Withdrawal and Dropping Courses

Authoritative information regarding withdrawal and readmission is published under Rules & Regulations VIII in the Catalog.

Authoritative information regarding withdrawal and readmission is published under Rules & Regulations VIII in the Catalog.

Catalog: Rules & Regulations VIII

Georgia Tech has one deadline for individual course drops and for complete withdrawals from the Institute. See the Academic Calendar for deadlines by term.

Academic Calendar

Students considering dropping a course are encouraged to read our blog regarding the pros and cons of that decision.

Important Policies

• All holds must be removed before a student can drop a course or withdraw from the Institute.
• After registration for a term is closed, a student must withdraw from all classes to receive a refund; there is no refund for a partial withdrawal from courses. In order to qualify for a refund, a student must completely withdraw from the Institute before the deadline.  Refunds are calculated on a prorated basis depending on the date of withdrawal. 
• International students (those on an F1 or J1 visa) should consult with the Office of International Education before adjusting their schedule to less than 12 hours. 
• Students who are full-time (enrolled in 12 hours, at least) and withdraw from a number of courses that lowers the semester total below 12 will no longer be considered full-time. For example, if a student is registered for 12 credit hours and then withdraws from one 3-credit-hour course, they will no longer be designated as full-time.
• If there is an alleged academic integrity violation pending, the student may not drop the course. The status of the alleged violation is defined as "pending" when an incident has been submitted to the Office of Student Integrity and has generated an electronic "suspected academic misconduct" notice that has been sent to the student. If the student is found responsible for any prohibited academic conduct, they will not be allow to drop the course.
• If the student is found responsible for any prohibited academic conduct in a class, they will also not be allow to withdraw from the term.
• After any transaction in the registration system, students must hit "submit" to ensure that the change is made in the database. Students should the review their schedules again, as indicated below, to make sure they are correct.
• After withdrawing from a class or from all classes, students are expected to print out their schedules, as described below, and keep a copy as a receipt verifying the action that was taken on that date. In the event of a system glitch, this will serve as proof of the intent to withdrawal or proof that the action was taken but not processed properly.

How to Withdraw from a Course and How to Withdraw from the Institute

1. When looking at the Register for Classes page, open the bottom panels to see the courses you have registered for.
2. If the courses marked in green under the Status column on the bottom right panel say “Registered”, and you want to withdraw, click the drop down under the Action column next to the Status column.
3. When clicking the Action column drop down you will see the option to Course Drop by Student. Select this option to withdraw from the course.
4. Once you have selected the Course Drop by Student, go to the bottom right of this panel where it says Submit and select it.
5. After selecting it, you have withdrawn from the course. The Status column should be highlighted in green stating “Withdrawn” as seen in photo below.
6. To withdraw from the Institute completely, simply follow the above steps for all selected courses. Once all courses have been withdrawn from your schedule, you have effectively withdrawn from the Institute.

Please note: The instructions are for students wishing to withdraw during the withdrawal period. To withdraw after the withdraw deadline, please consult your advisor.

How to withdraw from a course and how to withdraw from the Institute

Enrollment Status

Enrollment Status: Full-Time or Part-Time

Authoritative information regarding withdrawal and readmission is published under Rules & Regulations VIII in the Catalog.

Catalog: Rules & Regulations VIII

Georgia Tech has one deadline for individual course drops and for complete withdrawals from the Institute. See the Academic Calendar for deadlines by term.

Academic Calendar

Important Policies

• All holds must be removed before a student can drop a course or withdraw from the Institute.
• The amount of the student's refund will be based on the date she/he change the status of all courses to "course drop by student". Consult the Bursar's Office for more information about the refund policy.
  • Bursar's Office
• With the exception of part-time (i.e., students enrolled in 6 credit hours or fewer) graduate students, students who withdraw from the Institute must submit a "Petition to the Faculty" form to return the next term.
  • Petition to the Faculty Form

How to Withdraw from a Course and How to Withdraw from the Institute

1. When looking at the Register for Classes page, open the bottom panels to see the courses you have registered for.
2. If the courses are marked in green under the Status column on the bottom right panel say “Registered”, and you want to withdraw, click the drop down under the Action column next to the Status column.
3. When clicking the Action column drop down you will see the option to Course Drop by Student. Select this option to withdraw from the course.
4. Once you have selected the Course Drop by Student, go to the bottom right of this panel where it says Submit and select it.
5. After selecting it, you have withdrawn from the course. The Status column should be highlighted in green stating “Withdrawn” as seen in photo below.
6. To withdraw from the Institute completely, simply follow the above steps for all selected courses. Once all courses have been withdrawn from your schedule, you have effectively withdrawn from the Institute.

Please note: The instructions are for students wishing to withdraw during the withdrawal period. To withdraw after the withdraw deadline, please consult your advisor.

How to withdraw from a course and how to withdraw from the Institute

Enrollment Status

Enrollment Status: Full-Time or Part-Time

Students who have been called to active duty in the United States Military and wish to withdraw from school will need to provide the following documentation to the Registrar's Office:

1. a request that includes the student's full name, gtID#, and signature
2. a copy of the orders
3. a mailing address to which the refund is to be mailed

The documents should be submitted to the Registrar's Office in room 104 of the Tech Tower (Administration Building), faxed to 404-894-0167, or emailed to comments@registrar.gatech.edu. 

The student will receive the appropriate refund and their schedule will be deleted. No "W" grades will be posted to the student's academic record.

The following is applicable to all terms (including summer), and to all students (both undergraduate and graduate).

Students scheduled for at least 12 credit hours in a semester are classified as full-time students; those scheduled for 6-11 hours are classified as part-time students; and those scheduled for 1-5 hours are classified as less-than-part-time students.

A "Petition to the Faculty" form may be completed by a student when asking for an exception to an Institute rule or policy. Some examples of exception requests include:

• To withdraw from school past the deadline
• To be readmitted after being placed on DROP status
• To extend the time to complete a thesis
• To be granted an individual course substitution
• To be granted full graduate standing

All "Petition to the Faculty" forms must be completed by the student and signed by all appropriate offices. Instructions for completion are printed on the form. Blank forms can be obtained in the Student Records Office in Room 104 of the Tech Tower (Administration Building), or by clicking the link above. Once completed and reviewed by the major school, these forms should be submitted to the Registrar's Office via email to Comments@registrar.gatech.edu. Students should submit the "Petition to the Faculty" and any supporting documentation five working days prior to the committee meeting.

These petitions are reviewed and acted upon by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee or the Graduate Curriculum Committee.

Dates of the committee meetings are published in the Academic Calendar for the term. Results will be available the following day and students will be notified by email.

Academic Calendar

In addition, students can obtain their results by visiting the Registrar's Office or calling 404-385-6519.

Important Supplemental Information

Guidelines for Students Preparing Petitions

Mental Health Guidelines

The Bursar's Office is committed to ensuring financial integrity in the receipt, collection and deposit of all revenues, including tuition and fees, while providing the highest level of professional, efficient, and responsive customer service. We continue to seek new and improved ways to meet this commitment.