Withdrawal, Readmission & Academic Leave

The student must secure a withdrawal form on the Office of the Registrar website, sign it, and have it signed by the student's academic adviser (or advising center), and then return all copies to the Registrar's Office. The withdrawal is not complete until the signed slip has been returned to the Registrar's Office.  (Graduate students must notify the Registrar's Office in writing or via email that he or she wishes to withdraw.  The process is complete once the Registrar's Office confirms the withdrawal).  If a full-time student withdraws from all classes but at different times during a given fall or spring semester, the individual  withdrawals are changed to a University withdrawal.

Students must contact the Office of the Bursar to initiate a request for a refund of tuition if they drop a class or classes prior to the census date and if the reduced class load qualifies them for a tuition refund.

A student who drops a class prior to the conclusion of schedule adjustment will receive no grade. A student who withdraws from class after schedule adjustment but before the end of the tenth week of the semester (or 70 percent of the total class meetings of a summer session or any other non-traditional course, whichever comes first) will receive a grade of "W." Students may not withdraw from individual classes following the end of the tenth week of the semester.

Students withdrawing from all courses during a given semester must contact the Academic Success Center in Young Hall. (Graduate students must notify the Registrar's Office in writing or via email.  The process is complete once the Registrar's Office confirms the withdrawal.)  This process must be followed to ensure the student will receive any eligible refunds and the appropriate grades for the semester.

Students who withdraw from the university (all classes) before the Census Date will receive no grades. Students who withdraw from the university after the Census Date but prior to the end of the 12th week of the semester (80 percent of the summer session) will receive “W’s” in all classes. Students who withdrawa from the university after the 12th week will receive “F’s” in all classes.

Any student who withdraws from the university during a fall or spring semester must apply for readmission. Please refer to Readmission for more information.

Students who have terminated their enrollment at Radford University for any reason and wish to return must submit an application for Readmission to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Applications are due no less than 30 days, but no more than 6 months prior to the beginning of the term in which re-enrollment is desired. Eligibility to re-enroll will be determined after the application is received in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

For students who left the University in good academic standing, eligibility for readmission will be determined by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The Readmission Committee will review the applications of those students who were academically suspended or who left the University while on academic probation. Students placed on academic or disciplinary suspension are not automatically eligible to return. Only students who appear to have potential for success in general and within their selected major will be readmitted. Academic Renewal is an option for students who have been absent from the University for two or more years.

For questions about your readmission application please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The Readmission Committee will evaluate requests for readmission on the basis of the following criteria:

• The student's written statement (including a statement regarding academic or disciplinary suspension or probation) in which:
  a. compelling reasons are offered for wishing to return to Radford University;
  b. the student's activities or accomplishments during the periods of suspension or absence are described;
  c. the student indicates how and why academic performance will improve if readmitted;
• Quality point deficit
• Number of "Repeats" available to use as a strategy to bring up GPA
• Previous academic history
• Requested readmit major
• Requested term of readmission
• Total hours attempted and/or earned
• Evidence of improved academic performance at any institution attended while absent from Radford University. To be eligible for readmission, the student must have maintained at least a 2.0 GPA. Students are encouraged to send their transcripts to support their application at the time of reapplying and final decisions may be deferred pending receipt of a transcript.

The Committee reviews only written materials. Individual appearances before the Committee are not permitted.  Once a decision has been made regarding the application, the student will be notified in writing.  Registration instructions will be sent when that information becomes available.  The Readmission Committee reserves the right to revoke any offer of readmission. The Readmission committee will review the progress of all students returning to the University after a suspension or probation. Continuation of enrollment is contingent upon satisfactory progress during the semester the student is readmitted. Satisfactory progress is defined by making up the quality point deficits by at least half. If the student has not made reasonable progress toward good academic standing, the student will not be permitted to enroll for the following semester. 

READMISSION APPLICATION

1. The student anticipates that the internship or study abroad experience will necessitate that he/she be away from RU no more than one academic semester.
2. The student fully intends to enroll at RU during the semester after the experience has concluded.
3. The student has attained sophomore status and is in good academic standing.

The status of “academic leave” entitles the student to virtually all of the same privileges as enrolled students, including receipt of communications from the University, registration and housing selection at the time commensurate with their number of hours earned, library access, mailboxes, and email accounts.  Since they are not enrolled as RU students, they will not be billed as RU students for the semester away.

By definition, no credit will be awarded for non-credit bearing internships.  Credits from study abroad experiences offered by institutions other than Radford University will be treated as transfer credits.  Students should obtain transfer course approval before departure.  While grades of “C” or better from the host institution are required for the student to receive credit for the courses, grades earned elsewhere have no effect upon the student’s GPA at Radford University.

Students wishing to apply for academic leave must complete an “Application for Academic Leave” form.  These forms are available at the link below, in the Center for Experiential Learning and Career Development, the Center for International Education, and the Registrar’s Office.  In addition to the form, students must submit a copy of their letter of acceptance for the experiential program in which they plan to participate.  The application must be approved by the student’s academic advisor, department chair, dean, and the director of experiential learning and career development and/or the director of international programs, and then submitted to the Registrar’s Office.  Applications for academic leave must be received by the Registrar’s Office no later than thirty days before the beginning of the semester the student will be away.  Application for Academic Leave (PDF).

Academic leave is granted for one semester.  Students who wish to extend their leave must reapply by contacting the Registrar’s Office no later than 30 days prior to the next semester.  Students are limited to two semesters of academic leave during their academic careers at Radford University.

Upon conclusion of the semester of academic leave, the student’s status will automatically be returned to “active.”  In the unlikely event that the student is unable to return to Radford University following the semester of academic leave, he/she must notify the Registrar’s Office of his/her intent no later than 30 days before the beginning of the semester following the leave.  Students wishing to return after the conditions of their leave have expired must submit an application for readmission.