Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from courses before the withdrawal deadline will receive a grade of W. The withdrawal deadline, specified by the official Academic Calendar, will be prior to the conclusion of the eleventh full week of classes for any fall and spring term consisting of at least fifteen weeks of instructional time. Holidays and breaks falling in the first eleven weeks are excluded when counting the weeks of the term. If an academic term contains less than four weeks of instructional time, the withdrawal deadline shall be set no later than one week prior to the last day of classes, excluding final examinations. For all other parts of term, the withdrawal deadline shall be set no later than two weeks prior to the last day of classes, excluding final examinations.

Withdrawals from courses will not be permitted after the withdrawal deadline except in cases of hardship as determined by the Office of Student Care and Outreach (SCO) within the Division of Student Affairs.  Students with an active financial or registration hold on their record must clear that hold before being able to withdraw from their coursework.

Students may drop one, some, or all of their classes during the drop/add period. Courses dropped in this manner do not appear on a student’s transcript and are not considered as hours attempted for financial aid purposes. No grade is assigned for such courses. However, a student who wishes to withdraw from a course after the last day of the drop period for a term must withdraw through Athena.

If a student withdraws before the semester’s withdrawal deadline, the student will receive a grade of W. An instructor may withdraw a student from a course due to excessive absences as defined in the course syllabus, and the student will receive a grade of W.

If the student does not initiate the withdrawal, the Registrar will notify the instructor and the student of the withdrawal.

If a student experiences significant personal hardship (e.g., medical or family emergency, prolonged illness), SCO can approve a hardship withdrawal from all courses in the term for which the student is currently registered or in previous semesters (retroactive hardship withdrawals). In the case of an approved hardship withdrawal from all courses, the Registrar will assign grades of W for those classes. The instructor must be informed of the assignment of the W grade. 

Retroactive hardship withdrawals are rarely granted if it has been more than two years since the last day of class for which the withdrawal is sought. Extraordinary justification must be shown. In the case of approved retroactive hardship withdrawals, the Registrar will assign a grade of W. The instructor who orginally assigned the grade must be informed of the change of grade.

A hardship withdrawal cannot ordinarily be used to withdraw selectively from some courses while remaining enrolled in other courses. Selective withdrawal will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances. In these cases, SCO will document the hardship and work with the Registrar's Office to assign a withdrawal grade for each course.

Each year during the fall semester, SCO will submit a written report to the Educational Affairs Committee summarizing the number of hardship withdrawals granted (both complete and partial) within the past year and, in the case of partial hardship withdrawals, the circumstances justifying the use of a partial withdrawal.

If a student is suspended by the Office of Student Conduct following a violation of the University’s Code of Conduct not related to academic dishonesty, the Office of Student Conduct may facilitate a University-initiated withdrawal from courses for which a student is registered for the term. The Registrar will assign grades of W for those classes. The instructor must be informed of the assignment of the W grade.

All probation and exclusion rules apply regardless of the circumstances of the withdrawal. For more information, see General Academic Regulations related to Academic Probation and Academic Dismissal.

No student shall be withdrawn from a course for lack of a prerequisite after the end of one calendar week from the beginning of the term.

No refund is available for a reduction in hours due to individual course withdrawals that occur after the drop/add period.

Students should be aware that a reduction in their hours might result in the loss of full-time student status and thus affect their financial aid, scholarships, athletic and ticket eligibility, University housing accommodations, use of University resources and access to University facilities, immigration status for international students, and Veterans Educational Benefits. Students should contact the appropriate office and their academic advisor with questions about the impact of their withdrawal from a course before initiating a withdrawal. Students who are returning from academic dismissal are advised to consult with their academic advisor prior to withdrawal because violation of the minimum enrollment requirements can lead to a second dismissal from the University. Veterans and dependents of veterans who receive educational benefits must notify the Veterans Education Benefits Area in the Office of the Registrar of any course load reductions.