SIS - Term Withdrawal Request

This document explains the Dean’s Drop/Withdrawal Request page and how to review or submit a Term Withdrawal.

Overview

This information is meant to serve as an overview of SIS functions. Review your School or College’s internal policies to determine the information to populate in SIS. If you want to withdraw all classes before the start of the term and class sessions, you should submit Dean's Drop(s).

Table of Contents

Follow the procedures below to create, review, make adjustments to, and approve/decline the term withdraw request. Before approving you can make wanted adjustments to the term withdrawal request’s: 

  • Tuition adjustment;
  • reason code; and
  • transcript notations.

Once a term withdrawal is approved by the dean’s office and the Office of the Registrar processes it, the only way to adjust the date, reason code, or refund amount is through submitting an Academic Action. 

Deadlines for Term Withdrawal

Students can submit a term withdrawal request in their Student Center for the current term until the withdrawal deadline. 

They will be directed to contact their academic dean to submit a term withdrawal request if:

  • It is for a previous term;
  • The withdrawal deadline has passed for the current term;
  • One of their current term classes already has a grade;
  • They have a hold preventing enrollment activity; or
  • Their remaining enrollment is in a waitlisted class.

If a student wants to withdraw from a term that has not started, they can use Course Search & Enroll to drop their section/class(es); or you can submit Dean’s Drop request(s) to drop all their classes. This is only possible if the term has not started and none of their classes have started.

 Steps to Submit/Review a Dean’s Term Withdrawal

  1. Log in to SIS.

  2. Select the Student Records WorkCenter tile | Dean/Dept Processing tab | Dean’s Drop/Withdrawal Request
    SIS Administrative Homepage showing the Student Records WorkCenter TileMenu circling the Dean/Dept Processing Tab and Dean's Drop/Withdrawal Request link

    Or if working on student requests, select the Worklist tile and select the worklist item. 

    SIS Administrative Homepage showing the Worklist Tile Image showing withdraw worklist item

    If it is a request you want to approve, continue through the following steps. 

    If you choose to deny the student’s request, click "Denied” and then “Save” and contact the student.

    Dean's Withdrawal Section of Student Withdrawal Request circling Denied and Save

  3. Search for the student and select the term you want to adjust.

  4. Once you have selected the student and term, you can also open enrollment history in a new tab. Select the "Student Enrollment History" link.
    Image of Dean Withdraw Page with link in header to Student Enrollment History circled

    Enter the student SIS ID or use lookup fields by clicking the magnifying glass. Once you have the student SIS ID entered, then click Term and select "Search”.

    Student enrollment history search page

  5. Check the student’s enrollment for any drops they may have made after the start of the term. The term withdrawal date you submit can not be before any previously made drops. If the student has drops that need to be adjusted, leave a “Dean Comment” when submitting/approving the term withdrawal request.

  6. Check the “Withdraw Student From Term?” checkbox and update sections as required in the following steps.
    Dean form for student withdraw circling the editable areas of form

  7. Select the appropriate Withdrawal Reason. If you are reviewing a student submitted request, you can choose a different reason than the reason that the student provided. Withdrawal Reasons include: Academic, Disciplinary, Disruption, Financial, Medical, Military, Other and Personal. 
  8. Fill in the Last Date of Attendance with the date determined appropriate. Make sure the date is within the term begin and end date and does not pre-date any student drops.
  9. Press "Tab" and the Refund Percentage automatically fills with the refund percent for each session based on the Last Date of Attendance.
  10. If you want to change the Refund Percentage for any Session:
    1. Check the Override box next to the Session.
    2. Select the desired Refund %.
      Refund pop out from withdraw refund override with percentage options
    3. Note: Based on the session, only valid refund percentages are displayed. If you need to make a tuition adjustment for terms prior to Summer 1999, contact Student Records.
  11. Select "Save."
  12. The Office of the Registrar will process based on the reason code, date of attendance, and refund amount you submit.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Reminders

For Medical Term Withdrawal Requests

Schools and Colleges must follow Universities of Wisconsin policy on Medical Term Withdrawals. UW–Madison’s Medical Withdrawal policy explains these requirements, including required medical documentation and deadlines.

For International Student’s Term Withdrawal Requests 

If the student is an international student with an F-1 or J-1 visa, the request will be routed to International Student Services (ISS) after it's approved by the dean to either approve or deny. If the ISS approves the request, it will then be sent to the Office of the Registrar.

If the student is not an international student, the request will be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar to be processed.

For Athlete’s Term Withdrawal Requests 

If the student is an athletics student, the request will be sent to Athletics to either approve or deny. If Athletics approves the request, it will then be sent to the Office of the Registrar.

If the student is not an athletics student, the request will be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar to be processed.

For Summer Term Withdrawal Requests

Students will be able to drop their last class via Course Search & Enroll for the summer term only. This allows flexibility for students to drop early summer courses while remaining eligible to enroll in later summer courses. The Office of the Registrar runs an administrative withdrawal process at the end of summer to withdraw students whose summer enrollment activity qualifies as a withdrawal. 

If you want to submit a term withdrawal request for a summer term, make sure that no term withdrawal has already been processed.

Submitting a Withdrawal for a Term that already has one submitted

You can not submit a withdrawal if one is already submitted. Select the "Open Withdrawal Request" link to view the current request’s progress.

notice in Dean Drop/Withdraw page header that shows a withdraw is already submitted for the term

If you need to change the reason code and/or refund amount after a term withdrawal request is Approved and processed you must submit an Academic Action.

Do any holds get put on after the Registrar processes a Term Withdrawal?

No. If your office wants a hold placed on the student’s record, you must remember to do so yourself.

To the top

See Also


Keywords:
change, course (courses, class), degree (degrees, degree planner), drop, permission, record (records), sis (SIS), withdraw (withdrawal) 
Doc ID:
159215
Owned by:
Sara S. in Office of the Registrar
Created:
2026-02-23
Updated:
2026-06-09
Sites:
Office of the Registrar