Learn more about Central Michigan University's drop and withdrawal procedures, including extenuating circumstances.
Dropping or withdrawing from a course could have a major impact. Before deciding, we strongly advise you to contact the appropriate departments to assist you in making the best decision for your individual circumstances.
You must drop a course before the published drop deadline in Course Search and Registration. Courses dropped will be removed from your academic history and tuition will be adjusted to reflect a 100% cancelation of tuition charges.
After the drop deadline has passed, you may still have the option to withdraw from a course if you do so before the published withdrawal deadline. To withdraw means the course will be graded with a "W." A course with a grade of "W" does not impact your GPA.
Instructors will be notified of the course withdrawal. In cases involving academic dishonesty, the instructor will notify the Registrar's Office to reinstate the course and the instructor will submit the final grade.
Students may withdraw from all on-campus courses through the 10th week of classes using the complete withdrawal functionality in Course Search and Registration.
The instructor will be notified of the course withdrawal. In cases of academic dishonesty, the instructor will inform the Registrar’s Office to reinstate the course and will submit the final grade.
Students withdrawing from all on-campus courses between the 11th week and the Sunday of the 14th week of the semester must contact the Records Department in the Registrar’s office.
A grade of "W" will be assigned for passing work of D- or better and E’s for failing work. During this period, students enrolled in a CR/NC only course will receive W’s for passing work C or better and a grade of E (which is converted to NC) for failing work. The Registrar’s Office will contact each instructor to verify whether or not the student is earning a passing grade.
No student may withdraw from all classes during the week preceding the final examination week.
During the 10th through the 25th calendar day from the official start date of a semester, students are permitted to offset credits and course fees with the recommendation of academic advisors and academic department chairs. Students must meet all the academic standards for the new course or have an approved exception. For credits or fees added more than credits dropped, additional tuition and fees must be paid. Likewise, any offset resulting in a lower tuition and fee charge will be credited to the student’s account if applicable.
Refer to the complete Offset Policy.
* Effective Fall 2023 - All appeals must be submitted no later than September 30 for the previous Fall, Spring, and/or Summer semesters.
Under unusual circumstances, you may submit an appeal to the Registrar’s Office. The unforeseen circumstances must have prevented you from dropping or withdrawing before the published course deadline.
Supporting documentation is required and must be included with your exception form. Documentation must clearly identify relevant names and dates of occurrence to support your request.
Exceptions may be considered with appropriate supporting documentation, such as:
Providing clear and timely documentation will help us review your request as quickly as possible.
Please be aware that exceptions are typically not granted for the following reasons:
We encourage you to review deadlines carefully each semester and speak with your academic advisor as early as possible if you are experiencing challenges.
An appeal may take up to 3–4 weeks to be reviewed. Decisions will be sent to your CMU email.
Please note, approved appeals will be reviewed by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to determine if an adjustment to federal, state, and/or institutional aid is required. All adjustments are in accordance with federal regulations and institutional policy and will be assessed on an individual basis.