Withdrawal Information

Complete semester withdrawals

Students may submit withdrawal requests online in Course Search and Registration or by contacting the Registrar's Office.

Please see the Registrar's Office website for withdrawal deadlines and policies about tuition credits.

Withdrawal appeals

Under unusual circumstances, a student may submit an appeal* to the Registrar. The circumstances must have prevented the student from dropping/withdrawing prior to the published deadline of the course. Visit the Registrar's Office Drop & Withdrawal Information website and scroll to the bottom of the page for additional information and an appeal form. Please allow 3-4 weeks for consideration.

Residence life

Contact your Residence Hall Director or the Office of Residence Life to discuss termination of your housing and/or meal plan agreement. A contract breakage fee may apply.

Financial aid

Students utilizing any form of financial aid should be sure to understand both the current-term and continuing eligibility implications of a withdrawal from classes.

Title IV funds

Title IV funds include Federal Student Aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Initial eligibility is determined annually with the filing of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Title IV sources of financial aid and loans include: 

• Subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
• Graduate PLUS loans
• Parent PLUS loans
• Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
• TEACH Grants
• Iraq/Afghanistan Services Grants

Withdrawal counseling

If you are considering a withdrawal from classes, book an appointment or contact (989) 774-3618 where a Student Service Advisor will detail the financial aid and billing considerations unique to your circumstances. 

Title IV policies and procedures

Official withdrawals

A student is officially withdrawn when they have withdrawn from their last enrolled class in a semester and either do not plan to attend another course within 45 days in the same semester or can no longer register for additional courses unless the student - 

• completes half-time enrollment in a semester with passing grades, or
• completes one or more modules* that include 49% or more of the number of days in the semester with a passing grade.

*A module is any course that does not span the entire length of a semester, such as an eight-week online course.

Unofficial withdrawals / Unofficial enrollment adjustments

Title IV regulations mandate that last dates of attendance are reported for courses where unsatisfactory (E, NC) and incomplete (I, Z) grades are assigned. To comply with this regulation, professors are required to include your last date of participation in an academic activity when one of these grades is submitted.  For distance education courses, participation will be verified using data obtained from Blackboard.

Note: introductory posts in an online course do not count as academic activity.

Incompletes

When an incomplete (I, Z) grade is not converted to a satisfactory grade within 45 days of the end of a semester, a Return to Title IV Funds calculation may be required, depending on the last date(s) of attendance reported. 

Unsatisfactory grades

Any courses graded unsatisfactorily (E, NC) and reported as never attended are reviewed for whether enrollment-level adjustments (full-time to half-time, half-time to less than half-time, etc.) to Title IV awards will need to be retroactively made.

Other courses graded unsatisfactorily will be reviewed for last dates of attendance and a Return to Title IV Funds calculation will be performed where required by Federal Student Aid Rules.

Last date of attendance disputes

In cases where last dates of attendance reported with unsatisfactory and incomplete grades require a Return of Title IV Funds adjustment and a student wishes to dispute the information reported, they must work with the professor(s) that submitted the grade(s) and attendance information. 

In most cases, students will have six weeks from the date of notification that a Return of Title IV Funds adjustment has been made to appeal. Professor(s) must contact the Registrar's Office directly to submit such a change to their original last date of attendance report(s).

Return of Title IV funds

The university is required by law to perform a Return to Tile IV Funds (R2T4) calculation to determine the percentage and amount of aid that a student earned when they have not completed at least 60% of the length of their semester enrolled and do not meet one of the official withdrawal exceptions for students enrolled in module courses. Students will receive electronic notification of when a Return to Title IV Funds adjustment has been made.

R2T4 procedures

• The institution will determine the last date the student participated in an academic activity based on professors' report(s) and/or withdrawal date(s). 
• A pro rata calculation is performed to determine how much of any Title IV funds disbursed were earned by the student, based on the percentage of the semester attended. 
  • Once a student has completed more than 60% of their semester, no Return to Title IV Funds calculation is required. Federal Student Aid rules stipulate that students attending at least 60% of their semester have earned 100% of any Title IV funds disbursed for the period.
  • The percentage completed is determined by dividing the total number of calendar days in the student's semester by the number of days completed. Scheduled breaks of five or more days are excluded.
• Amounts determined by an R2T4 calculation as unearned will be returned by CMU to the Department of Education on a student's behalf. Charges corresponding to the amounts determined will be placed on a student's account when funds have been returned. Loan amounts deemed unearned will be canceled at the point of origination. 
• Any student account balance due as a result of a Return of Title IV Funds calculation must be repaid within the next monthly statement cycle. 

Post withdrawal disbursements

In cases where a student withdrew from Central Michigan University prior to receiving the full amount of financial aid they were eligible for, they may be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. The amount of aid a student is eligible to receive as a post-withdrawal disbursement is determined by the Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation.

To receive a post-withdrawal disbursement, students must meet the conditions for late disbursement (34 CFR 668.164(j)). Additionally, a post-withdrawal disbursement cannot be made under the following conditions:

• Second or subsequent Direct Loan disbursement to, or on behalf of, a student who did not graduate or successfully complete the loan period.
• Direct Loan or Perkins Loan disbursement to a borrower who has not signed their promissory note.
• TIV Funds disbursements for students that do not have a valid ISIR or SAR with the University by deadline published by the Department of Education (34 CFR 668.164(j)).

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements – Grants

In accordance with Federal regulations, post-withdrawal disbursements will be made from available grant funds before available loan funds (34 CRF 668.22 (a)(6)). Central Michigan University may disburse post-withdrawal disbursements of grant funds directly to student accounts, without obtaining confirmation from the student.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements – Loans

In accordance with Federal regulations, post-withdrawal disbursements from loan funds will only be disbursed to students or parents (in the case of PLUS loans) after obtaining confirmation from the borrower that they wish to receive the loan (34 CRF 668.22 (a)(6)).

If a student or parent is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds, a letter will be mailed to them within 30 days of their withdrawal, providing the borrower the opportunity to accept all or part of a post-withdrawal disbursement of their loan funds.

Timeframe for return to Title IV adjustments

Central Michigan University must return any unearned TIV funds the university is responsible for within 45-days of determining the student withdrew (34 CFR 668.22 (j)).

Post-withdrawal disbursements of loan funds (If applicable) must be made as soon as possible but no later than 180 days after the date school determined student withdrew, in accordance with required for disbursing Title IV funds (34 CFR 668.164 (j)). Post-withdrawal disbursements of grant funds (If applicable) must be made as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date school determined student withdrew, in accordance with required for disbursing Title IV funds (34 CFR 668.164 (j)).

Order of return

In accordance with Federal regulations outlined in 34 CFR 668.22(i), R2T4 funds are returned in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
2. Subsidized Federal Direct Loans
3. Federal Direct PLUS (GRAD)
4. Federal Direct PLUS (Parent)
5. Pell Grant
6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
7. TEACH Grant
8. Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant

Satisfactory academic progress

Your withdrawal — whether official or unofficial — may impact your Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Federal regulations (HEA Sec 484(c)) require that Central Michigan University monitor the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) of all students regardless of whether they have received financial aid in previous semesters. These financial aid requirements are separate from students' academic requirements. To maintain eligibility for federal student aid, as well as most state and institutional aid programs, there are three distinct criteria that must be monitored and met.

SAP will be monitored at the end of each semester.  A student's eligibility for financial aid may be in jeopardy for the next semester if SAP is not met.

• Qualitative standard: Undergraduate students must maintain a 2.00 cumulative GPA; a graduate or doctoral student must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA. 
• Quantitative standard: Must meet both Pace and Maximum time frame. 
  • Pace: Complete and pass a minimum of 67% of cumulative attempted hours. (Please note that 66.6% is rounded up to 67%).
  • Maximum time frame standard: The number of attempted credits in which a student is expected to finish a program cannot exceed 150 percent of the published length of the program (this includes credit hours transferred to CMU). Total credit hour limits apply whether or not the student has actually received financial aid for the entire time at CMU. (for example: if your program requires 124 credits minimum x 150% = 186 credit hours total attempted).

You may review the complete SAP policy here.