transcript is the final, accurate record of academic accomplish­ment.

Access to Student Information

Student rights concerning access to education records are spelled out in Federal Public Law 98-380 as amended by Public Law 93- 568 and in regulations published by the Department of Education. The law and regulations require educational institutions to:

• Provide students the opportunity to inspect their education re­cords.
• Provide students the opportunity to challenge through a hear­ing the content of their education records if it is believed that they contain information that is inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of the right of privacy. Grades are not subject to challenge.
• Limit disclosure of information from the student’s record to those who have the student’s written consent or to officials specifically permitted within the law, such as college officials and - under certain conditions - local, state, and federal officials.
• Students who wish to grant access to their education and/or financial records may do so by submitting an Access to Student Information Consent Form to the Records and Registration Office. Access to education records is limited to the following elements of the student’s education record: class schedule, transcript of final grades, and progress reports. Access is given only at the Records and Registration Office and only when the person presents photo identification. Under no circumstances will information be disclosed over the phone. Access to financial records is limited to the fol­lowing elements of the student’s financial record: grants, loans, fi­nancial aid documents, statements and billing. Access is given by Financial Aid and the Cashier by phone only when the designated person provides the privacy clue established by the student. The authorization is valid while the student is enrolled at Iowa Western Community College. The consent to release information may be revoked at any time by written request from the student.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) prohibits Iowa Western from releasing protected informa­tion on current or former students to external third parties for pur­poses of solicitation without students’ express written permission. No exceptions to these prohibitions are permissible pursuant to this policy statement. Iowa Western is permitted to disclose, without consent, information considered to be “directory” information. In effort to protect the privacy of current and former students, Iowa Western typically does not honor third-party requests for Directory Information, even though the college is permitted to do so, unless the release of information unless required by law, court order, or through data-sharing agreements. The following information is considered to be Directory Information:

• student’s name
• address
• phone number
• program of study
• participation in officially recognized activities
• athletic team members’ weight and height
• dates of attendance (start and end of semester)
• degrees
• awards received
• most recent previous educational institution attended
• enrollment status (full-time, part-time, or not enrolled)

Students who object to the disclosure of any of the above infor­mation may notify the Records and Registration Office in writing. Students may file a complaint with the Department of Education if they believe that their rights under the law have been violated and if efforts to resolve the situation through Iowa Western Community College appeal channels have proven unsatisfactory.