Dropping a Course
If you registered to earn UW credit and find you’re unable to complete your UW course or not doing well in the course, you can choose to be dropped from the UW course. Dropping a course means you are no longer enrolled in the course, and so your UW transcript will not show a UW grade for that course. This also means you will no longer be enrolled to earn UW credit in the course.
To drop a course, you must submit a written request to be dropped from that course by the deadline described below. If you also drop the course in the high school, you must take whatever steps are necessary at your school to drop the course from your high school record. There are no refunds for dropping a course unless you are no longer registered as a student at your high school.
Deadline
The deadline for you to request to be dropped from your course is the last day of instruction of the UW course. This date might not be the same as the last day of the semester or school year in your high school calendar. The course end date is noted on the UW course syllabus, which your teacher distributed at the beginning of the course. Ask your teacher if you didn't save a copy of the UW syllabus.
Whether you’re enrolled in a single course or several courses, you can request to be dropped from one course, some courses, or all courses up until the last day of instruction for each course.
If you don't request to be dropped from a course by the appropriate deadline, your teacher will still have to submit a final UW grade for you, and that grade may be a failing grade. This grade is recorded on your permanent UW transcript.
For exceptions to these deadlines due to hardship such as illness or school closures, see the Former Quarter Drop section.
How to Drop a Course
To officially request to be dropped from a course, you must email c2reg@uw.edu with your full name, UW Student ID number, course name, six-digit registration number and a statement indicating you wish to be dropped from the course. If you're no longer enrolled in your high school, you must also include a written statement from your teacher or school office. Drop requests must be received by the last day of instruction for your UW course.
You can also mail your drop request to:
Continuum College
Registration Services
Box 45010
Seattle, WA 98145-0010
Only students can make a drop request; requests made by parents/guardians or instructors are not accepted.
Once a drop request is processed, you’ll receive a transaction summary in the mail. On your UW transcript, you'll see an “RD” for Registrar Drop after the course title. You won't receive a grade for the course.
The University of Washington understands that, as a student, you may face a variety of challenges and obstacles while taking a UW course. The Former Quarter Drop (FQD) process is designed to help you address the impact these challenges and obstacles may have had on your ability to achieve academic success. The FQD process enables you to request to drop a UW course or courses that have already ended if you were unable to complete your course(s) and need to drop your course(s) because of extenuating circumstances beyond your control. Please review the policy, eligibility requirements and petition process on the Office of the University Registrar website.
This process requires a UW NetID; see Creating a UW Net ID if you need help with creating or retrieving your UW NetID. On the FDQ form, select the campus as “Continuum College,” select the quarter in which the UW course started (or if not one of the options, select any quarter), and provide the name of your high school and year you took the UW course(s) in the comment box where you provide information on the reason for your request.