Withdrawal

Withdrawal from a Course

Once Final Registration (add/drop) has ended, the withdrawal period begins. Students wishing to withdraw must contact their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor to discuss any impacts of the withdrawal on their academic progress. Students must initiate the withdrawal through the Duquesne Portal > Registration. The withdrawal is effective on the date the withdrawal was submitted. The university does not grant withdrawals for prior semesters. (Students must contact their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor for summer class withdrawals.)

Students seeking to withdraw from a course may do so up to the deadline as published in the Academic Calendar. (Withdrawal dates vary based on class length.) First-semester freshmen and first-semester transfer students may withdraw from a course up to the last class meeting and will receive a grade of "W".

If the withdrawal deadline according to the Academic Calendar has passed, students must contact the Coach/advisor to proceed with the withdrawal. Students must obtain the approval of their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor, the course instructor, and the dean of the school in which the student is enrolled. Students whose withdrawal requests are not approved are still considered to be enrolled and responsible for payment and will receive final grades.

Refunds are not issued for course withdrawals in the fall and spring terms but may be issued in the summer based on the summer refund schedule. The withdrawal deadline varies for full-term courses and accelerated courses. Please check the Academic Calendar for the dates. All course withdrawals result in a final grade of "W" on the transcript.

Students who are in violation of the University's Academic Integrity Policy are not permitted to withdraw from a course to avoid sanctions.

Under no circumstance may a student withdraw from a course after it has ended or after the final exam has been given.

Complete Withdrawal from the University

Once Final Registration (add/drop) has ended, the withdrawal period begins. Students wishing to withdraw must contact their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor to discuss any impacts of the withdrawal on their academic progress. Students must initiate the withdrawal through the Duquesne Portal > Registration. (Students must contact their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor for summer class withdrawals.) The withdrawal is effective on the date the withdrawal was submitted. The university does not grant withdrawals for prior semesters.

Students seeking to withdraw from the term or from the university may do so up to the deadline as published in the Academic Calendar. (Withdrawal dates vary based on class length.) First-semester freshmen and first-semester transfer students may withdraw from a course up to the last class meeting and will receive a grade of "W".

Students are considered to be enrolled unless and until they submit a withdrawal. The withdrawal is effective on the date the withdrawal was submitted. The university does not grant withdrawals for prior semesters.

Notification of the intent not to attend received after the add/drop deadline will be processed as a complete withdrawal and is subject to the University's official withdrawal policy which includes varying levels of financial obligation depending on the formal date of withdrawal. With regard to complete withdrawal from all courses in a term, students are issued a refund in accordance with the Tuition Refund Schedule (see Academic Calendar). However, fees are not refunded. The withdrawal initiation date will be used as the formal separation date from the University and to determine whether a refund will be issued. All course withdrawals result in final grades of "W" on the transcript with the exception of any completed coursework from an accelerated-term class which has already been graded.

When a student's attendance is involuntarily terminated because of personal disability arising from injury or illness, any remission of tuition beyond what is described in the Tuition Refund Schedule is subject to the approval of the Academic Dean, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Vice President for Management and Business (see Medical Withdrawal).

Active Duty for Military Personnel and Spouses

In the case when a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States is called or ordered to active duty, the member or the spouse of a member may take leave from the University with no penalty. When a student is called to duty during a registered term, the registration may be cancelled or withdrawn, and tuition and fees for the term refunded. If withdrawn, final grades of "M" (Military Withdrawal) will be recorded on the official transcript for the term's unfinished coursework.

In such circumstances, the student or spouse must contact the Student Success Coach or graduate advisor to proceed with the withdrawal. Students must provide a copy of the orders, and the service dates must coincide or overlap with the enrollment dates for the term in question. If the date referenced in the call to duty is prior to the first day of class or during the add/drop period for the term, the registration will be cancelled. If the date is after the add/drop period up through and including the last day of the term, the student will be withdrawn from all courses resulting in "M" grades for the semester.

Medical Withdrawal

Definition

Duquesne University students may apply for a medical withdrawal due to extreme illness, serious injury, or extended hospitalization. Because a medical withdrawal affects academic progress, students are encouraged to consider other options that might enable them to remain enrolled (such as "I" or "incomplete" grades that would enable them to complete coursework after the end of the semester). Students should consult their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor, the Office of Student Financial Aid, the Office of International Programs and other offices as appropriate.

Medical withdrawals constitute complete withdrawals and result in final grades of "W" in all courses on the transcript for the semester in question. Except in extraordinary circumstances (e.g., clinical-setting coursework with specific physical or mobility requirements), the University does not grant partial medical withdrawals (i.e., requests to withdraw from some courses but not others). In exceptional cases, the dean may present whether extraordinary circumstances exist to support a partial medical withdrawal. The only exception to a partial medical withdrawal is if the student has already completed one or more accelerated (i.e., 8-week) courses, in which case the grades earned in all such courses remain on the student's transcript and the associated costs are included when calculating the student's account balance; the medical withdrawal results in final grades of "W" for all other courses on the transcript.

Withdrawal

Students having to withdraw from the term must first initiate the withdrawal through the Duquesne Portal > Registration. Students are considered to be enrolled unless and until the withdrawal is submitted. The withdrawal is effective on the date when notification is received, which constitutes the student's last day of attendance.

The university does not grant withdrawals for prior semesters.

If the student is unable to initiate the withdrawal process, or if the withdrawal deadline has passed, the authorization to withdraw the student from the term may be communicated to the Student Success Coach or graduate advisor in the form of an email message sent from the student’s Duquesne University email account, or in the form of a signed, hard copy document to the Coach or advisor. Alternatively, the student's school or college office, parent, spouse, partner, or other designee may do so on their behalf. In such cases, the incapacitation of the student must be documented or a formal power of attorney provided.

Medical Documentation

Once the withdrawal is submitted, the student should a written request for a medical withdrawal to their Student Success Coach or graduate advisor no later than the last day of classes for the semester to which the withdrawal would apply. To qualify for a medical withdrawal, the student must also submit to the dean of their school or college (a) a description of the medical circumstances and (b) documentation from a licensed healthcare provider that addresses those circumstances and supports withdrawal as medically appropriate. After verifying the illness, injury, or hospitalization, the dean submits the documentation to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for review and a final decision.

Consequences

The approval of a medical withdrawal results in the immediate assignment of a final grade of "W" for the relevant courses on the transcript and an automatic review of the whether the student may qualify for a partial tuition refund (see "Refunds" below).

The University reserves the right to require that a student who receives a medical withdrawal provide documentation from a healthcare provider that he or she is approved to reenroll in a subsequent semester. If a student is not yet fit to reenroll, the student may request a Medical Leave of Absence, which may be granted based upon certification by a licensed healthcare provider.

Refunds

The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs advises the Vice President for Management and Business whether any tuition for the current semester should be refunded to a student whose request for a medical withdrawal is approved.

Based upon the effective date of the medical withdrawal (see under "Withdrawal" above), refunds will be calculated by the offices of Student Accounts and Financial Aid as follows:

For the first four weeks of the semester, refunds follow the standard refund policy (see the "Total Withdrawal" deadlines listed in the Academic Calendar).
From the fifth through the eighth week of the semester, refunds will be limited to 20%.
From the ninth through the twelfth week, refunds will be limited to 10% and any already graded accelerated courses will be billed at the full per-credit rate.
After the twelfth week, no refunds will be due.

Any reduction to Title IV funds will be determined using the Federal Financial Aid pro rata refund policy. University gift aid and all other non-Title IV financial aid will be reduced by the same percentage as the tuition reduction and returned to the source of the funds in question. Laboratory fees, University fees, housing costs and fees, refunds prior to withdrawal, and any other fees already committed by the University on behalf of the student will not be refunded.

Refunds due as the result of a medical withdrawal will be paid to the student within ten business days after the credit balance is created for the semester for which the medical withdrawal was approved.