Enrollment: Course drops and withdrawals based on personal crisis, medical and/or mental health reasons

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 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.

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.

Drops and Withdrawals