Time is running out for students who still want to escape from that dreaded class.

The last day to withdraw from a full-semester course is Friday.

Withdrawing from a class is different from dropping a class, which can happen during the first week of classes and can be done on the Internet.

Withdrawal is a formal procedure that a student can initiate up until the eighth week of the semester, for a full-semester course.

Students have several reasons for withdrawing from a class, said John Mitchell, a professor in the biology department.

“Many times the students withdraw because they’re not quite prepared for the rigor of the class,” he said. “Other times they withdraw because the material is nothing new to them.”

Mitchell said the number of withdrawals generally is not overwhelming.

“I usually have three or four students withdraw out of a class of 30,” he said. “But of course, when I have hundreds of students, the number is higher.”

Mitchell said that he has no problems with the university’s withdrawal policy, but he noted that having a lot of withdrawals could be detrimental.

“It’s mostly an issue of resources,” he said. “If you have a lot of students withdraw and then retake the class, that means that there are all the more students who can’t get into that class.”

Erik Johnson, a senior computer science major, said he’s had to withdraw from three classes during his time at NIU.

Johnson has withdrawn from an accounting class and two Spanish classes.

“I withdrew from my accounting class last fall because I couldn’t stay awake at 8 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “I withdrew from my Spanish classes this semester because I no longer have a minor in Spanish.”

Johnson appreciates the school’s policy of allowing students to end their enrollment in classes.

“Without this option, I would have been screwed,” he said.

Don Larson, an executive director in the Office of Registration and Records, said the university’s policy is not an unusual one. Many schools let students end their enrollment in a certain number of classes or credit hours.

“Students are limited as to the numbers of hours can can withdraw,” Larson said. “New freshmen can withdraw up to 17 credit hours.”

According to the undergraduate catalog, all withdrawals have to be requested through central advising office of the college in which the student is pursuing a major. Larson said that undecided majors should go through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

A student who does withdraw from a class and is passing at the time of withdrawal will have a grade of “W” recorded on his or her transcript. The “W” does not affect the student’s GPA in any way. A student who is failing will receive a grade of “F.”