<p>I know the question will probably sound weird but...If a student stops going to class without a reasonable excuse, will the professor officially drop him/her from the course, or simply give him/her an "F" at the end of the semester?</p>
<p>Depends on the school. I've taught classes at UNC and they send out sheets near the end of the semester to confirm that your roll sheet matches that of the centralized system. If you never attended the class, you can sometimes convince a professor to vouch you never went and they will drop you if you have a reason (I would NEVER try this...EVER!). </p>
<p>If you go to class and stop attending, you won't be dropped from the class automatically. College students are all considered adults, and as an adult, you have the responsibility to take care of your actions, such as dropping a class you aren't attending (for whatever reason). If you are on the roll sheet at the end of the semester when grades are issued, they are required to give you a letter grade (A,B,C...I, etc.).</p>
<p>However, many schools have policies as to the last day you can withdraw from a class with either a W grade (usually given early in the semester) or a WF/WP grade (if you withdraw late in the semester). These grades do not erase from your record, even if you retake the class later in your career. So, use these grades wisely, only when necessary. </p>
<p>Policies of course vary between institutions, but most universities and colleges have at least this basic scheme.</p>
<p>At the college near my high school, if you sign up for a class and never show up, then the professor will drop you.</p>
<p>The more common situation is describe by ophiolite. Many colleges have an initial, rather short, drop/add period and then a longer drop (but cannot add) period. You are required to formally drop the course by the designated end date for drops if you want no grade. Thereafter, you might still be able to withdraw in some cases and still not get a grade but you need to meet the reasons allowed. If someone registers for a class and then does not formally drop, they can end up with an F grade. At many universities with large classes, the prof won't even know whether you ever showed up for class and if you fail to take an exam or submit required work, you record will just show F's throughout.</p>
<p>At my school at least...
1) If you stop going to class & attendance isn't part of the grade & you still do the work.. then you can still pass fine. If attendance is graded then maybe not.
2) If you simply never go to class & you never do any of the work, you will recieve an F or an I (incomplete).
3) Only in a few rare cases will a professor drop you, and it would be in the begining of the quarter/semester that he/she does it to make room for waitlisted people that actually need the class (like if you don't attend the first few days of class you could get dropped).</p>
<p>There are deadlines for dropping - 10 days for most classes here. After that you're stuck with the class or you have to have a valid excuse to do a late drop which is a pain - it's not easy to do.</p>