Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Term Withdrawal


Policies  > Term Withdrawal
 

The phrase ‘term withdrawal’ applies to the dropping of all courses in all sessions of a term for which a student is registered at the University of Houston. A term withdrawal may be initiated by a student after consultation with the departmental graduate advisor.

Student Initiated Withdrawal

In addition to following the procedure for dropping a course, students must return all library books and laboratory equipment and have their UH record clear in every respect. Students who wish to withdraw must submit their request by following the process outlined on the Graduate School website: http://www.uh.edu/graduate-school/forms. All students must notify their academic unit of their intention to withdraw from all classes.

A student whose enrollment in a course is terminated on or before the last day to drop or withdraw without receiving a grade (as posted in the Academic Calendar ) will not have the course(s) appear on the permanent record, and grade(s) will not be assigned. When terminations are made after this date, grades of ‘W’ (withdrawal, either passing or with no evaluative data available at the time of drop) or ‘F’ (withdrawal, failing) will be assigned by the instructor at the close of the semester, and the courses and grades will appear on the permanent records. A graduate student must file a student-initiated term withdrawal request, in addition to instructor-signed course drop forms for all enrolled classes, if completing a term withdrawal after the last day to drop or withdraw without receiving a grade.

Deadline

  • Generally
    • Students are responsible for initiating action to drop or withdraw from classes on or before the last day to drop a course or withdraw, as posted in the Academic Calendar .
    • Students who fail to do so will be retained on the class rolls even though they may be absent for the remainder of the semester. In such instances, grades of ‘F’ (or ‘U’ in S/U graded courses) will be given unless mitigating circumstances warrant grades of ‘I’ (incomplete).
  • Exceptions
    • Military withdrawal situations use a different process and deadline. Please consult with UH Veteran Services for more information.
    • Medical and personal emergency situations use a different process and deadline. Please consult with the Graduate School for more information.

Procedure

Medical Withdrawal

A student may request withdrawals from all courses in which the student is enrolled in cases where the student experiences a medical situation that impedes academic progress.

Policy

The Graduate School may approve medical withdrawal requests from graduate and professional students who have supporting documentation from a licensed physician justifying withdrawal from all courses for which they are registered at the University of Houston. Such requests must be initiated within 140 days of the official closing date (last day of final exams) of the term. Medical withdrawals are effective for all enrolled classes in a given term. The only exception to this policy is granted if a student has already completed, and received official grades, in classes which met during sessions which have already finished by the time of the withdrawal (pre-term mini session, sessions 2 or 3 in summer, or session 2, 3, or 4 in fall/spring).

Students who receive medical withdrawals after the last day to withdraw without receiving a grade shall receive a ‘W’ grade, in each course for which they were registered.

Graduate and professional students who receive medical withdrawals must obtain permission from the university to enroll again at the University of Houston. Students wishing to return to study following a medical withdrawal must file a petition requesting reinstatement, including a written return-to-school statement from their physician. Under extenuating circumstances, this policy may be applied retroactively.

Procedures

  • Graduate and professional students (or their appointed representatives bearing power-of-attorney, if they are unable to act for themselves) who seek to withdraw for medical reasons from all courses for which they are registered at the University shall request a medical withdrawal using the Graduate School Medical/Administrative Withdrawal Form (PDF). The forms must be accompanied by all appropriate documentation, which must include a statement from a licensed physician or licensed psychologist. Details of the required statement are included on the form. 
  • The medical withdrawal request should be filed at the department/college level. Note: International students should notify the Office of International Student Services of their intent to withdraw.
  • If the medical withdrawal is requested with an effective date after the last day for a student to withdraw from classes without receiving a grade, the dean shall, in making inquiries and seeking recommendations from each instructor of record, notify each that if approved, the withdrawal will result in a grade of ‘W’.
  • The dean of the college will determine a recommendation on the withdrawal and forward it to The Graduate School.
  • The Graduate School shall
    • review each request and its accompanying documentation,
    • decide whether to make inquiries and seek recommendations from appropriate sources of information,
    • decide whether to approve or deny the request and determine the effective date of the withdrawal, and
    • notify the Office of the University Registrar process the withdrawal, and the college of the student’s major.
    • If the request is approved, a medical withdrawal enrollment hold will be placed on the student record.
  • The dean of the college of the student’s major shall communicate the final decision to the student.

Reinstatement

Graduate and professional students who receive medical withdrawals and later seek to return to the university shall submit a Graduate/Professional Student Petition (PDF) requesting reinstatement, including a return-to-school statement from their licensed physician to the college of their major justifying their readiness to resume their studies.

The college shall review each request to resume study at the university, decide whether to make inquiries and seek recommendations as appropriate, and forward to The Graduate School for university review.

Once approved, The Graduate School will remove the medical withdrawal enrollment “stop” from the student’s record. (This action does not remove any other “stops” that may have been placed on the student’s record by other university officials)

The University may grant a leave of absence to a student who requests and receives a medical withdrawal. This leave grants the student readmission into the program at a specified time and under specified circumstances.

Financial Withdrawal

Students who make payment on their account with checks which are returned to the university for insufficient funds or who fail to pay by designated deadlines may be withdrawn from the university without refund. Students who are financially withdrawn after the last day to drop or withdraw without a grade will receive ‘W’ or ‘F’ grades for the semester.

Students with two or more returned checks must make payment on their account by cash, cashier’s check, money order, or credit card. No checks - personal or otherwise - will be accepted.