A student may drop any or all courses without academic penalty through the end of the first week of the fall or spring semester. The second day of classes is the deadline for summer sessions.
For regular semesters, students can withdraw from the university or individual courses after the first week up through the withdrawal passing deadline for that term (click on View Calendar for Add/Drop and Withdrawal Dates link for the current deadline dates).
Students are limited to a maximum of 16 hours of full course withdrawals during their time at the university.
Before withdrawing, students should discuss any potential withdrawal with their faculty, academic advisor, and financial aid counselor to consider possible alternatives and resources.
After the withdrawal passing deadline, a grade of “WF” will be assigned for each course withdrawal.
Earning a WF may affect you in other ways. We recommend researching any impact of this action on other parts of your academic career, such as financial aid and scholarship eligibility.
A student may withdraw failing from a course until 5 p.m. on the last day of classes. To withdraw failing, please email the Office of the Registrar from your UNCW email account with the subject "Withdraw Failing." In your email, you must include the following information:
If your request does not include this information or it is not sent from your UNCW email, your email will be returned for completion.
The Complete Term Withdrawal request for undergraduate students is available for the fall and spring terms and opens after the drop/add period ends. Full-term withdrawals will not count towards a student’s 16-hour course withdrawal threshold.
The Complete Term Withdrawal request is located in My Seaport in the Students tab under Academics. It must be submitted by the deadline indicated in the university calendar.
Sometimes, after the withdraw passing period has ended, a student may need to withdraw from all courses due to an extenuating circumstance. If this is the case, a student can submit an appeal to the associate dean for their college or the University College director, as appropriate. The associate dean or director may approve or deny this request.
Documented extenuating circumstances may include:
Poor standing in a course does not constitute an extenuating circumstance in and of itself. Withdrawals due to extenuating circumstances are still subject to all financial aid and SAP rules and calculations.
Students will submit the CHSSA Request to Withdraw for Extenuating Circumstances. Students should ask their medical provider to fill out the CHSSA Medical Provider Documentation if appropriate.
The written request with supporting documentation must be made as soon as possible. The last day of classes for the following regular semester is the latest a request can be considered.