Add, Drop or Withdraw from a Class

If you need to step away from the University please follow these steps first:

1. Submit your leave of absence request through NEST. Need Help? Here's a How To Guide
2. Meet with your academic advising or student success team and review your request.
3. Students who take a leave of absence for one semester do not need to apply for readmission and can simply register for the next upcoming semester during the registration period. 
4. Students who have officially withdrawn or been away for more than two semesters, must apply for readmission.

Graduate students should contact The Graduate Center for guidance.

Read the Leave of Absence Policy

Withdrawing from a course or the University can impact your tuition and fees, financial aid and academic progress. In some cases, you may still have a balance due or be required to return a portion of your financial aid even after you withdraw. 

Before the Semester Starts

• Tuition and fees charges are canceled by Student Accounts
  • Room and meal charges may be prorated if you were in on-campus housing. 
• Financial Aid awards are canceled by The Financial Aid Office.
• Courses do not appear on academic transcripts.

100% Tuition Refund Period

Session A: August 28–September 4
Session B: August 28–September 4
Session C: October 26–November 2

If you withdraw from all courses during this period:

• Tuition and fee charges are 100% canceled.
• A Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation is required based on your official withdrawal date. This calculation determines how much federal financial aid must be returned.
  • Undergraduate students: This may include Pell, SEOG, Stafford and/or PLUS Loans.
  • Graduate students: This may include Stafford and/or PLUS Loans.
• Withdrawing from some or all courses may impact your federal loan eligibility for the academic year.
• Undergraduate students receiving NJ State Aid: TAG, EOF, NJ STARS and/or Distinguished Scholarship funds not applied to billed charges must be canceled. State grants already credited to your bill must be adjusted according to NJHESAA policy.

Important: In many cases, you may still owe money to the University after withdrawing.

50% Tuition Refund Period

Session A: September 5–September 24
Session B: September 5–September 9
Session C: October 26-December 16

If you withdraw from all courses during this period:

• Tuition and fee charges are reduced by 50%.
• Courses receive a WD grade.
• A Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation is required based on your official withdrawal date to determine how much federal financial aid must be returned.
  • Undergraduate students: This may include Pell, SEOG, Stafford and/or PLUS Loans.
  • Graduate students: This may include Stafford and/or PLUS Loans.
• Withdrawing from some or all courses may impact your federal loan eligibility for the academic year.
• Undergraduate students receiving NJ State Aid: State aid not applied to billed charges must be canceled. State grants already credited to your bill must be adjusted according to NJHESAA policy.

Important: In many cases, you may still owe money to the University after withdrawing.

No Tuition Adjustment — R2T4 Calculation Still Required

Session A: September 25–November 2
Session B: September 10–September 26
Session C: November 11–November 22

If you withdraw from all courses during this period:

• Your billed tuition and fee charges do not change.
• A Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation is still required based on your official withdrawal date.
• Withdrawing from some or all courses may impact your federal loan eligibility for the academic year.
• Undergraduate students receiving NJ State Aid: Disbursed State grants are not changed. TAG, EOF, NJ STARS and/or Distinguished Scholarship funds that have not been applied to billed charges must be canceled.

Important: In many cases, you may still owe money to the University after withdrawing.

After the R2T4 Calculation Period

Session A: On or after November 3
Session B: On or after September 27
Session C: On or after November 23

If you withdraw from all courses during this period:

• Your billed tuition and fee charges do not change.
• A Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation is not required.
• Withdrawing from some or all courses may impact your federal loan eligibility for the academic year.
• Undergraduate students receiving NJ State Aid: Disbursed State grants are not changed. State aid that has not been disbursed is canceled.

Official Withdrawals

Official withdrawals is when you withdraw from ALL of your classes in NEST and complete the Withdrawal/Leave of Absence form for the semester in question.

The official withdrawal date is final and cannot be changed under any circumstances. If a student officially withdraws from the university, the Financial Aid Office must use this date to complete the required Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculations.

• An academic withdrawal or institutional refund granted by the University through an appeal is a separate process and does not affect the federal R2T4 calculation.
• If you can prove that you never attended the University, you must notify the Financial Aid Office immediately.

Unofficial Withdrawals

Unofficial Withdrawals is when a student leaves without notice or ends the semester with “0” credits through any combination of “F’s” and/or “WD’s” for all courses.

• A Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation will be required for applicable federal financial aid. The University may use the date that best represents your last documented date of attendance, including:
  • Your last date of an academically related activity
    • Examples of academic engagement: Academically related activities may include attending a class, submitting an assignment, taking an exam, participating in assigned webinars or group work and/or communicating with an instructor about academic topics.
    • Not considered academic engagement: Withdrawing from some courses (not all), living in campus housing, using a meal plan, logging into a class without participating and/or attending academic advising without academic discussion.
  • A date provided by an instructor
  • The midpoint of the semester
• Undergraduate students receiving NJ State Aid: TAG, EOF, NJ STARS, GSG and/or Distinguished Scholarship funds that have not been disbursed must be canceled according to NJHESAA policy.
  • If the University cannot document your last date of attendance in an academically related activity, 50% of your total State aid will be returned in accordance with NJHESAA policy.

Important: In many cases, you may still owe money to the University after an unofficial withdrawal.

Full-time students (12 credits or more) with disbursed State Grant funds who withdraws from some of classes during the tuition pro-ration period will lose a portion of State Grants and, in most cases, will owe money to the University. 

Withdrawing from some or all courses will impact federal loan eligibility for the academic year due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
 

If you need to withdraw for medical reasons you must first submit documentation to the Dean of Students. Requests are reviewed based on your situation and adjustments to tuition, housing or meals may be considered, however, there may be other requirements needed. 

Families: Due to FERPA, students must complete most schedule changes themselves.

Contact the Dean of Students Office

Read the Medical Withdraw Policy

Withdrawal dates may be different for courses or programs offered in a modular format, meaning courses that do not span the full semester. Federal financial aid is based on continued attendance in all of your scheduled modules. If you do not begin or complete a scheduled module, your financial aid may need to be recalculated.

Federal financial aid returned due to a withdrawal is calculated using the dates of your individual courses or program, in accordance with federal regulations.

What Happens If You Withdraw from a Modular Course?

You are considered to have withdrawn if you stop attending before completing the payment period, unless you:

• Successfully complete at least 6 credits during the payment period, or
• Successfully complete one course or a combination of courses that makes up 49% or more of the payment period.

If you officially withdraw from all modules or are considered to have stopped attending, the Financial Aid Office is required to complete a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation.

For the R2T4 calculation, your withdrawal date will be based on your last date of attendance or your official withdrawal date, whichever applies.

If you complete at least one module that spans 49% or more of the term, or complete all of your scheduled modules, you may not be considered withdrawn for federal financial aid purposes.