Term Withdrawal

On this page:

• What is a term withdrawal
• Withdrawing before the term starts
• Withdrawing before the add/drop deadline
• Withdrawing before the last day of class
• Withdrawing after the last day of class
• Who to contact

What is a term withdrawal

A term withdrawal is when students drop all courses in a semester. The process varies based on when the student requests to withdraw.

To learn more about withdrawing from courses, please see Add/Drop.

Withdrawing before the term starts

If a student has not registered for the term, there is not a formal process to “withdraw” or take a “leave of absence”. If the student is in good academic standing, they are eligible to return to U-M at any time. See Returning Students to learn more. 

If a student has registered for the term, they can withdraw using any of the following options: 

• drop all of their courses in Wolverine Access
• contact the Office of the Registrar prior to the start of the term to disenroll
• E-mail a request to wolverineservices@umich.edu, including their full name, id number and term

Withdrawing before the add/drop deadline

Once the term has started, but before the add/drop deadline,

• The student would complete the "Request for Term Withdrawal" form in MyAdvising. 
• The student's transcript will not show that they registered that term. 
• Note: The student will pay a disenrollment fee and a registration fee. Contact the Office of the Registrar for fee amounts. 

Withdrawing before the last day of class

After the add/drop deadline, a student may request a term withdrawal for any reason through the last day of class. 

• The student would complete the “Request for Term Withdrawal” form in MyAdvising. 
• The student's transcript would show a W (“withdrew”) notation on their transcript for all courses in the term.
• While first-term students have individual late drop Ws removed from their official transcripts, this does not apply to term withdrawals. 
• The student will not earn credit or honor points for the Ws in the term. 
• The amount of tuition due varies based on the Office of the Registrar’s tuition calendar. 

Withdrawing after the last day of class

• A term withdrawal after the last day of class is a retroactive term withdrawal. 
• Retroactive term withdrawals are very rare and are only granted in cases where a serious, non-academic event made it impossible for the student to both withdraw by the deadline and complete their courses. 
• The student must have been passing the classes up to the point of the serious, non-academic event or issue. 
• Documentation is required.
• Students seeking a retroactive term withdrawal should complete the "Request for Retroactive Term Withdrawal" form in MyAdvising. 

Note:  

• Students on academic progress notice 1 who complete two consecutive full-term (Fall/Winter) withdrawals will be placed on academic progress notice2.
• Students on academic progress notice 2 who complete two consecutive full-term (Fall/Winter) withdrawals will be placed on academic recess and will not be eligible to enroll in class for one full calendar year. The semester the student returns to LSA, the student will be placed on academic progress notice 1.

Who to contact

• Office of the Registrar
• General advisor or major/minor advisor
• LSA Student Records: lsa.student.records@umich.edu

Related policies

• Add/Drop
• Repeating a Course
• Returning Students