Withdrawal Information

  1. Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid
  2. Understanding Financial Aid
  3. Withdrawal Information

Dropping Courses

If you drop a course during the Drop/Add period and you are no longer enrolled full-time (undergraduate 12 credits - graduate/doctoral 9 credits), your current financial aid may be impacted. If you withdraw from a course after the Drop/Add period, your current and future aid eligibility may be affected. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions on how this may impact your aid. Please contact the Student Billing Office if you have questions on how this will impact your charges.

Withdrawing from the University

Withdrawing from the university is an important decision that may have financial implications for you to deal with in the future. Feel free to speak to someone in the Financial Aid Office if you have questions on how this may impact your aid or the Student Billing Office if you have questions on how this will impact your charges.

Notice: Using your Banner account to withdraw from all of the courses you are enrolled in is effectively a withdraw from Commonwealth University.

Adjustment to University Charges

If you withdraw from the university prior to the end of the fifth week of the semester you may be due a refund of money paid to the university. This refund policy has been established in accordance with regulations governing the State System of Higher Education. A copy of this policy is emailed to students at their university email account at the beginning of each semester.

Adjustment to Your Financial Aid

By withdrawing from the university during the semester, your financial aid (Federal Title IV Aid Programs) that you have earned up to that date is determined by a specific formula. Basically, if you only complete a certain percentage of the semester, there will be only a certain percentage of aid awarded.

If you receive financial aid funds from the Federal Title IV Aid Programs and withdraw from the university, a portion of these funds may need to be returned to the federal government as follows:

  • If you withdraw before completing 60 percent of the semester, you are only entitled to financial aid based on the percentage of time that was completed.
  • If you withdraw from the university after 60 percent of the semester has been completed, you are entitled to 100 percent of the federal financial aid that was awarded.
  • PHEAA may still require a reduction of the Pennsylvania State Grant if your charges are reduced as a result of a withdrawal from one or more classes or a complete withdrawal from the university.
  • If you borrowed from the federal loan programs and withdraw from the university, you must repay these loans according to the terms of the promissory note.
  • Financial aid funds that must be returned as a result of a withdrawal must be done in the following order:
    1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan
    2. Federal Direct Subsidized Student Loan
    3. Federal Direct PLUS/Grad PLUS Loan
    4. Federal Pell Grant
    5. Federal SEOG Grant
    6. Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant
  • Federal Work-Study program funds are not subject to these refund provisions.
  • If federal financial aid funds have already been credited to your account and you withdraw from the university before completing the time needed to "earn the financial aid", these funds may be withdrawn from your account, thus leaving an outstanding balance to the university.
  • If financial aid funds are given to you to be used for non-institutional costs of education (i.e. an off-campus apartment, food, books, etc.), a portion of these funds may also need to be returned to satisfy the overpayment.

Calculation of Number of Days in Semester for Title IV Withdrawal Refund Purposes

An example of the Return to Title IV (R2T4) formula follows:
If the semester contains 100 days and the student withdraws from university on the 56 day of the semester, a R2T4 calculation is necessary because the student did not complete at least 60% of the semester. Because the withdrawal takes place after university’s refund period, tuition and fees are not adjusted. If in this example a student receives payment of a $1000 Pell Grant and $2500 Direct Student Loan, the student has earned only 56% of these funds or $1960 (.56 x $3500). The remaining funds must be returned to the federal program based on the above distribution sequence. The calculation may require repayment of these funds by the school, the student, or by both. If funds are removed from the student’s account and returned to Title IV, the student may have an outstanding balance with the university.

Failure of All Courses

Students who received federal financial aid funds and fail to earn a passing grade in any course will be reviewed at the end of the semester. If it is determined that a student failed to complete at least 60% of the semester as evidenced by class attendance, completion of a test or quiz or some other academic exercise, financial aid will be reduced in proportion to the amount of the semester that was actually completed. If a student began the semester and a last date of enrollment cannot be determined because of an unofficial withdrawal, return of financial aid will be calculated at the 50% rate. If a student did not begin the semester all federal financial aid funds disbursed to the student’s account or directly to the student will be returned.

Notice: Students who withdraw from a course, withdraw from the university, or fail a course(s) should review the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy as to what affect this may have on future financial aid eligibility.

Steps to Withdrawing from Commonwealth University

In order to withdraw from the university, you must complete the following steps:

  • Once you officially decide to withdraw from Commonwealth University, you must "raise your hand" in CU Succeed using the "I am Officially Withdrawing from Commonwealth University" option to alert the Registrar's Office of your decision.
  • Complete the Student Exit Form in CU Succeed.
  • Completing the withdraw process requires logging into CU Succeed. If you are unsure of your login information please attempt a password reset, or contact the IT department for assistance.

Before You Withdraw - Discuss Your Options

If you need additional support, consider making an appointment with the following campus resources:

How to Withdraw

  1. Raise your hand in CU Succeed and select "I am Officially Withdrawing from Commonwealth University" to alert the Registrar's Office of your official decision.
  2. Complete the Commonwealth University Student Exit Form in CU Succeed Student Surveys.
  1. The Registrar will reach out to faculty to determine the last date of attendance which will be used to determine the withdrawal date. This date will be used to calculate any refunds of charges (if applicable) based upon the refund schedule. It will also be used to determine any adjustments to Federal Student Aid.
  2. More information about the withdrawal policy can be found here.

After You Withdraw 

  1. Official confirmation of your withdrawal will come to your CU email address.
  2. Check your Banner portal to confirm all financial information looks correct. Additional changes may continue to appear several weeks after you withdraw. Contact the Student Billing Office with account questions or to talk through payment plan options.
  3. Update and/or confirm your permanent address listed in Banner. This is used for future mailings or as the forwarding address for any on-campus residence.
  4. If you've accepted financial aid, contact the Financial Aid Office at FinancialAid@commonwealthu.edu to let them know you've withdrawn. If you plan to return, ask how to apply for future financial aid packages.
  5. If you've accepted a scholarship, contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss how this impacts your scholarships.
  6. If you have a federal loan, you must complete direct loan exit counseling.
  7. If you're a student employee, you must stop working as of the date you withdraw unless you have a non-work-study position. Contact your office of employment to notify them of your withdrawal. Update and/or confirm your address is correct in Employee Self-Service (ESS) to ensure tax paperwork will go to the correct address.
  8. If you live in on-campus housing, complete the housing release form to cancel your housing contract. Notify the Residence Life staff member of your building, remove all belongings by the effective release date, return any temp cards or apartment mail keys to residence life staff or at the Office of Housing and Residence Life (housing@commonwealthu.edu or 800-287-7543).
  9. If you're in a Learning Community, contact the Learning Community Office at learningcommunities@commonwealthu.edu.
  10. If you have any outstanding Student Conduct requirements or sanctions, please contact the Office of Student Conduct at deanofstudents@commonwealthu.edu or 570-389-4734.
  11. If you want to return textbooks or complete book buy back, refer to the University Store return policy and contact the store at 570-389-4175 with questions. 
  12. If you have unpaid parking citations, pay them at The Permit Store or visit the University Police office on your campus if you have questions.
  13. If you need to return library books or pay overdue book fines, contact your campus library or text 570-266-7928 for help.
  14. If you purchased any tickets for program board, athletic, or performing arts events, contact each respective office to inquire about refund options.
  15. If you want to order an official transcript, log into Banner.

How to Return to the University

Students looking to return to the university after withdrawing can find more information about the readmission process or you can contact the Admissions Office at admissions@commonwealthu.edu or 570-389-4316.

You can check your application status in Banner or you can connect with an admissions counselor.

Graduate Students can contact gradadmissions@commonwealthu.edu or 570-389-4015 for more information.