Regulations & Policies

Academic Affairs - Enrollment Services

I. OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE

To establish a University policy that allows students options to withdraw or drop from a course, or leave the university based on their academic and personal circumstances.

II. STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. Common Forms of Withdrawal

Complete Withdrawal from the University

Complete Withdrawal is the formal process of leaving the University. Once the Complete Withdrawal has been processed, the student’s academic responsibility with the University will be discontinued. The student will show as officially unenrolled based on the date of withdrawal. Dropping all classes or withdrawing from all classes in a term is not the same as a Complete Withdrawal from the University.

Students who completely withdraw from the University remain fee liable and receive a grade of “WC” in each course. The assigned “WC” grades will count towards the withdrawal limit and will remain on the academic transcript.

A Complete Withdrawal must be initiated by a student’s academic advisor after meeting with the student. A student who receives a Complete Withdrawal may not continue to attend class(es). After three terms of non-enrollment, a student who wants to enroll in a future term must meet with an academic advisor, after which the advisor may remove the registration hold. A student who breaks continuous enrollment after a Complete Withdrawal must re-apply for admission and is subject to all admission and academic program requirements at the time of re-application.

Course Drop(s)

An add/drop period occurs at the start of each term and part of term session. During this period, students may drop from a course without tuition and fee liability. Prior to the end of a drop/add period, instructors will provide enrolled students with information on all course requirements that must be completed during the term or part of term.

Dropping may be done online in the MyWings self-service portal or in person at One-Stop Student Services. Students who do not drop a course prior to the add/drop deadline as posted in the academic calendar become fee liable and will be eligible to receive final grades. Students requesting refunds after the drop/add period should consult the Fee Petition guidelines.

Course Withdrawal(s)

Students may withdraw from a course after the add/drop period through the withdrawal deadline as indicated on the academic calendar. Prior to pursuing a withdrawal, students should discuss their intentions to withdraw with their course instructors to clarify the possibility of earning a passing grade for the course given their current progress.

A grade of “W” will be assigned upon completion of a course withdrawal. Students remain fee-liable for withdrawn courses.

All undergraduate students will be limited to a total of six UNF course withdrawals—3 lower-level course withdrawals (1000 & 2000 level) and 3 upper-level course withdrawals (3000 & 4000 level) – regardless of the number of credit hours per course. Unused withdrawals are forfeited. Graduate programs may have specific policies regarding the number of withdrawals allowed within the program. Graduate students are advised to first consult with their graduate program director before withdrawing from any course.

After the withdrawal limit is reached, students will be blocked from further course withdrawals by the University's registration system. Courses with a grade of “WM” (medical withdrawal), “WS” (military withdrawal), “WD” (withdrawal deceased), or “WR” and “WA” (administrative withdrawals) are not counted in the limitation.

Any undergraduate course withdrawals at UNF prior to Fall 2013 are not counted towards withdrawal limits but will continue to be reflected on the student's transcript.

Drop(s) for Non-attendance

Registered students not attending the first day or week of a class may be dropped from the course(s) at the discretion of the instructor or the Office of Records and Registration. Non-attendance does not guarantee a student will be dropped from a course. The student is fee liable for all courses for which he/she is registered unless the student initiates a drop during the add/drop period as published in the academic calendar. Students who add courses or late-register during the add/drop period will not be dropped for non-attendance by the instructor during this period.

B. Special Forms of Withdrawal

Administrative Withdrawal

In certain circumstances, a student may be withdrawn by university administration. For example, deceased students who are enrolled in UNF coursework at the time of death will be withdrawn and a grade of “WD” will be assigned as a disciplinary action in response to academic or student misconduct through the appropriate university disciplinary process.

Medical Withdrawal

Students who present with a medical condition of such severity or duration, as confirmed in writing by a physician, that renders them incapable of completing their courses must first attempt to withdraw by the withdrawal deadline of the affected term as posted on the academic calendar. Students who withdraw from their classes by the withdrawal deadline may be evaluated for a medical withdrawal by submitting a Medical Withdrawal petition with all required documentation.

In order to be eligible for a Medical Withdrawal, a student must provide documentation of an illness or injury which was not previously known to the student, or which was believed to have been treated and resolved. The student must also provide evidence of having experienced an escalation of symptoms and documented evidence of having received treatment during the semester for which they are seeking the withdrawal.

All Medical Withdrawal petitions, including late medical withdrawals, must be submitted through the Medical Withdrawal procedure (https://www.unf.edu/deanofstudents/care-services/mw-process.html). If approved, W grades will be converted to grades of WM. A student who needs to exceed the withdrawal limit can and must petition for a Medical Withdrawal by the withdrawal deadline. A student who misses the withdrawal deadline as a result of extraordinary, documented medical circumstances that are clearly beyond the student's control may petition for a late Medical Withdrawal. Students in this situation must submit the Medical Withdrawal petition with an explanation and documentation of the extraordinary circumstances, including all required documentation, within six (6) months from the last day of the semester.

Students may not use the Medical Withdrawal process as a result of medical issues of dependents or family members.

Military Withdrawal

Students are entitled to a leave of absence or complete withdrawal to report for active military duty, to engage in full-time National Guard duty, or to attend an examination to determine fitness for these kinds of duties. Spouses and students of affected military personnel are granted the same consideration.

Military Withdrawal can be done online in myWings until the deadline to withdraw for the term or in person through the end of the term at One-Stop Student Services. To receive a full refund, the student must provide a copy of the affected military personnel's official orders or other official military documentation to One-Stop Student Services for review in the Office of Records and Registration.

Students receiving a Military Withdrawal will have a grade of "WS" posted on the transcript for all courses in which they were enrolled and in progress at the time of the request.

C. Procedures

Students are strongly encouraged to contact their academic advisors or program directors to discuss and understand how withdrawals and drops will impact academic persistence, including time to graduation and meeting degree requirements.

Students who withdraw will not be reinstated back into the same course(s) within the term of the withdrawal. Students wishing to re-enroll in the course must do so in a subsequent term. A student may not initiate a withdrawal from any course in which an Incomplete (I) grade has been assigned by the instructor.

Unless otherwise noted, this policy applies to all degree-seeking and non-degree seeking students, including current, transfer, first year, graduate and post-baccalaureate students, regardless of when they first matriculated.

Students must not assume that their classes will be dropped or that they will be withdrawn if they do not pay for the courses or if they do not attend class meetings. If a student stops attending classes without officially withdrawing or dropping, the grade earned will be entered as the final grade, and the student remains fee liable.

A student who has exceeded their withdrawal limit and/or misses the withdrawal deadline as a result of extraordinary, documented circumstances that are clearly beyond the student's control may appeal for late withdrawal or for additional withdrawal allowance to the Student Petition of Academic Policy Committee (SPAP) prior to the end of classes of the term within which the student is enrolled. The course instructor, department chair, academic advisor and/or graduate program director may recommend an action to support or not support the withdrawal, give no recommendation, or write an explanation of the applicable circumstances. Final approval/disapproval authority rests with the SPAP Committee. Final approval/disapproval authority rests with the SPAP Committee. Students requesting exceptions for medical withdrawals should submit a late Medical Withdrawal Petition through the medical withdrawal procedure (https://www.unf.edu/deanofstudents/Medical_Withdrawals.aspx).

Not all withdrawals relieve the student of financial responsibility. Students are responsible for understanding how their withdrawal impacts their student account, including financial aid eligibility, payment plans, signatory obligations in contracts with UNF Housing and Residence Life and UNF Dining Services, and any resultant excess hour surcharges.

A student who withdraws from all classes in a given term by the date posted on the university matriculation calendar may be eligible for a 25 percent refund of tuition per the UNF Tuition and Fee Refund regulation 11.0090R.

Fee petition requests, including medical withdrawal petitions, must comply with State of Florida guidelines (BOG 7.002), which stipulate that fee waivers may not be granted later than six months after the end of the term. 

Any students receiving financial aid who withdraw from any classes should contact the Office of Student Financial Aid via One-Stop Student Services to understand federal aid and scholarship award consequences and obligations.

III. AUTHORITY

Section 1004.07, F.S.; BOG Regulation 6.013, 7.002; UNF Regulation 11.0090R.

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