By the tiswa editorial team, from the official sources listed at the end of this guide. How we write our guides
In week one a student opens the section’s WhatsApp group and finds a photo of a deadline table a classmate sent, and then the week passes. A month later someone asks whether the drop period is over, and everyone remembers a different date. The photo may come from an earlier semester, may have been cropped at the top, or may predate a change. The fix is shorter than it looks: one source you always return to, and a small list you build yourself.
Where do you find the Taibah University academic calendar?
The university publishes a page called “Academic Calendar” inside the “Admission and Study” menu of its official website, beside the pages for admission, transfer, colleges and programmes.1 Enter from the university site itself, not from a link that reached you in a message, because a stale or partial copy can cost you a deadline. Also check the title of the calendar: is it for the semester you are in, or another one? That is the first thing to confirm.
If you are a transfer or visiting student, the university keeps a separate page for transfer and visit procedures, with its own timing.3 Do not assume a classmate in another college shares your date.
How do you turn the calendar into a list of your own deadlines?
You do not need to copy the whole page; most of it does not touch you in a given week. Pick five types of date and move them in this order.
- Open the page in week one
Confirm the calendar title matches your current semester, then read it through once before copying anything.
- Find registration and adjustment dates
Look for add/drop and any window for changing sections. These are the shortest dates of the term and the costliest to miss.
- Find withdrawal dates
Read each procedure name as written: dropping at the start of term is not the same as withdrawing from a course later, and the two leave different marks. For the difference, read the add/drop guide.
- Copy the exam dates
Midterms, finals and the last day of classes. If your college publishes the exam timetable separately, set a reminder to look for it.
- Set two reminders per date
One a week before and one two days before. The first leaves time to act; the second stops forgetting.
- Note the source in the event
Write “from the academic calendar page” so you remember to check the page before acting on a change.
An illustrative case: if the calendar showed a drop closing on a Thursday, you would create an event a week earlier called “review your schedule and decide” and another two days earlier called “last chance”. The day names here are only an example; your real date comes from the official page alone.
Which dates should you keep apart?
| Procedure | What to check in the calendar | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Add and drop | The last day, and the hour if stated | Leaving the decision to the final day, when the system slows down |
| Withdrawing from a course | Whether it is a separate procedure and its last date | Assuming it equals drop and missing it |
| Withdrawing from or postponing the semester | Its date, and whether approval is needed | Waiting until exams have begun |
| Midterms | The set week and your college’s timetable | Relying on a classmate’s timetable from a different college |
| Finals | The exam period and the last teaching day | Booking travel before the timetable is out |
The table shows where to look, while the actual dates come from the official page. If a procedure has a different name in your calendar, follow your calendar.
Can the calendar dates change during the semester?
They can. Academic rules in Saudi Arabia sit within the Ministry of Education’s framework and university council decisions, and universities announce changes through their official channels.2 So make rechecking part of your list: a monthly event in mid-term when you open the page and compare it with your phone calendar, and another when an official announcement arrives. Two minutes saves a wrong date.
If you read about a change in a student group, do not rewrite your list until you find it on the university page or in an official announcement. Much of what circulates concerns another programme or semester, or was cancelled after being posted.
What are the best calendar apps for university students?
A date alone is not enough unless you tie it to a decision, and the app is only the container. In week one, write three questions and answer them with your academic advisor: does my schedule balance heavy courses against light ones? Is there a course I might need to drop? Do any exams fall in the same week? Then set the drop reminder around what you decided, not by chance.
Which app you use matters less than the habit. Any calendar app that syncs across your phone and laptop and allows two alerts per event will do, and so will the one already on your phone. Add a colour for exams and another for drop and withdrawal so they stand out at a glance. In mid-semester, when the first exam results arrive, you hold new information. Return to your calendar and check whether withdrawal is still open and how much time remains. For exam planning itself, read the midterm exams guide, and before finals the final exams revision plan.
What if you miss a date?
Do not ignore it and do not wait. Contact your academic advisor or the student affairs office in your college and ask which procedure is still available and what papers are needed, if any. Explain what happened plainly and bring evidence if you had a genuine reason. Some procedures allow no exception and others go to a specific committee, and only your college can tell you which. What matters is asking the same day, not two weeks later.
To cut the odds of this happening at all, put each date into your phone calendar and, if you trust paper more, into a small notebook as well. The repetition is not wasted: academic deadlines arrive in weeks crowded with assignments.
