Withdrawing from a Class

Dropping a class after the drop deadline is considered a class withdrawal.

If you wish to withdraw from a class, you must do so by the withdrawal from class deadline published in the Academic Calendar.

Summer

There are different withdraw from class deadlines for summer term – each session has specific deadlines which are posted in the Academic Calendar.

Grades

When a class is withdrawn you are assigned a grade of W. The W grade is recorded on your student record and does appear on your transcript. The W grade is non-punitive and has no effect on your GPA.

During the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms you will not be able to withdraw from your last class. Withdrawing from all of your classes is a Withdraw from the Term and you must complete the Withdrawal Survey.

Tuition

You may be responsible for a portion of the tuition and fees associated with the class.

 

SEE THE SECTIONS BELOW:

Withdrawing from the Term

Withdrawing from Summer Term

Related Academic Regulations

Returning to the University

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW TO WITHDRAW FROM A CLASS

Step 1:  Log into Beaver Hub

Step 2:  Select the Academics tab

Step 3:  Under Academic Resources, click on Register/Add/Drop Classes

 

Step 4: Click Register for Classes

Step 5:  Select the term and click Continue

Step 6:  In the Summary box, find the class you wish to withdraw and select Withdraw Course from the drop-down box

 

Step 7:  Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page

A confirmation message, "Save Successful" will display in the upper right. Under the Summary box, the Status column will indicate "Dropped" for the course.

Registration Screen Images

Withdrawing from a class is the same process as dropping. It is a withdrawal based on it being after the deadline to drop. 

From the Registration menu, select the Register for Classes section.

Select the term.

In the Action column of the Summary box, select Withdraw Course (Drop Course shows in the image, but after the deadline, it will display withdrawn)from the drop-down menu next to the class you wish to drop.

Click the Submit button.

If the class dropped successfully, a green Save Successful message will pop up in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and the Status will change to Withdrawn (Dropped shows in the image, but after the deadline, it will display withdrawn) in the Summary box.

Withdrawing from the Term

If you are enrolled in classes and wish to drop/withdraw all of your classes for the term on or after the first day of the term, you are withdrawing from the term. In other words, withdrawal indicates that you intend to stop attending classes for the current term.

Deadline

The last day to withdraw from the term is Friday of Week 10 – the specific deadline dates are noted in the Academic Calendar.

Transcript and Grades

Your transcript will reflect your withdrawal from the term in the form of a comment that indicates that you withdrew from the term and the effective date of the withdrawal.

If the withdrawal is completed during the withdrawal period (weeks 2 to 10), all currently enrolled classes will be assigned a W grade indicating you withdrew from the classes after the drop period. 

The W grade indicates the class was not completed, no credits were earned, and it is not used in the computation of the grade-point average.

HOW TO WITHDRAW FROM THE TERM

To withdraw from the term, you must complete the Withdrawal Survey. If you are withdrawing from summer term, see the Summer Term Withdrawal section below.

Step 1: Go to the Withdrawal Survey

Step 2: Answer the questions in the survey as this is part of the withdrawal process. Your responses can help us understand how to best support you should you decide to return to OSU for a future term.

Step 3: Click Submit to complete your request to withdraw from the term. If you are receiving financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office to report your withdrawal.

Once you complete the survey, you will receive an email from the Office of the Registrar confirming the process is complete.

FUTURE TERMS

If you are enrolled in courses for a future term and do not cancel that registration, you will remain enrolled. If you do not cancel your future term enrollment, you will be responsible for tuition, fees, and grades for the future term.

Withdrawing from Summer Term

The withdrawal from the term process for students enrolled during summer term is different due to the multiple sessions.

Deadline

Summer withdrawals from the term are handled by the class level – each session has specific drop and withdraw from class deadlines which are posted in the Academic Calendar

There is not a special withdraw from term deadline for summer sessions as there is during fall, winter, and spring terms.

Summer Term Withdrawal
  • A student who has dropped or withdrew from all of their classes for summer term in accordance with posted deadlines will be considered as having withdrawn from the term.
  • Term withdrawal processing is completed by the Office of the Registrar at the conclusion of the summer term.
  • A student who remains enrolled in a class(es) after the last day to withdraw from a class deadline for a session is responsible for completing the class(es) in that session or must petition for a late withdraw from the class with the Academic Requirements Committee.
Students do not need to complete a Withdrawal Survey for summer term. 

Students withdraw from their class(es) individually and use the same steps used in the other terms (Below).

HOW TO WITHDRAW FROM SUMMER TERM

Step 1:  Log into Beaver Hub

Step 2:  Select the Academics tab

Step 3:  Under Academic Resources, click on Register/Add/Drop Classes

 

Step 4: Click Register for Classes

Step 5:  Select the term and click Continue

Step 6:  In the Summary box, find the class you wish to withdraw and select Withdraw Course from the drop-down box

 

Step 7:  Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page

A confirmation message, "Save Successful" will display in the upper right. Under the Summary box, the Status column will indicate "Dropped" for the course.

Related Academic Regulations

Classes

You may withdraw from a maximum of 18 classes, regardless of the number of credits for each withdrawn class. See Academic Regulation 12 to understand the rules related to withdrawing from individual classes.

Term

Students may withdraw from the term unless they have exceeded the withdraw from class maximum of 18 classes. See Academic Regulation 13. This will not include students who withdraw from the term during the drop period, even though there is a comment on the transcript for those students who withdraw from the term during the drop period. The Office of the Registrar will only evaluate term withdrawals after the end of the drop period as counting toward the 18 class withdraw maximum, though all transcript and system processes will remain the same.

We hope you will return!

After you withdraw from a term, you are still eligible to enroll for the upcoming term. Students may register online in accordance with the university priority registration schedule and their college advising policies.

Re-enrollment

If you do not plan to return to the university in the subsequent term, but do intend to return at some point in the future, please take note of these re-enrollment policies:

  • Students seeking a baccalaureate degree and non-degree students are eligible to enroll for up to four terms without being required to apply for readmission.
  • If the student is absent for more than four terms they must submit an application for readmission to the Office of the Registrar.
Graduate students
  • Graduate students must be enrolled each term, excluding Summer, in accordance with the Graduate School’s continuous enrollment policy. Graduate students who do not intend to be enrolled for a required term but wish to continue their studies later should contact the Graduate School to request a leave of absence.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you are unable to withdraw from a class by the published deadline due to a registration hold, you can contact the Office of the Registrar at [email protected] for assistance.

Withdrawing from the current term does not affect your ability to enroll in future terms. Provided that you meet the enrollment eligibility requirements for continuing students you may enroll in classes online in accordance with established registration procedures.

To find the correct amount of term withdraws you have accrued, check your unofficial transcript for any term with a “Withdraw from the Term” (or “Withdraw from the University” – prior to Fall 2016) comment and classes with Ws. If there is a comment with no registration on a term, this means you withdrew from all of your classes during the drop period.

The most equitable way to allow withdrawals is to come up with a reasonable amount of class withdrawals that can be used as individual withdrawals or term withdrawals, regardless of how many classes a student is registered for in a term.

You will receive an email notification to your OSU email from the Office of the Registrar when you have gone over the limit of 18 individual course withdrawals.

No. The max class withdrawal applies to all OSU classes throughout a student’s academic career at OSU. If a student has already reached the max class withdrawal, moving forward they will be unable to continue withdrawing from classes. The measurement of total class withdrawals starts with classes taken in fall 2012 and beyond.

You will be unable to withdraw from a class(es). If you withdraw, you will be re-enrolled into the classes and notified by the Office of the Registrar of this change. This applies to any class withdrawal including when you withdraw from the term. If you are withdrawing from the term and the amount of classes you are taking that term would exceed your allowable amount remaining (of 18 total), you can choose to withdraw from singular classes (instead of the term) that would keep you under the max of 18 class withdrawals.

Any student may petition for an exception from this limitation if the justification for withdrawal is clearly associated with extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. To petition, use the Petition for Late Change of Registration form.

Yes. This signifies that you were enrolled in classes for the term at OSU and removed yourself from the term via a drop. These do not count toward your individual class withdrawal limit because the classes were removed during the drop period, not the withdrawal period. The reason we list the comment is to demonstrate that you had an intention to take classes on or after the first day of the term at OSU. This is often necessary for federal aid purposes.

A dropped course is removed from your schedule and does not appear on your academic transcript. A withdrawn course will appear on your transcript with a grade of W – it indicates the course was withdrawn after the drop period. The W grade does not affect your GPA.