Conestoga College has documented standards, which define the academic performance required for a student to progress through their program as well as documented behavioural and ethical standards to remain registered in the college. When a student does not uphold these standards, Conestoga may involuntarily withdraw the student by discontinuing them from their Program of Study or the college.

This procedure defines how students may be discontinued.

Conestoga College maintains a glossary of terms specific to the institution. The terms in use for this document are defined below.

Academic Team

Dean/Executive Dean

Office of Student Success

Registrar’s Office

1. A student may be discontinued from a program or the College for two distinct reasons:
   1. Academic Discontinuance: Failure to meet the specified academic Progression Requirements of their program.
   2. Policy Violation Discontinuance: Violations of College policy and/or procedure, such as but not limited to:
      1. Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy and Procedure
      2. Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure

2. Academic Discontinuance Process

   1. Academic Teams will make Academic Discontinuance decisions at the end of the term, following the established policy and procedure, and will:
      1. Issue initial communication to the student of the Discontinuance decision prior to the start of the next semester including information on how to access support.
      2. Forward the names of the discontinued students to the Registrar’s Office and Office of Co-operative Education, if applicable.
         1. Typically, notification of student discontinuances will occur within 3 business days after grades are due.
   2. The Registrar’s Office will send the official letter of Discontinuance and any other relevant correspondence to the student.
   3. The decision will be reflected on the student’s academic record (“Discontinued” will be stated on the transcript.)
   4. Students who are subject to Academic Discontinuance may be eligible for readmission. Conditions for readmission are outlined in the Readmission Procedure.

3. Policy Violation Discontinuance Process

   1. Policy Violation Discontinuance may occur at any time during the academic year.
   2. Policy Violation Discontinuance decisions will be communicated to the student as follows:
      1. In the case of discontinuance due to violation of the Academic Integrity Policy and/or Procedure, communication will be made by the Dean/Executive Dean.
      2. In the case of discontinuance due to violation of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy, communication will be made by the Office of Student Success.
      3. In all cases of Policy Violation Discontinuance, communication is shared with the Registrar’s Office.
   3. Policy Violation Discontinuance will typically result in failing grades for the semester in which the student is currently registered.
      1. The final grade for any course that a student is registered in a semester where they are discontinued for a Policy Violation will be denoted by a "Y" on the transcript, signifying "Discontinued by the College."
   4. No fees will be refunded for that semester. At the time of the discontinuance, the Discontinuance Period will be determined in accordance with the relevant policy and procedures that recommend Discontinuance as an outcome. (see Appendix A: Discontinuance Periods)
   5. The College accepts no liability for any financial consequences arising from the Discontinuance.
   6. The decision will be reflected in the student’s academic record.
      1. In the case of Discontinuance for violations of the Academic Integrity Policy, the decision will also be filed in the Academic Integrity database.
      2. In the case of Discontinuance for violations of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy, the decision will also be filed in the Student Rights and Responsibilities database.
   7. The decision-maker about Discontinuance will determine the terms for readmission, if any.
      1. Conditions for readmission to the college after the Discontinuance Period must be communicated to the student in writing.
   8. In cases where the penalty applied for a discontinuance is permanent expulsion from the college, the student will not be readmitted to any program.
4. A student may submit a request to appeal a Discontinuance decision based on the requirements outlined in the Academic Appeal Procedure.