Enrollment: Dropping or Withdrawing (Overview)

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.