Withdrawal Information

There are many reasons why you may choose to withdraw from your classes. EKU is committed to your success. Withdrawing will likely cost you money, impacting your eligibility for financial aid, housing, and more. Before making any final decisions, contact your academic advisor to review your options

Information on Withdrawing From Your Classes

Use the following to guide you through the withdrawal process. Note, not all items may apply to your situation.

Before withdrawing or dropping any classes contact your academic advisor. Your advisor can walk through your options with you. Withdrawing may not be your only option. It is important to understand the impact withdrawing has on your student status. (Who is my advisor?)
Depending on when you withdraw, withdrawing from the University will result in receiving all “W” grades for each of your classes. Check the withdraw deadlines.
Check your financial aid. You may be required to pay back some or all of your financial aid. Withdrawing from the University may have implications on future financial aid eligibility. We strongly encourage you to talk to Big E Central prior to withdrawing.
Contact EKU Housing and Residence Life. If you live on campus you will need to contact Housing regarding your housing contract.
Contact the Office of University Card Services. Your card will be deactivated when your withdrawal is processed. If you have a meal plan contact the office.
Return books or other materials to the Library. You will be assessed fines if the materials are not returned by the due date.
If applicable, notify the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs. If you received benefits as a US Veteran, active duty service member, or family member of a US Veteran, you must contact the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs. If you are leaving because you have received US military activation orders refer to the military activation process.
If applicable, notify the Office of International Student and Scholar Services of your plans to withdraw. If you are an international student, withdrawing from the University may affect your student immigration status.
If you are eligible for a tuition refund, submit a Financial Appeal. If you are leaving the University for extenuating circumstances you may qualify for a refund.
You will be responsible for paying all or part of your tuition and fees. Check the deadlines. This may prevent you from returning to the University in the future or from requesting an official transcript. If any unpaid, past-due charges remain on your account, they may be referred to a collection agency and/or result in legal action.

Withdrawing and Financial Aid

Federal Financial Aid regulations require students to earn credit from classes funded by financial aid. Financial aid regulations do not distinguish between receiving a “W” in a course, or an “F” in a course. In both cases tuition is paid with financial aid funds and in both cases the student did not earn credit.

Students, advisors, and instructors should note therefore that multiple withdraws can impede appropriate progress toward degree and thus negatively impact a student’s ability to retain financial aid.

Important: Withdrawing from a class may result in the student being responsible for both tuition charges and a late withdrawal fee. Refer to the Colonel’s Compass for tuition refund dates. A class with a “W” grade will count as an attempted class for Federal Financial Aid calculations.

Withdrawing from a Class

Students are allowed to withdraw from classes through the 12th week of a full semester. Partial semester classes have pro-rated withdrawal deadlines. See the Colonel’s Compass for all withdrawal deadlines. Whether withdrawing from a single class, a few individual classes, or all classes, withdrawals are executed online through myEKU. A student will be assigned a grade of “W” for each withdrawn course, and a “W” will appear on the grade report and transcript.

Withdrawal between 2nd Week – 12th Week:

A student may officially withdraw from a full-semester course online through myEKU from the close of the Schedule Change Period, also called the Add/Drop Period (for full-semester classes the add/drop period is the 1st week of class), through Monday of the 9th week of a regular (fall/spring) semester with no withdrawal fee applied. This allows students to view their mid-term grades prior to withdrawing from a class without incurring a fee.Beginning with Tuesday of the 9th week of the term, and until the end of the twelfth week of full-semester classes, students will be assessed a $50 per credit hour fee after withdrawing from a course (up to a maximum of $150 for a typical 3 credit hour course). No fee is incurred if a student withdraws from all courses within a single term.Warning: The Add/Drop Period and the withdrawal period for partial-semester classes can be significantly shorter. Always refer to the Colonel’s Compass website for all drop and withdrawal deadlines.)

Late Withdrawal Petitions:

After the withdrawal deadline has passed only students who are the victim of extraordinary circumstances may request a late withdrawal. The deadline for filing a petition for a Late Withdrawal under extraordinary circumstances is the last day of the full semester following the term from which the student is seeking withdrawal. The student is required to complete a Petition for Late Withdrawal form and include justification and documentation for the withdrawal. If approved, the Registrar will assign the grade of “W” and will notify the instructor of the class. With the exception of complete semester withdrawals, all course withdrawals approved will be assessed a $50 per credit hour fee, to a limit of $150 per course. Office of the Registrar is not authorized to consider any appeals of the $50 per credit hour course withdrawal fee. Only the Office of Student Accounting Services may consider late withdrawal fee appeals. Students who are assigned a grade of “F” or “FX” in a course due to academic dishonesty will not be permitted to withdraw from the course.

Withdrawal Deadlines for Partial Semester and Summer Classes:

Specific calendar dates for withdrawal deadlines for partial semester and summer classes are available on the Colonel’s Compass. The withdrawal deadline for all courses should be printed on course syllabi, are published in the Colonel’s Compass, and also may be obtained by contacting the Registrar’s Office.

Withdrawing from the University

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) is strongly committed to supporting students in achieving success in their intellectual and extracurricular endeavors. Students finding it necessary to withdraw from the University may withdraw from all courses online using myEKU up to the twelfth week of a full semester. Students are not allowed to withdraw from a course or from the University after the twelfth week of a regular term; after that time students must petition for a late withdrawal for an official withdrawal. A grade of “W” is assigned for each withdrawn class. Students who leave the University without an official withdrawal are subject to the grade of “F.”

Dining Services Refund for Students Withdrawing from the University:

For Colonel Card dollars or meal memberships please refer to the Student Accounting Services refund page.

Housing Refund for Students Withdrawing from the University:

For Housing refunds, please submit a written request to:
Director of Housing
Whitlock CPO 51
Eastern Kentucky University
521 Lancaster Avenue
Richmond, Kentucky 40475-3151.

Housing refunds are only applicable for a limited period of time at the beginning of the semester.

Withdrawals Due to Exceptional Situations

When physical or mental illness, or other extraordinary circumstances, intrude upon a student’s ability to successfully meet the requirements of his or her course of study, such that the student is unable to avail themselves of standard methods for withdrawing from the University, per the above described timeframe, the student may complete a Petition for Late Withdrawal or a Medical Leave of Absence Request.

Late Withdrawal:

Note: Withdrawals do not provide tuition refunds.

Students who had documented extraordinary circumstances that prevented them from succeeding in a course, or all courses, and were not able to withdraw themselves by the published deadline, may consider petitioning for a Late Withdrawal. An approved Late Withdrawal will replace course grades with “W” grades. No tuition refund is awarded.

The deadline for filing a petition for withdrawal under extraordinary circumstances is the last day of the full semester following the term from which the student is seeking withdrawal. The student must complete a Petition for Late Withdrawal Form and include justification and documentation for the withdrawal. If approved, the Registrar will assign grades of “W”.

Denial: If the petition is denied, the student has 30 calendar days to appeal. Any appeal is expected to provide additional pertinent information. The decision after consideration of the appeal is final.

The following circumstances will receive an automatic denial:

Work – Emergency Services Personnel excepted
Excessive Absences without MD/licensed practitioner “excuse”
Travel/Vacation
Technology issues
Requests made before final grades are posted. Please resubmit after the Final Grades have been posted to your Official Record.
Applications without documentation listed in the above (approval) section.

Acceptable Documentation:

Formal Medical Documentation
a. Dates of illness
b. Diagnosis
c. Test Results
d. A detailed letter from your physician/therapist explaining how your illness affected your academic progress for the semester in question.
Documentation of Medical doctor/licensed practitioner “excuse” that directly applies to the semester/class in question.
Obituaries – Please include the relationship and must provide documentation of death of:
Mother/Father (to include stepmother or stepfather)
Brother/Sister (to include half-brother or half-sister)
Spouse/Partner
Child (to include stepchild)
Grandparent or Grandchild
In-Laws of same kind
Other persons with whom the student has a “loco parentis” relationship
Accident/Police Reports – alleged victim of violent offense, as evidenced by police report (EKU or otherwise) or OEI filing
Evidence of communication with instructor and/or administrator erroneously approving/granting/assuring/confirming/guaranteeing withdrawal

Medical Leave of Absence from the University

Note: Withdrawals do not provide tuition refunds.

Voluntary Medical Leave of Absence

Students may request a Medical Leave of Absence from EKU when serious physical or mental health issues prevent the student from continuing with coursework in the current semester. The severity and duration of the medical problems must be such that it would be unreasonable to expect the student to make up missed class work or to continue as a student during the current term.

Medical Leave of Absence is appropriate only when “incompletes” or other arrangements with instructors are not possible. A request for a medical leave of absence can only be considered when the request is to withdraw from all classes in the current semester and will not be granted if final exams have been taken for that semester. This policy does not address withdrawal from individual classes.

Requests for a Medical Leave of Absence requires thorough and credible documentation by the appropriate healthcare provider. The deadline for filing a request for a Medical Leave of Absence is the last day of the term from which the student is seeking withdrawal.

If the request to take a medical leave of absence is due to physical issues, the appropriate documenting healthcare provider is a licensed medical practitioner with knowledge of the student’s past medical history and who is presently working with the student to resolve current physical health issues. The medical practitioner should be the student’s primary health care provider at the time of the request for Medical Leave of Absence, and should not be a family member. If the medical situation involves emergency hospitalization, documentation from the emergency room physician or hospitalist is required in lieu of the preceding information.

If the request is due to mental health reasons, the appropriate documenting healthcare provider would be a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist or counselor with knowledge of the student’s past mental health history and who is presently working with the student to resolve the current mental health problems and should not be a family member. Taking a Medical Leave of Absence of at least one full semester away from the University will enhance the likelihood of success upon the student’s return.

The student will be obligated to adhere to the requirements for returning from a medical leave of absence. The student is expected to provide documentation that the physical or mental health condition has been treated and symptoms that required withdrawal from the University are sufficiently resolved to allow the student to return to the University.

A Medical Leave of Absence is designed for academic purposes, not financial purposes; it allows the student the opportunity to protect their academic standing with the University by preventing the student from failing all courses for that semester. Providing that the requested withdrawal is approved, tuition charges will be adjusted if applicable and based on the regular, published, refund guidelines for all classes, effective as of the date the completed Medical Leave of Absence Request form was received by the Registrar’s Office.

Involuntary Medical Leave of Absence

Eastern Kentucky University may place a student on an Involuntary Medical Leave of Absence for reasons of personal or community safety. The University may require a student to take medical leave of absence, if in the judgment of the Student Assistance & Intervention Team (SAIT), and in coordination with the Director of Student Health Services and/or the Director of the EKU Counseling Center, the student:

poses a threat to the lives or safety of himself/herself or other members of the EKU community or
has displayed behaviors associated with a medical or mental health condition that seriously interferes with the student’s ability to function and/or seriously interferes with the educational pursuits of other members of the EKU community.

Military Withdrawals

An active duty military, National Guard, or reservist who is activated and/or deployed during the semester can receive a Military Withdrawal from all or some classes. These students should send an email requesting a Military Withdrawal to the Office of Military & Veterans Affairs (OMVA) at ekuvets@eku.edu and enclose a copy of their activation notification. Students who elect to enlist in the military during the semester are not eligible for a Military Withdrawal. Once verified by the OMVA, the Office of the Registrar will process the withdrawal which also triggers a 100% refund or reduction of tuition.

Stopping Out and Returning to EKU

Students who either stop out¹or officially withdraw² and are academically eligible to return to the University, may return to the University without reapplying if they have been gone for 24 or fewer months. All regular registration deadlines apply to stop-out students, and they should contact their last assigned advisor, or department chair of their major, to schedule an advising appointment in preparation for their return to EKU. To register for classes, students can log in to their EKU Direct account. Students with a registration hold must contact the office that applied the hold and have the hold removed before they will be able to register.

Students who stop out or are withdrawn for more than 24 months must be formally readmitted to the University by submitting a readmission application to the Office of Admissions. The academic record for withdrawn students must be reactivated before they can once again register for classes.

All students who have attended another college/university since attending Eastern Kentucky University, regardless the length of their absence, must submit college transcripts.

¹A student who completes a semester at Eastern Kentucky University but does not return for the following term is considered to have “stopped out.” Students whose enrollment was terminated for academic reasons do not qualify for stop out.
²Students who have received a “W” grade in all classes during a semester are considered to have “withdrawn” from the University.