Washington University expects students to finish their coursework within the timeframe and structure allowed or remove themselves by dropping or withdrawing from courses by published deadlines. 

Students who withdraw from one or more courses by the withdrawal deadline (the Friday of the twelfth week of the semester) will receive a W notation in place of a grade.  During the semester, withdrawals are not permitted after the withdrawal deadline except in leave of absence processes (which are described elsewhere), or in cases as outlined below.

Effective Fall 2024 and forward, after the semester is over, students may petition for withdrawal from all courses in a semester only if the following eligibility criteria are met.  This process is not available for selected courses within the semester except in extremely rare cases where there are specific circumstances, supported by documentation, that can be reasonably demonstrated to have affected only certain courses.  Approved petitions result in the posting of W grade notations for the courses and semester in question. Other time-away processes, such as leaves of absence or involuntary separations for conduct or academic performance reasons, are handled separately and according to their standard protocols.

Petition for Post-Term Withdrawal

Changing student enrollment after the deadline for withdrawals for a given semester can have significant impact on students’ status and how the university complies with federal regulations and other important internal and external commitments.  Exceptions to this deadline are rarely allowed.  Before submitting a petition, students are expected to consider the implications relevant to their status (e.g. financial aid or veterans’ benefits, athletics, immigration, and academic standing), as well as their academic progress, and consult with appropriate advisors. 

Eligibility criteria:

Circumstances, supported by documentation, beyond a student’s control that prevented taking action to withdraw by the deadline;

A petition for post-term withdrawal must be submitted within one calendar year of the end of the semester in question;

A petition will not be considered if a student’s degree has been conferred or if the student has been permanently removed from the University for any reason.

Petition Submission:

Students must submit the following to registrar@wustl.edu:  

  • Student Petition Letter (pre-formatted version will be available in December 2024)
  • Documentation supporting extraordinary circumstances; may include correspondence with instructors or advisors that supports the explanation provided; if health circumstances are identified as a factor, intimate treatment details are not necessary to include.  Rather, a letter or statement from the provider which relates to the petition should be submitted.  Corroborating statements from friends or family are not relevant to this process and should not be submitted.

The committee will also review the following:

  • Academic Impact Summary from school official/advisor summarizing the impact to the student’s progress, GPA, transcript or future enrollment both if the petition is denied (existing grades stand) and if the petition is granted (grades are replaced with withdrawal notations).  The summary does not advocate for or against the petition.
  • Unofficial transcript and/or academic progress summary

Review process:

Petitions are reviewed by the undergraduate post-term withdrawal petition committee, which consists of the vice provost for educational initiatives, associate deans from the schools with traditional undergraduate programs, and the university registrar; advisory members may include, as relevant, representatives from Student Financial Services and Student Affairs (Health and Wellness area). The committee will convene monthly to review petitions or more frequently if determined necessary by the vice provost for educational initiatives.  Petition materials are collected by the Office of the University Registrar. 

Petitions received in full by the 15th of the month will be reviewed in the next meeting.  If a petition for post-term withdrawal is granted, it will not impact any ongoing academic integrity or student conduct matters in the process of adjudication from the semester in question, nor does it guarantee a student will be in good academic standing upon reinstatement; students should discuss their academic standing circumstances with their school’s advising office. Committee decisions are final and, if approved, will result in the posting of W grade notations for the semester’s courses in question, and a transcript note stating “Withdrew XX-XX-XXXX” using the date of the committee’s decision. Students are notified in writing of the outcome of their petition.