My Iona

Withdrawals and Drops

A student incurs a legal obligation to pay tuition at the time of registration. A decision by the student to not attend, or to stop attending a course constitutes either a "drop" or a "withdrawal" depending on the timing of the notice to the University. The timing of the notification also determines the tuition charges for which the student will remain liable.

An official "drop" releases the student from all tuition liability and the dropped course(s) will not appear on the student’s transcript. A drop occurs when the student drops courses through their PeopleSoft account when web registration is open. The course drop window varies by term with specific Add/Drop dates listed on the academic calendars. Dropped courses will be processed without tuition liability as follows:

  • Regular Fall and Spring Semesters – Course drops up to 11:59 p.m. on the LAST DAY of published Add/Drop: No tuition liability
  • Fall, Spring and Winter Trimesters – Course drops up to 11:59 p.m. on the LAST DAY of published Add/Drop: No tuition liability
  • Summer Sessions – Course drops up to 11:59 p.m. BEFORE the first day of session: No tuition liability
  • Winter Session and Weekend Classes – Course drops up to 11:59 p.m. BEFORE the first day of session: No tuition liability

Please see the tuition refund schedule for tuition liabilities once a term has started.

To ensure the desired courses have been dropped, you must check your PeopleSoft schedule to make sure your schedule and charges are accurate. If the dropped courses still display and charges have not been removed, adjustments have not been successfully processed!

Undergraduate students must be authorized to withdraw from one or more courses by their assigned academic advisor in the Center for Advising. We allow students to request a course withdrawal by writing to us at advising@iona.edu with the following:

  • Your name
  • Student ID number
  • Subject
  • Course number
  • Professor’s name

We then authorize the change with the Registrar’s office. Please see the Academic Calendars page for useful deadlines.

Graduate students must email the dean’s office for approval of any course withdrawal.

Undergraduates

Undergraduates wishing to withdraw from the University must arrange for an exit interview with the Center for Advising and Academic Services located at the east end of Ryan Library. Contact the Center at (914) 633-2130 or advising@iona.edu. The University’s tuition refund schedule applies for full withdrawals.

A University withdrawal will likely result in the loss of some or all financial aid, including federal loan proceeds, and the student will be liable for all balances on the student account. We strongly recommend you meet with your financial aid counselor before you stop attending classes and withdraw.

Graduates

Graduate students wishing to withdraw from the University must contact their Dean’s Office in the School of Arts & Science, the LaPenta School of Business, or the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences. The University’s tuition refund schedule applies for full withdrawals.

NOTE: A University withdrawal will likely result in the loss of some or all financial aid, including federal loan proceeds, and the student will be liable for all balances on the student account. We strongly recommend you meet with your financial aid counselor before you stop attending classes and withdraw.

If you withdraw from all classes and you are a recipient of federal aid in the form of loans or grants, you need to be aware that the withdrawal may mean that some or all of the awards you have received for the term must be returned to the federal government as "unearned". The federal government regulations stipulate that if the student fails to complete at least 60% of the term, that a portion of the aid must be forfeit. You can do a rough calculation by counting how many days you will have been enrolled and actively attending classes and dividing it by the total number of days in the term (you can use the academic calendar to figure this out). This number should be multiplied by the federal loans and grants you have received for that term and the result is the amount of aid you may keep. The University will be obligated to return the rest to the federal government.

As an example, let's assume Sally Student is a sophomore enrolled full time in the fall term and received a Federal Direct Subsidized Loan in the amount of $1,750 for the fall term. Let's also assume that Sally was eligible for a Pell Grant in the amount of $2,500 for that term. If Sally withdraws from all of her classes on October 1 and had been in regular attendance until that date, the following would be the calculation:

  • Number of days in August, assuming the term start date is August 23: 9
  • Number of days in September: 30
  • Number of days in October: 0
  • Total days enrolled and attending: 39
  • Total days in the term, using the same method, but Ending on December 13: 74
  • 39 divided by 74 = .527
    Note: Any semester breaks of one week or longer are subtracted from the number of days in the term

Multiply the total aid received of $4,250 by .527. This equals $2,239, which is approximately how much of the aid you can keep. The University would need to return $2,011 to the federal government.

This potential loss of federal aid is an important consideration in the decision to withdraw, as it usually produces an unpaid balance on the student's account that must be immediately addressed.