Course Drops and Withdrawals

Drops vs. Withdrawals

While the processes below may be like others across campus, information on this page applies specifically to students with a primary major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students in other academic colleges should contact their dean’s office for assistance.

A course drop is when you remove one or more classes – but not all of them – from your semester schedule.

A withdrawal is when you drop all courses attempted during a given semester, withdrawing from the university for that semester.

Dissatisfaction with a grade, grade disputes with an instructor, and the desire to raise one’s GPA are not themselves grounds for a course drop or withdrawal petition. As you review the information below, remember that course drop and withdrawal petitions must be supported by cause and term-specific supporting documentation demonstrating unforeseen circumstances beyond the student’s control which impacted their ability to perform academically.

Drops before and during drop/add, pre-7th-week drops, and late drops all initiated through your myFSU Student Center account.

Medical/mental health course drop/withdrawal petitions and post-7th-week deadline documented personal hardship course drop/withdrawal petitions are initiated by submitting the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) online petition form.

COAS Policy on grades:

The College of Arts and Sciences does not approve course drops for classes in which a student has earned credit if doing so would move a student further away from graduation by removing needed hours to complete degree requirements. Exceptions to this policy are limited to courses required for a student’s program of study at the time the course drop petition is submitted in which a student did not earn a required minimum grade, thus necessitating that the student would have to otherwise enroll in duplicate coursework.

Before and during Drop/Add

Go to Student Central > My Classes > Enrollment: Drop Classes. Select the correct semester.
If enrollment is still open or if drop/add has not ended, proceed with dropping courses.
If you are currently enrolled in courses for an upcoming semester and no longer wish to take any courses at FSU during that semester, email the FSU Registrar’s Office before 11:59 p.m. on the last day of Drop/Add, to request a schedule cancelation for that semester’s courses. You will not be able to drop your last class online and must request a Schedule Cancelation before the end of Drop/Add to avoid both fee and grade liability.

Pre-7th-week deadline (undergraduate only)

Course Drops

As an upper division undergraduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, you do not need the academic dean’s permission to drop a course prior to the posted 7th-week deadline associated with the course in question. Note that summer sessions have prorated 7th-week deadlines. You may proceed with dropping the course online by using the instructions found on Student Central:

Go to Student Central > My Classes > Enrollment: Drop Classes. Select the correct semester.
When your schedule appears on the screen, you must click the red “Click here to Drop a class for a closed enrollment term” button or the system will generate an error message.
Follow the prompts to complete the process.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals initiated through the FSU Office of Withdrawal Services prior to the 7th-week deadline will be approved by the COAS Student Affairs Office for upper-division undergraduate students without additional documentation. A withdrawal statement will appear on the student’s transcript, but no courses will be listed. Students remain fee liable for any courses withdrawn through this process.

Late Drop/pre-12th-week deadline (undergraduate only)

Students may use up to two late drops before earning 60 hours. Students who have 60 or more earned hours are permitted one late drop.

Go to Student Central > My Classes > Enrollment: Drop Classes. Select the correct semester.
When your schedule appears on the screen, you must click the red “Click here to Drop a class for a closed enrollment term” button or the system will generate an error message.
Follow the prompts to generate the drop form.
Email the generated Late Course Drop PDF drop form to the College of Arts and Sciences Student Affairs Office from your FSU email address prior to 11:59 p.m. on the posted 12th-week deadline associated with the course in question. Note that summer sessions have prorated 12th-week deadlines.
If you are using your late drop to drop your only course during a given semester, you should initiate the withdrawal by emailing College of Arts and Sciences Student Affairs Office before 11:59 p.m. on the 12th-week deadline associated with the course in question from your FSU email address. Note that summer sessions have prorated 12th-week deadlines. You should state that you wish to initiate a semester withdrawal for your only course using your late drop.
Once the posted 12th-week deadline has passed for a given semester/summer session, you may only petition for course drops/withdrawals based on medical, mental health, or documented unforeseen personal hardship.

Medical/mental health or personal hardship petitions

Students are allowed only two Late Course Drops during the first 60 semester hours of their stay at FSU, and only one Late Course Drop after earning 60 semester hours. Additional course drop/withdrawal requests beyond the allotted late drops will be considered only under documented extenuating circumstances, such as medical or mental health hardship. Examples of extenuating circumstances include:

Mental/mental health challenges for which the student received treatment during the semester impacted by those challenges. Documentation of the condition(s) is reviewed by medical/mental health professions through a formal university process.
Death in your immediate family (i.e., spouse, child, parents, siblings, maternal/paternal grandparents). Cousins, aunts, uncles, and great-grandparents are not included in the College of Arts and Sciences’ definition of “immediate family”. For a course drop to be approved due to a death in your immediate family, you must submit a petition accompanied by an official death certificate. Documentation provided must clearly show the relationship between the student and the deceased.
Involuntary call to active military duty
Other documented unforeseen extenuating circumstances outside of your control.

For students requesting course drop(s) or withdrawal(s) following the 12th week of the semester in question, retroactive course drop petitions are considered only within one calendar year of course enrollment.

Medical/mental health course drop/withdrawal petitions

For medical/mental health course drop requests, a member of the COAS Student Affairs Office, serving as your academic dean’s representative in this process, will email you the medical/mental health course drop packet to your FSU email address within 3-5 business days.
For medical/mental health withdrawals, a member of the COAS Student Affairs Office, serving as your academic dean’s representative in this process, will email you and the FSU Office of Withdrawal Services giving you permission to initiate a medical/mental health withdrawal if you have indicated that you received treatment during the semester in question for the medical/mental health challenges experienced during that semester.
Upon receiving a recommendation from the University’s Medical/Mental Health Course Drop/Withdrawal committee, the COAS Student Affairs Office will notify the student of the decision for the medical/mental health course drop/ withdrawal petition.

Post-7th-week personal hardship petitions

Once you have submitted your personal hardship course drop/withdrawal petition and supporting documentation using the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) online petition form, the COAS Course Drop/Withdrawal Committee will review your petition within 1-2 business weeks. If needed, the committee may request additional information or documentation from you.

A written appeal may be submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences Student Affairs Office after an initial review has been conducted by the College of Arts & Sciences Course Drop/Withdrawal Committee within 30 calendar days of the initial decision being communicated to the student. The written appeal must include NEW information and provide NEW documentation, beyond what was initially submitted.