When to Cancel Courses
If you decide before the semester begins not to attend, cancel before the first day of classes. If you stop attending class for any reason, cancel immediately. If you stop attending a course but neglect to cancel your registration, you may fail the course. On occasion, a course may be canceled by the department. Contact the department immediately to see if other arrangements have been made. If no arrangements exist, it is then your responsibility to remove the course from your record by changing your registration.
Course cancellations are effective the day you officially cancel not on the date you stopped attending class. You may either:
Dropping courses (100%-75% refund period)
Canceling a course before or during the first two weeks of Fall or Spring semester is referred to as "dropping" a class (no "W" is recorded on your transcript.) This completely removes the registration from your records, thereby reducing the total credits taken that term. You must pay for any course for which you register unless you officially cancel during the 100% refund period (more info). You will be billed for the appropriate percentage of tuition and fees, including additional billing charges and late payment fees. There are strict refund and drop/add deadlines. The refund and drop/add deadline page provides this information for all possible terms of enrollment (Summer, May, 7-week, etc.)
Withdrawing from courses (50%-0% refund period)
After the second week of Fall or Spring semester, canceling is referred to as "withdrawing" from a class. Withdrawing from a class means you keep those credits for the term and get a W as your grade. Choosing this option reduces or voids any refund in tuition and fees. You must pay by the due date on your billing statement or a hold will be placed on your record. Failure to pay by the final billing due date may lead to the cancellation of current and future registration.
However, withdrawing from class could also mean you don’t lose your financial aid since your credit load doesn't change. Withdrawals without college approval are limited by the add / drop deadlines, thus, you may not be allowed to withdraw after the eighth week of the semester. The refund and drop/add deadline page provides this information for all possible terms of enrollment (Summer, May, 7-week, etc.)
One-time withdrawal exception
Each student may, once during his or her undergraduate enrollment, withdraw from a course without college approval, and receive the transcript symbol W, after the eighth week of the class at any time up to and including the last day of class for that course. Before using this one-time withdrawal, you must first check with your college office regarding one-time withdrawal procedures. Complete grading policies are available here.
More information for financial aid recipients
Changing registration can result in changes to your financial aid. Financial aid differs depending your credit load. Regardless of the reasons for the registration change, you may be billed.
Undergraduates must maintain a minimum current registration of 6 credits (half-time status) to qualify for Federal loans, and some Federal grant programs and other loans require full-time status. Thus, dropping one class could mean losing all or part of your aid. You could be required to repay credit balance checks and will be held responsible for any charges on your account no longer covered by aid. You should speak with a One Stop representative and your academic advisor to ensure canceling a class is the best decision for you. See Enrollment Criteria for more details
In extreme cases, it may even be advisable to take the F for a class, even though it damages your GPA, rather than reducing your credit load. Losing financial aid eligibility could mean repaying credit balance checks and paying any charges previously covered by the aid you recieved. Speak with a One Stop representative before making a decision on this important matter.
