VALLEY COLLEGE : Few Reservists Use New Drop Plan

Only four Los Angeles Valley College students who are military reservists have taken advantage of a withdrawal policy created for them last October in the event they are called to active duty.

Katherine McGowan, a receptionist in the admissions office, said college officials have no way of knowing if a reservist drops his or her classes unless the college is notified.

She said four students have gone through the official process that will give them special military withdrawal designations on their transcripts.

Late last year a student reservist approached Sam Mayo, dean of academic affairs, and said he was concerned that if he is called to active duty he might not be able to officially drop his classes before he left.

Once it was brought to his attention, Mayo said he devised a policy that still is in effect to address the problem.

The policy states that reservists should “fill out a drop card and write a letter of explanation for the college to keep on file in the event that they receive orders to leave the country. . . . At the same time, the student should make a request to have their enrollment money refunded.”

At that point, the reservists will not be penalized, Mary Spangler, assistant dean of admissions and records, said.

“Of course they do have to produce evidence, at a later date, of their active duty for verification,” she said.

Once reservists have initiated this process, the college will exclude them from classes at any time during the semester.

Normally, students can drop classes without penalty only during the first few weeks of a semester. After that, they receive a letter grade if they drop a class.

Administrative exclusion means reservists will not receive failing or incomplete grades or have withdrawals on their transcripts, marks that are potentially damaging to students transferring to four-year schools.