Withdrawal Form

Student Withdrawal Policy

1. For purposes of this policy, any termination of a student’s enrollment other than graduation will be considered a withdrawal from the institution in keeping with federal Title IV guidelines. Short-term leaves of absence granted by school officials that do not prevent the student from completing the academic term are not considered withdrawals.


2. Types of withdrawals:
   a) Voluntary withdrawal from the institution by a student will be considered a student initiated withdrawal.
   b) Any withdrawal initiated by the institution will be considered an administrative withdrawal.


3. A student may initiate their own withdrawal by providing official notice to the designated office in their school. The designated offices for each school are: Allied Health Sciences – Dean or Associate Dean; Dentistry – Associate Dean for Admissions, Student Affairs & Alumni; Graduate Studies – Associate Dean; Medicine – Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs; Nursing – Vice Dean. Graduate nursing students should provide official notice to the Vice Dean in the School of Nursing. Faculty and staff in all other areas must refer any student who expresses an unequivocal intent to withdraw to the designated office in their school. While students may be encouraged to discuss their withdrawal with faculty and others, the only step a student must take to initiate a withdrawal is to provide official notice to the designated office within their school.


4. The authority to withdraw a student for disciplinary, academic, or other appropriate reasons rests with the dean of the school in which the student is enrolled. The dean may delegate this authority to one or more individuals within the school. Any withdrawal initiated by the dean or her or his designee shall be considered an administrative withdrawal. Students who are withdrawn as the result of disciplinary, academic, or other reasons may appeal the withdrawal. During the appeal process, students may or may not be allowed to attend courses at the discretion of the dean or his or her designee. In the case of an appeal, the student’s withdrawal date will be the last date of participation in academic activities.


5. The authority to withdraw a student for failure to comply with selected administrative policies and procedures rests with the Registrar. The Registrar may administratively withdraw a student for failure to pay tuition and fees, failure to meet the conditions of a provisional acceptance, failure to meet institutional requirements for immunizations, or failure to comply with other administrative requirements for admission or continued enrollment. Any withdrawal initiated by the Registrar shall be considered an administrative withdrawal. Students who are withdrawn by the Registrar may only be re-admitted when they provide documentation that they have complied with the administrative policy in question. Students may be readmitted by the Registrar as soon as the student demonstrates compliance with the policy or regulation in question.


6. When any faculty or staff member determines that a student has withdrawn without giving official notice, they should notify the designated office (see item #3, above) in the student’s school within two business days. In all cases, faculty and staff must identify any student who has withdrawn without notice no later than thirty days after (1) the end of the student’s enrollment period; (2) the end of the student’s academic year; or, (3) the end of the student’s educational program; whichever comes first. The school’s designated office must then provide a completed Withdrawal Form to the Office of the Registrar within two business days of the date they received notice that a student has withdrawn without giving official notice.


7. All withdrawing students must complete the checkout steps required by the Office of the Registrar or other MCG offices.


8. Students who wish to rescind their official notice of withdrawal may do so only with the permission of the appropriate school official (see item #3, above). The designated school official will provide written notice to the Office of the Registrar to reinstate the student as soon as possible, but within two business days, and the Registrar will notify all other appropriate campus offices.


9. A completed Withdrawal Form must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar for any student withdrawal including administrative withdrawals for academic, disciplinary, or other appropriate reasons. For administrative withdrawals, the Withdrawal Form must be submitted to the Registrar within two business days of the time the student ceases participation in the academic activities of the institution.


10. Withdrawn students are not eligible to participate in educational or co-curricular activities of the institution and are not eligible to use services including but not limited to Student Health, Student Housing, the Wellness Center, or campus parking.


11. There is no institution-wide leave of absence policy. Individual schools may develop and implement leave of absence policies that meet the educational needs of students and the demands of the curriculum. Any student granted a leave of absence by a school must also withdraw from the Medical College of Georgia in order to comply with Title IV guidelines. Students who withdraw from the Medical College of Georgia without being granted a leave of absence are not eligible for readmission to the degree program from which they withdrew. Students who withdraw without being granted a leave of absence may apply for admission by submitting the appropriate application for admission as a first time student and following standard admissions procedures. Exceptions to this requirement may be made by the dean of the school in which the student was enrolled. No withdrawn student will be allowed to re-enroll in the program from which he or she withdrew unless the dean or his or her designee provides written permission for the student to re-enroll.


12. The Medical College of Georgia will comply with all stipulations and requirements for the awarding of Title IV student financial aid funds to students at MCG. Upon the withdrawal of a student, MCG practices and procedures for the return of Title IV funds will be initiated in order to insure complete and total compliance with federal regulations. In the event that a student is a recipient of Title IV funds and an unearned portion of those Title IV funds must be returned to a lender or other entity upon the student’s withdrawal, all offices involved in the withdrawal, the evaluation of the student’s Title IV status, and the return of Title IV funds will take timely and immediate actions to ensure institutional compliance with federal regulations. The authority to determine a student’s withdrawal date, and the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew, rests with the Office of the Registrar.


13. With the approval of the appropriate school or departmental officials, students may drop individual courses. Students may not, however, drop all of their courses. Any student who wishes to drop all of his or her courses must withdraw from the institution.

Ver. 7.0, 12/12/02 – Endorsed for adoption as institutional policy by Title IV Compliance Task Force
Approved Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Senior VP for Administration and Finance, January 2, 2003