Students seeking to withdraw should contact the Office of Student Financial Aid and view Appalachian’s Withdrawal Policy to determine how current and future financial aid may be impacted.
Dropping to Zero Hours
If you withdraw from the university, you must contact the Registrar's Office to begin the official withdrawal process and establish your withdrawal date. If you stop attending classes, you are required to officially withdraw. If you stop attending classes but fail to complete the official withdrawal process, you will be considered an unofficial withdrawal.
Please note that you may be considered a withdrawn student for financial aid purposes if:
- You enroll in one or more courses that do not span the entire length of the semester; and
- You enroll in one or more courses that do last the entire semester; and
- You drop the course(s) that lasts the entire semester after you have completed the course(s) that does not span the entire semester.
The Financial Aid Office will be notified when you drop courses and are no longer enrolled in any other courses. Based on the Return of Title IV funds calculation, you may be required to repay all or a portion of the financial aid you received.
Dropping Hours During Drop / Add
If you are an undergraduate, generally, your financial aid is based on an enrollment status of 12 or more credit hours per semester during the academic year, or a total of six credit hours for summer terms. If you are a graduate student, generally, your financial aid is based on an enrollment status of nine or more credit hours per semester during the academic year, or a total of five credit hours for summer terms. If you drop below the respective enrollment status during a drop / add period, your financial aid will be adjusted according to the credit hours you are enrolled in as of the end of the drop / add period.
Dropping Hours After Drop / Add
If you drop hours (not to zero hours) after the end of the drop / add period, your financial aid will be adjusted only if you are allowed to receive a refund of tuition and fees. Please note that if you are a current or previous Federal Direct Loan borrower with an in-school deferment status and you drop to less than six credit hours as an undergraduate student or less than 5 credit hours as a graduate student, you will go into your six-month grace period to repay your Federal Direct Loan.
Unofficial Withdrawal
An unofficial withdrawal is a student who does not successfully complete any courses (receives all F grades or U grades), stops attending classes and does not complete any coursework as of the 60% point of the semester or summer term without officially withdrawing from the university, as required. An unofficial withdrawal may be required to repay up to 50% of the financial aid received for the term.
Students who never attended any classes and did not complete any coursework are required to repay 100% of the financial aid received for the semester or summer term.
Students who stop attending all of their classes are required to officially withdraw from the university.
Be sure to review Appalachian's Withdrawal Policy.