When unforeseen circumstances compromise academic success, international students cannot have Extenuating Withdrawals and maintain PGWP eligibility at the same time
Laura Morales (she/her) // Video Production Manager
After the registration period is over and students have selected their courses, they have until the end of the Add/Drop Period to switch sections, add more courses or drop a class and receive an 80 per cent refund of their tuition fees. During Spring 2025, for example, this period started from the first day of class on January 6 and ended on January 17. A student can still drop a course after the period ends, until the end of the withdrawal period, which was on March 21 for the current term. They would receive no refund and have a withdrawal, or W, appear on their permanent record, but the course would not be included in their GPA calculation.
According to Capilano University’s registration instructions, a student cannot drop a course after the withdrawal period, “unless unusual circumstances beyond the student’s control makes it impossible for them to complete their coursework and affects their academic performance.” This is called an Extenuating Withdrawal, and it allows students who faced personal challenges during the registered term to request a refund and have a WE noted in their transcript instead of a failing grade. This option is there to reassure students that the university has a mechanism to help them succeed in their studies when unexpected challenges emerge. For international students, however, this is often not an option.
Jocelyn, an international student at CapU, spent approximately six weeks recovering from catatonia caused by severe stress and sleep deprivation. She recalls feeling extremely concerned about missing classes when the medical staff refused to discharge her week after week. After enough insistence, the hospital provided a note stating that “Jocelyn was recently admitted to Lions Gate Hospital, and due to medical reasons, is unable to attend to her academic responsibilities at this time. It is kindly requested that she be granted an extension with submitting her outstanding assignments as well as taking her final exams.” The note was emailed to the university and on the same day, an academic advisor from the Registrar’s Office responded offering to help inform her instructors. The advisor also informed her about an extended deadline to finish her courses if instructors were willing to give her incomplete grades, and about the option to apply for an Extenuating Withdrawal.
Only one of three instructors agreed to give Jocelyn an incomplete grade and gave her time to complete the assignments and finish the course, but since she didn’t have the same opportunity for the other two courses, she was placed on Academic Alert.
Jocelyn considered applying for an Extenuating Withdrawal, but she decided to meet with an immigration advisor first. In that session, the advisor explained that to maintain her eligibility for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), she needed to be a full-time student throughout her program. Jocelyn could not obtain an Extenuating Withdrawal without losing her PGWP eligibility, so the recommendation she received from the immigration advisor was to fail the courses. Lastly, the final piece of advice came from a student support advisor regarding her academic standing. “If you retake the courses with an F grade at a later term, then whatever new grades you received would be counted toward your GPA [rather than the F grades],” she was told.
Obtaining Canadian work experience through the PGWP is an essential part of the pathway to permanent residency for international students, and an increasing number of cases like the one shared by Jocelyn has been linked to the need to maintain eligibility for this permit, as shown in a report from the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU). According to the CSU executive director, Christopher Girodat, at the end of the fall term, “262 students were issued a required-to-withdraw (RTW) notice by the registrar’s office, meaning that those students had a CGPA of less than 1.59 and a term grade point average (TGPA) for Fall term courses of less than 1.67.”
Girodat pointed out that this represents a 65 per cent increase in RTW notices compared to Fall 2023. Moreover, he shared, “Based on our discussions with the Registrar’s Office, we understand that the vast majority of RTW notices and appeals were with international students.” Even though the specific reasons shared by students for RTW appeals are confidential, Girodat stated that in his experience, “many of the RTWs are due to failed courses or semesters resulting from personal or family emergencies or health crises.” Extenuating Withdrawals are the only resource that CapU has to offer students whose academic success was compromised by unforeseen circumstances, but many international students cannot access this option and maintain PGWP eligibility at the same time.