Student Withdrawals
By registering for classes, students enter into legal and binding contracts with Teachers College to pay all tuition, fees, and penalties charged for those courses. This policy describes the processing of student withdrawals from courses and from the College.
Please note: Failure to attend classes does not constitute withdrawal; students must initiate withdrawal by notifying the Office of the Registrar.
Withdrawal from Individual Classes
Students can initiate individual class withdrawals online through the myTC portal or by giving written or electronic notice of withdrawal to the Office of the Registrar. They can withdraw from courses at any point after initial registration but only until the last day of the course or until a final course grade is issued, whichever comes first.
Before the end of the semester’s add/drop period, students may withdraw from individual classes without penalty. Upon timely receipt of withdrawal notice, the Registrar will remove the course from the transcript and issue an account credit for applicable tuition and fees.
When students withdraw from individual classes after the end of the semester’s add/drop period, tuition charges already assessed may be reduced on a pro-rated basis depending on the date of withdrawal. Withdrawal schedules, showing percentage of tuition reduction, are published each year in the academic catalog and on the Registrar’s Office web site (www.tc.edu/registrar). For withdrawals that occur after the add/drop period, only tuition charges are subject to reduction; fee charges are not reduced. In addition, courses withdrawn after the add/drop period will appear on student transcripts with a grade of “WD.”
Students who do not officially withdraw from a course but stop attending at some point during the semester will be assigned a grade of WU which will appear on their transcript.
Withdrawal from the College
Students who wish to withdraw from Teachers College entirely should notify the Registrar’s Office in writing. Upon receipt of written or electronic notice, the Registrar will change students’ status to non-matriculated and note the withdrawal on transcripts. Once students withdraw from the College, they must apply for readmission if they wish to resume their former degree program or to enroll in any other degree or certificate program.
Withdrawals Between Academic Terms
Students who initiate withdrawal after the end of one term but before the beginning of the next remain registered for past courses. The Registrar will remove course registrations for future terms and will credit students’ accounts for the full tuition and fee amounts for those courses. Students’ status as withdrawn from the College will take effect before the new term begins.
Withdrawals Within Academic Terms
Students who withdraw from the College within a term but before the end of the term’s add/drop period may drop all registered courses for that term and receive full tuition and fee credit. Students will be considered withdrawn from the College as of that term.
Students who request College withdrawal within a term and after the term’s add/drop period may withdraw from their courses. However, withdrawn courses appear on students’ transcripts with the grade of “WD,” and tuition amounts are credited back to students’ accounts according to the semester’s course withdrawal schedule, referenced above. Students will be considered withdrawn from the College as of the following academic term.
Leave of Absence
Students who wish to stop attending the College on a temporary basis (i.e., for one term at a time), should not withdraw but should instead refer to the Leave of Absence policy, available at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/policylibrary/Leaves of Absence . This policy allows for short-term gaps in attendance.
Updated: September 2021