Tell your professor you’re dropping class? (avoid awkward conversation)

Are you planning on dropping a college class and aren’t sure if you should tell your professor?

I am sure you have wondered if your professor will even know you dropped the class and aren’t attending anymore?

But if they do notice, you certainly don’t want to be rude if you should have given your professor a heads up.

This is a question that a lot of my students had themselves when I was a professor. And I am going to tell you what most students would do in this situation.

In my personal experience, MOST of my students never spoke to me before they dropped or withdrew my class. It can be a polite thing to do, but it’s not a requirement.

Very rarely did students communicate to me about getting out of my class. Most just did it on their own and I never heard from them again.

READ MORE : Do professors drop students from their class?

But let’s get into some more details so you will know if you should let your professor know that you are going to be leaving their class.

Do you have to tell your professor your dropping out of their class?

No, students do not need to tell their professors that they are dropping their class unless they need their professor’s permission to withdraw. In most instances, students can withdraw or drop a class online and do not need to speak with anyone.

A lot of colleges have automated this process where students will complete it all online.

Occasionally students might need to speak with their academic advisor first, and consider all of the consequences of dropping a course, but it is probably not necessary.

As a former professor myself, I would NOT recommend students notify professors about dropping their course as it is a personal decision.

The only time I ever recommend students talk to their professors before quitting their class is if you are wanting to drop because of bad grades. I really recommend talking about your grades with your professor first before you make a decision.

Another reason why you might have to talk to your professor is if the university requires the professors to approve a drop or withdraw. I don’t find this to be a very common procedure so it probably doesn’t apply.

If you aren’t sure how to do this at your college, Just check the student handbook to learn more about withdrawing from a course.

Most of the time, students just click a few buttons in their college account to drop a class and you won’t need to personally talk to anyone.

Don’t forget about all the important deadlines to drop or withdraw because you can’t do this too late into the semester.

How to tell your professor you are dropping their class

If you want to talk to your professor before you drop their class or give them a heads up that you won’t be returning anymore, just reach out via email and let them know that you enjoyed their class, and it isn’t them, it’s you.

It can be a really nice gesture to just notify your professor that you aren’t dropping their class because of them.

Although it isn’t necessary, it is thoughtful.

I would only tell them if you have been in their class for several weeks or longer. If you are dropping the class in the first few days of the semester, I wouldn’t worry about it then.

In most colleges, professors are going to get an automated notification that a student withdrew from their class. When I saw these notices, I always wondered if there was anything I could have done to prevent it.

But remember, it’s not typical for students to explain the situation to their instructors, and most students NEVER talk to their professors before they drop their course.

If you do give them advanced notice, your professor could try and talk you into staying in their class and that might be uncomfortable.

Or it could work in your favor.

For example, you might have to enroll in the class in a later semester and your professor may remember how respectful you were when you had to withdraw before.

So, consider these things first, before you decide to let your professor know you won’t be in their class anymore.

• Will you ever see this professor again?

• Do you want to try and discuss your bad grades?

• Are you okay if your professor tries to get you to change your mind?

• Does your professor even know who you are?

• Is it a big college class?

If you will never see your professor again, don’t worry about saying anything to them unless you are dropping because of your bad performance in their class. Your professor could convince you that you still have a chance.

If you are in a large college class or your professor has no idea who you even are, I would also skip this very awkward conversation because they probably didn’t even know you were enrolled in the first place.

Make sure you think about this before you make a decision because it could help or hurt you.

Do professors know if you drop their class?

Yes, professors will know that students have dropped their college class because the college will need to notify the professor via email that you aren’t in their class anymore.

These notifications are important because professors cannot let students, who aren’t enrolled, participate in the course.

Now, do most professors pay a lot of attention to these automated emails?

Probably not.

When I got these emails, I always glanced at them to make sure I updated my attendance sheets but I didn’t pay close attention.

I would get about around 20 of these notifications each semester. If you are in a college that has really big class sizes, your professor will get a lot more of them.

So, while your professor will likely be notified, it isn’t too serious and they are probably getting a lot of these notifications that yours won’t stand out if that worries you.

Hopefully I helped you understand what happens when you drop a class and how your professor will find out.

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