Withdrawal from the University

Students who withdraw are subject to the College’s policy on the refund of tuition and fees. Students whose registration has been canceled due to failure to submit a contract missing immunizations or a lack of health insurance will be administratively withdrawn from the College if they have not cleared their accounts or complied with these requirements by the end of the first week of classes. Students who have paid tuition for an ISP are eligible for refund if they withdraw by the last day of the semester before the ISP period.

If you officially withdraw during the semester, the last date of attendance will be whichever of the following is earliest:

• the earliest date recorded on your Withdrawal Request form received by the Office of the Registrar
• the date that you provided notification to the Office of the Registrar of your intent to withdraw
• the last date of academically related activity that we document (if we determine that you stopped attending classes and tutorials prior to any of the dates above)

Financial aid and scholarship recipients, please note: If you withdraw, you may be responsible for repaying all or part of your financial aid and/or scholarships. You may be liable for repaying a greater portion of your aid if you stop attending classes and tutorials whether or not you officially withdraw afterward.  In addition, if you hold a federal direct student loan, the start date of your repayment grace period may be backdated to the time you stop attending classes and tutorials, and you will be required to complete student loan exit counseling at www.studentloans.gov.

For more detail on the process of withdrawal, see Withdrawal and Tuition Refunds. For more information on the effects of withdrawal on financial aid and scholarships, see Withdrawal and Financial Aid/Return of Title IV Funds and Withdrawal, Scholarships, and Financial Aid.

Students considering withdrawal should be aware of the following conditions:

1. A student who has withdrawn may not live on campus, nor may they use College facilities or services, with the exception of the Library. They also may not support or participate in the social events on campus.
2. Students who withdraw are subject to the College’s refund policy for tuition and housing.
3. Students who withdraw or who stop attending classes and tutorials at any point in the semester and who receive Federal Title IV funds, may have to repay a portion of those funds. See the section of the New College Catalog entitled “Withdrawal and Financial Aid/Return of Title IV Funds.” In addition, students may be required to repay scholarship funds.
4. A student who withdraws or who stops attending classes and tutorials at any point in the semester and who received Bright Futures funds is required to repay the Bright Futures funds for that term in full.
5. A student who withdraws or who stops attending classes and tutorials at any point in the semester and who received institutional funds may be required to repay all or a portion of those funds.
6. A student who withdraws or who stops attending classes and tutorials at any point in the semester and who holds federal direct student loans is required to complete student loan exit counseling at www.studentloans.gov.
7. A student who wishes to return to New College after withdrawal should apply to the Student Academic Status Committee (SASC) for readmission.
8. If the student withdraws after filing the semester contract, the semester contract may receive a designation of Withdrawn, contingent upon if they attended any classes.
9. If the student withdraws during the January Interterm and was registered for an ISP, the ISP will receive a designation of Withdrawn.

Checklist for Departure from Campus

• Notify parents of intentions
• Talk with faculty advisor about plans
• Meet with a Financial Aid counselor (to discuss student loan exit counseling requirements, if applicable; whether return of Title IV or scholarship or other aid may be required; and potential future eligibility for aid)
• Check with the Finance Office about account
• Leave forwarding address with the Office of the Registrar, for update in NewCLEIS
• Make an appointment with the Office of Residential Life and Food Service (941-487-4259) to check out of room and return room key (to avoid charge for keys not returned)
• Notify campus employer, if you have been working on campus
• Notify the Director of Off-Campus Studies if application to study off-campus is pending
• Return books to the library
• Inform professors of plans (the Office of the Registrar does this officially, but students who are withdrawing or taking a leave of absence should do it as a courtesy)

Unofficial Withdrawal

Students who receive financial aid must attend all educational activities (courses, labs, tutorials, internships, independent study projects, and independent reading projects) and participate in academically-related activities for Title IV federal financial aid (Pell Grant, SEOG, loans) purposes, as well as Bright Futures and other State of Florida funds, and New College scholarships and grants. Students may not self-certify attendance.
 
Academically-related activities include but are not limited to:

• Physically attending a class where there is opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and the students;
• Submitting an academic assignment;
• Taking an exam, completing an interactive tutorial, or participating in computer-assisted instruction;
• Attending a study group that is assigned by the College;
• Participating in online discussion about academic matters;
• Initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.

Academically-related activities do not include:

• Living in institutional housing;
• Participating in the school’s meal plan;
• Logging into an online class without active participation;
• Participating in general academic counseling or advisement. 

A student who receives a designation of Unsatisfactory for all educational activities in a semester must be reviewed by the Office of the Registrar within 30 days of the last class of the semester. If it is determined that the student stopped participating in all academically-related activities without officially withdrawing or taking a leave of absence from New College, the student will be considered to have unofficially withdrawn.

A student who has stopped participating in academically-related activities prior to the 60% point of the semester will be subject to return a portion of their federal financial aid and New College scholarship funds. This applies even if the student later submits a completed withdrawal form. If a student receiving Bright Futures or other State of Florida funds is determined to have unofficially withdrawn from New College at any point during a semester or Independent Study Project (ISP) Interterm, New College must return 100% of the funds for that period to the State of Florida and the student will be required to repay that amount to the College.

A student who is no longer participating in academically-related activities is encouraged to follow College procedure and officially withdraw or take a leave of absence to avoid being unofficially withdrawn and subject to the financial penalties described above. Withdrawal and leave of absence forms are available in the Office of the Registrar. Questions about this policy should be directed to the New College of Florida Office of the Registrar.