Non-attendance or expressing the intent to the instructor of a course does not constitute withdrawal from the course. Withdrawals are performed through the Illinois Tech Portal in the same way as adding or dropping a course. Students may withdraw from one or more courses by the published withdrawal deadline, which is approximately the 60 percent point of the term—see the Academic Calendar.
Students who do not attend or participate in a course and fail to withdraw officially are assigned a midterm grade of 'NA,' indicating an apparent withdrawal due to non-attendance. There is no credit or tuition refund associated with this grade.
Students who withdraw from all of their courses are seeking a leave of absence or withdrawal from the university. The procedure for requesting a leave of absence or withdrawal from the university (see the Leave of Absence or Withdrawal from the University page) must be followed when a student attempts to drop or withdraw from their last—or only—registered course.
Late Withdrawal
Withdrawals from courses after the published deadline are only permitted in extraordinary circumstances beyond a student's control, such as medical or personal emergencies, and must be accompanied with documentation related to the appeal. Appeals must be submitted after the withdrawal deadline noted in the Academic Calendar and before the final exam for the current term. Students are required to continue attending the course while the appeal is being reviewed.
In the rare event that a student has experienced circumstances beyond their control that might permit an exception to the university policy on course withdrawals, the student may submit the Late Withdrawal Appeal Form to the Office of the Registrar. Any documentation supporting the appeal should be included. Please note that requests for an exception will not be accepted more than one semester after the course in question. If you have any questions, please feel free to email registrar@iit.edu.
Hardship Withdrawal
The Illinois Student Debt Assistance Act (the "Act") was signed into law on May 27, 2022. Section 20(a) of the Act requires that, beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, institutions of higher education have a policy instituting a physical or financial hardship withdrawal process. According to the Act, the process must work to limit debt owed by students who have to withdraw from the institution due to a significant physical or financial hardship and to assist those students if and when they choose to re-enroll.
A hardship withdrawal is an unforeseeable circumstance that occurred after the semester began (often after the midpoint) which had a significant impact on the student's ability to continue in the course(s) and be successful. A hardship may be due to a physical, mental, emotional, or psychological condition.