Students have the option to withdraw from an individual course(s) or the entire term. The process varies based upon the Add/Drop period.
Course Withdraw
Students who drop a class within this time period will not receive a notation on their transcript.
Full-time students
- Full-time students who drop a course(s) within this time period and remain enrolled for 12 or more credits maintain full-time enrollment status. Generally, the Financial Aid Office will not make any adjustment to financial aid awards, and in most instances, the University will not adjust charges (some exceptions apply). Please contact the Financial Aid Office or Business Office with any specific questions.
- Full-time students who drop a course(s) within this time period but are now enrolled for less than 12 credits reduce their enrollment status to part-time. The Financial Aid Office must make adjustments to financial aid awards, and the University will adjust charges to reflect actual enrollment, as billing occurs on a per credit charge when enrolled in less than 12 credits.
Part-time students
- Part-time students who drop a course(s) within this time period and remain enrolled for 6 to 11 credits maintain their part-time status. Generally, the Financial Aid Office will not make any adjustment to financial aid awards except the Pell Grant, if applicable; however, the University will adjust charges to reflect actual enrollment, as billing occurs on a per credit charge when enrolled in less than 12 credits
- Part-time students who drop a course(s) within this time period but are now enrolled for less than 6 credits, reduce their enrollment status to less than half-time. The Financial Aid Office must make adjustments to financial aid awards, as enrolling less than half-time renders ineligibility for most financial aid awards-the only exception being the Pell Grant, if applicable. The University will adjust charges to reflect actual enrollment, as billing occurs on a per credit charge when enrolled less than 12 credits.
Course withdrawal after Add/Drop period
Students will receive a "W" grade on their transcript.
- Students who withdraw from a course(s) after the add/drop period and remain enrolled in at least one course maintain their enrollment status at the level it was prior to the withdrawal. The Financial Aid office will not adjust financial aid awards, and the University will not mak adjustments to your charges.
- In order to receive financial aid in subsequent years, students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress with respect to both the number of credits completed and the cumulative grade-point average earned (GPA). The Financial Aid Office will review each student's academic progress once annually after the completion of the spring term. After the add/drop period has ended, credits for a course which a student withdraws are not considered completed; therefore, students who have not earned the minimum number of required credits based upon enrollment as the result of the withdrawal will not be in acceptable academic progress.
Term Withdraw
Students will not receive a notation on their transcript.
- Students who withdraw from the term prior to the first day of classes are not enrolled. The Financial Aid Office will cancel and/or return all financial aid to the appropriate sources, and the University will rescind all charges for the term in which the complete withdrawal occurred. Students who received refunds of excess financial aid must repay the refunds to the University.
Term withdrawal after the first day of class
Students will receive an "R" grade on their transcript (up to the 60% point), or a "W" grade thereafter.
- Students receiving financial aid who withdraw from the term once the term has begun are subject to a Title IV federally mandated calculation based on the effective date of the withdrawal.
- The University uses the same calculation to determine the total amount of financial aid earned, as well as the total charges due. The calculation is based on the period of enrollment completed and is computed by dividing the total number of calendar days in the term into the number of calendar days completed, as of the date determined established by the Registrar's Office or VP of Academic Affairs. The percentage of financial aid earned and of total charges due are equal to this percentage of the term completed, up to 60%; however, two exceptions exist:
- if the withdrawal occurs during the add/drop period, the University rescinds all tuition and fee charges, prorates the meal plan and housing charges, if applicable, and calculates the percentage of financial aid earned based upon the percentage of the term completed. It is possible that students who withdraw during the add/drop period incur no charges, yet they may, receive a portion of their financial aid
- if the withdraw occurs after 60% of the term is completed, the percentage is equal to 100%
The amount of the Title IV aid which must be returned is based on the percentage of unearned aid and is computed by subtracting earned aid from 100%. The Financial Aid office will notify students in writing once the return of Title IV calculation is completed. The written notification will detail who is responsible for the return of funds* based upon the calculation and will note the outstanding charges due to the University, if applicable.
Title IV funds are returned in the following order of priority:
- Unsubsidized Federal Family Educational Loans (FFEL)
- Subsidized FFEL Loans
- Federal Perkins Loans
- FFEL PLUS Loans
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Other Title IV assistance for which a return of funds is required
Non Title IV Programs:
- Private Loans (amount to keep is equal to outstanding University-related charges)
- Institutional Scholarships and/or Grants (refunded according to resignation percentage)
- Private Scholarships (refunded according to donor's designation)
- State Grants (refunded according to resignation percentage)
In order to receive financial aid in subsequent years, students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress with respect to both the number of credits completed and the cumulative grade-point average earned (GPA). The Financial Aid Office will review each student's academic progress once annually after the completion of the spring term. After the add/drop period has ended, credits for a course which a student withdraws are not considered completed; therefore, students who have not earned the minimum number of required credits based upon enrollment as the result of the withdrawal will not be in acceptable academic progress.
* The University is required to return the lesser of: 1)the unearned aid percentage applied to institutional charges or 2)the unearned aid percentage applied to the total Title IV aid received. The student is required to return the difference between the amount of unearned aid and the amount returned by the University. If the student (or parents, in the case of PLUS loans) is required to return a portion or all of his/her loan proceeds, the calculated amount is to be repaid according to the loan's terms. Students must return only half the amount of grant funds calculated.