Resignation/withdrawing from the semester
If you have already signed up for classes but your personal circumstances change and you can no longer attend the semester, you are able to drop your entire semester of classes. However, WHEN you do this impacts whether or not you get money back and how you even go about dropping all of your classes. Please see below to figure out which one of these applies to you. The instructions below are based on this University policy.
Before the end of the drop/add period:
Please use the online registration system to drop all of your classes.
If you drop all of your classes before the end of the drop/add period, the courses dropped do not show up on your transcript. You do receive money back, but the amount diminishes the later you wait, and at a certain point well into the semester, you no longer get any money back. Please contact Student Financial Services for further details about prorated refunds.
After drop/add but no later than the 60th day of the semester (or the deadline noted in the academic calendar if you are in a summer session):
You need to call the Office of Student Accounts official resignation phone number: 1-412-624-7585 to initiate the drop (called a "resignation" at this point). If you drop all of your classes at this time time, the courses will show up on your transcript with an "R" next to each of them (instead of a grade). You may receive money back, but the amount diminishes the later you wait. To find out exactly how much you would get back, please contact Student Financial Services.
After the 60th day of the semester through the deadline noted in the academic calendar:
At this point, dropping of all of your classes is considered a withdrawal, you receive no money back, and the courses will show up on your transcript with an "R" next to each of them (instead of a grade). To process a withdrawal, you must do the following:
1) Write a signed letter addressed to Student Services in the School of Information Sciences explaining a) why you need to withdraw from all of your classes for the term and b) why you were unable to resign from the term beforethe 60th day of the semester.
2) Email the letter to registration@sis.pitt.edu or fax it to 412-624-5231 or drop it off in person at the front desk right off of the elevators on the 5th floor of the Information Sciences Building
3) Student Services will write a memo to request that your classes be dropped that goes:
a) to Dolores in the Student Appeals Office, if the request is for a retroactive resignation, if the last date of classes attended was before the monitored withdrawal deadline
b) to the Registrar's Office (either G-1 Thackeray or email Dave Carmen), if the last date of classes attended was after the monitored withdrawal deadline.In all cases:
a) If you intend to return to your studies the next semester or in a future semester, please follow the leave of absence procedures for activating your account and email address to ensure that you will be able to use the online registration system to sign up for classes upon your return.
b) Make sure you email your academic advisor to let them know (you can look up your advisor on my.pitt.edu).
Please note:
If you are an LIS student with a partner's placement, please notify Debbie Day and your placement supervisor as well.
If there were truly exceptional circumstances beyond your control (such as a death in the family, car accident, physical assault, etc.), Student Services would call the Student Appeals Office to investigate whether or not your case would warrant getting some of your monies refunded for the semester, but you would need to explain the exceptional circumstances in your letter and may be required to provide documentation.
The detailed University policies to this effect can be found here.
This site was created by:
The Office of Student Services
The School of Information Sciences
The University of Pittsburgh
Last update: 8/31/10