Withdrawal or Leave of Absence Notification Request
Review this page for information about how to submit a withdrawal request. Before submitting a request, you should review the following pages from our Interrupting Your Studies section to better understand the academic and financial implications of this decision.
The Withdrawal Process
You must contact the advising personnel at your school to discuss any required action and/or documents needed to pursue:
- The specific type of leave or withdrawal you have requested; and
- The requirements/your intentions for returning to school.
If You Don't Contact Your School
If you do not contact your the Student Affairs Office or other advising personnel at your school after submitting your Withdrawal and Leave of Absence Notification Request Form, you may be subject to ramifications due to school and/or University policy requirements that have gone unsatisfied for the type of submission you provided.
Your advisor will attempt to reach you, but it is your responsibility to satisfy the requirements associated with your submission. As a result, there may be additional financial and/or academic requirements for returning to school.
We recommend contacting any office that may be influenced by taking time away from school, such as:
- Your Academic Department
- Columbia Housing/Residential
- The Health Insurance Office
- The International Student and Scholars Office
- Student Athletics
Leaving school on a temporary or permanent basis may change the amount you are responsible to pay for your time in class and the amount of financial assistance you receive.
Visit our Financial Implications page to learn more
Students seeking to notify the University that they have temporarily or permanently left school should begin the Official Withdrawal Process by submitting the online Withdrawal and Leave of Absence Notification Request Form.
If you prefer to submit a wet signature instead of an electronic signature, please complete and attach the form found at the bottom of this page to the electronic form submission.
Please note: Administrators submitting on behalf of students must use the electronic version of this form
If you need assistance, please visit our Submission Guide for further instructions.
What Happens Next
Leaving school on a temporary or permanent basis may result in communications from different offices within the University related to your time away from school. Be sure to read these in full and act upon any item that indicates further action is required.
Notices may include, but are not limited to:
- The Student Affairs Office or other similar Advising Personnel at your school
- Your schools financial aid office
- Columbia Housing/Residential
- The Health Insurance Office for your Campus
- The International Student and Scholars Office
- Student Athletics
- Student Financial Services (via your student statement with any applicable adjustments)
If you do not contact your the Student Affairs Office or other advising personnel at your school after submitting your Withdrawal and Leave of Absence Notification Request Form, you may be subject to ramifications due to school and/or University policy requirements that have gone unsatisfied for the type of submission you provided.
Your advisor will attempt to reach you, but it is your responsibility to satisfy the requirements associated with your submission. As a result, there may be additional financial and/or academic requirements for returning to school.
If You Need to Cancel Your Request
If you no longer wish to pursue withdrawing or taking a leave of absence from school, please contact the Student Affairs Office or other similar advising personnel at your school to discuss the process for rescinding your request.