Withdrawing from a course
A withdrawal is when you drop a course after the deadline for changing your enrolment.
You can find more information about the enrolment deadlines by visiting the When to enrol and changing your enrolment page.
If you're experiencing exceptional circumstances, such as illness, injury, or events beyond your control, you may be eligible to apply for a late deletion.
Before applying for a withdrawal
If you're thinking about withdrawing from a course after the enrolment deadline, it is important to
- Think through your decision carefully
- Seek help and advice before continuing
Before deciding, we recommend that you visit your nearest Student Hub to get advice from our friendly staff and discuss your options.
If you're a doctoral candidate looking to withdraw from your programme, please visit
Important things to know
- The course(s) will remain on your academic record with a withdrawn (W) grade.
- A withdrawn grade does not impact the calculation of your cumulative or term GPA.*
- You will not receive a refund of fees for the course(s) you withdraw from. This means that you're liable to pay the fees for your withdrawn course(s).
- If you're studying a postgraduate programme, the points for the withdrawn course(s) still count towards your total points for your programme.**
- You will need to repeat any required course or choose another course in order to complete your programme. What is required will depend on your programme regulations.
*Before 2023, Withdrawn grades count as 0 (zero) in the calculation of your cumulative or term GPA.
**We recommended that you speak with your department before you apply for a course withdrawal. They can explain how a course withdrawal may impact your programme and progression.
A and B courses: double-term courses
A course with an A and B component (double-semester or double-quarter course) is considered by the University to be one course.
This means that you must withdraw from the whole course (both the A and B components). There is a separate deadline for dropping double-term courses.
You will not receive a refund of fees if you withdraw from the course after this deadline even if you are enrolled in the B component in a later term and that term hasn’t started yet.
How to apply
If you decide to apply for a withdrawal of your course(s), you can complete the Withdrawal of Courses Form (AS-70b).
After you apply
If you've applied for a withdrawal of your course(s), you will be notified by email to your student email if your application has been approved or declined.
Approved applications for withdrawals will be processed by the University.
If you no longer want to be active in a University of Auckland programme, you can request a Programme deletion.