In the event that a student no longer wants to be registered in a course or program, the change to their registration may take different forms. The different forms of action depend mainly on the timing of the change within the term/instructional cycle.

Dropping a Course

Prior to the first day of classes, a student may adjust their course enrolment (i.e. un-enrol from a course) without financial or academic penalty, as per Policy and Procedures FM8, Student Tuition and Fees. Dropping a waitlisted course incurs no financial penalty.

The Add/Drop Period is defined as a period at the beginning of each term/instructional cycle during which students may adjust their course enrolment by adding or dropping courses. See the Dates and Deadlines section of the Registration information webpages for up-to-date information. If a student drops a course during the Add/Drop Period there is no academic penalty and there is no record of the course on the transcript. However, the student is subject to a financial penalty of 30% of tuition owed, as per Policy and Procedures FM8, Student Tuition and Fees.

Withdrawing from a Course

After the end of the Add/Drop Period of the registration cycle, a student registered in a course may withdraw without academic penalty up until the established withdrawal deadline for the term/instructional cycle. The exact deadline in each term/instructional cycle for withdrawing from a course is published in the Academic Schedule of the University Calendar, as well as in the Dates and Deadlines section of the Registration information webpages. A student must officially withdraw from a course by the published deadline. If a student withdraws after the Add/Drop Deadline and before the withdrawal deadline, the course will appear on the student's official transcript with a grade of 'W'. If a final grade has been entered for a course, the option to withdraw is no longer available.

Non-attendance in a course does not constitute withdrawal. A student is considered registered in a course until they have officially withdrawn. Students may withdraw themselves from a course via online Registration, or for those programs where registration is not done online, by submitting a Course Status Change Form. A student who stops attending class, but does not withdraw by the deadline, will be assigned a grade based on the work completed in the course.

A recipient of student loans should confirm whether their status will be affected before withdrawing from a course. Normally, to be eligible for a student loan, a student must be enrolled in at least 60% of a full course load for their given program. Please contact Student Awards and Financial Assistance (SAFA) for more information.

Non-Semester Based Programs

A student that is registered and wants to withdraw from a fixed-term offering must inform Student Enrolment Services. A student registered in a course may withdraw without academic penalty up until the established withdrawal deadline for the term/instructional cycle. The exact deadline in each term/instructional cycle for withdrawing from a course is published in the Academic Schedule of the University Calendar, as well as in the Dates and Deadlines section of the Registration information webpages. If a final grade has been entered for a course, the option to withdraw is no longer available.

Cancelled Courses

In the event that a course is cancelled, students will be contacted and issued either a full refund for the course, or a reduction in fees owing.