Withdrawals

Policy Information

Withdrawal policy information can be accessed anytime in the Academic Course Catalogs.

The Financial Aid Withdrawal Policy for applicable academic years is located on the Financial Aid Policies webpage.

Academic Activity

After a course begins, if a student participates in the course through any kind of Academic Activity, the student will not be able to drop the course.  Academic Activity includes any of the following:

• Submitting the Course Requirements Checklist
• Submitting a graded Discussions Board post
• Submitting an assignment that can receive a grade
• Emailing or contacting the faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course

Attendance

The U.S. Department of Education requires that every university monitor the attendance of their students. Liberty University uses the following definitions in determining student attendance:

Resident: Physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students, submission of any assignment that can receive a grade (in Learning Management System or disparate system); taking an exam, an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction; attending a study group that is assigned by the school; or initiating contact with the professor regarding a question(s) related to the academic subject studied in the course. In order to constitute attendance, any of the above attendance methods must occur within the official course dates.

Online: Any submission of an assignment that can receive a grade (in Learning Management System or disparate system); submission of an interactive tutorial or computer assisted instruction; or initiating contact with the professor regarding a question(s) related to the academic subject studied in the course. In order to constitute attendance, any of the above attendance methods must occur within the official course dates.

*These definitions are based upon the delivery format of the course and not the student’s enrollment status (online versus on-campus).

Total Withdrawal vs. Partial Withdrawal

• Any time a student ceases active enrollment in a sub-term, it is considered to be a Total Withdrawal.
• If a student has active enrollment remaining, it is considered to be a Partial Withdrawal.

Letter of Intent (For Total Withdrawals)

• If a student completes a total withdrawal and is registered for future courses in a later sub-term/semester, the student must submit a Letter of Intent in order to remain in the future courses.
• If the Letter of Intent is not submitted at the same time as the withdrawal, then the future courses will be dropped.
• The Letter of Intent may be sent through the Intent to Withdraw Form or through the prompt provided by your Advisor.

Total Withdrawal

• Any time a student ceases active enrollment in a sub-term, it is considered to be a Total Withdrawal.
• Students completing a total withdrawal will be charged a $50 fee for ceasing enrollment in the semester.
• Depending on the student’s overall enrollment for the semester, the student’s federal financial aid may be recalculated (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Student Loans, etc.).

Consequences of Withdrawing

• A withdrawal does not affect the GPA, but will have a permanent “W” on the transcript.
• Loss of tuition and possible tuition rate change – please email the Student Accounts Office at StudentAccounts@liberty.edu for the calculation.
• Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress: In order to use Financial Aid, you must maintain a 67% completion rate.  This means you must complete 67% of the credit hours you attempt. Please note: completion rates are not rounded up to meet progress. If a student has a completion rate of 66.666%, they are not meeting the minimum 67% federal requirement.
• When a student withdraws from a course, he or she has attempted to earn 3 credit hours, but has earned 0.  Therefore, withdrawals negatively affect a student’s completion rate and Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Withdrawal fee – A total withdrawal carries a $50 processing fee.

R2T4 (Return of Title IV Financial Aid)

• If a student completes a total withdrawal, the Financial Aid Office will complete a calculation to determine if some or all of the student’s financial aid must be returned (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Student Loans, etc.). Order of funds returned will be as follows:
  • Federal Direct Unsubsidized student loans
  • Federal Direct Subsidized student loans
  • Federal Direct PLUS loans (Parent and Graduate)
  • Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) for which a return of funds is required
  • Federal TEACH Grant for which a return of funds is required
  • Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant for which a return of funds is required
• If a student completes a total withdrawal prior to the loan disbursement, or if the student withdraws below half-time (6 credit hours is half-time for undergraduate and graduate, 3 credit hours is half-time for post-graduate and doctoral programs), then the loan disbursement will be canceled.

Contact Us

If you have immediate questions, please email LUWITHDRAWAL@liberty.edu or call our office at (800) 424-9595.