The Ohio State University

Withdraw Process

If you are called to active duty as a result of the events of September 11th, 2001, Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan or any other call to active duty, you are encouraged to withdraw from all OSU courses. It is anticipated that if you are recalled you may be required to serve for up to 24 months and it will be virtually impossible for you to try to continue your course work from afar and be successful. Having said that, the college/regional campus office should review your circumstances on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the time of the quarter, your course workload, percentage of work completed, etc., professional judgment may be exercised and you may be allowed to remain in one or more of your courses. If you fit in this category, please see "Important Note" in Credits/Grades below. Here is a "checklist" of the steps you need to do when you have been called to active duty.

Step 1 You need to contact your College Office ( ie...Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Education, Business...etc) and/or your academic advisor to formally withdraw from the university. Be sure to present your military orders when you meet with your advisor or college representative. The University will refund 100% of the instructional fees paid by the student for courses they cannot complete. Refunds will only be made after the student has provided a copy of the military order directing the student to active military duty.

Step 2 If you DO NOT have financial aid then you will receive a refund. If you have direct deposit set up you will see the refund in your account in 5 to 7 business days. If you do not have direct deposit then a check will be mailed to your home address in 5 to 10 business days.

Step 3 If you are receiving financial aid here is the procedure:

• Formally withdraw through the college office
• Inform college of receipt of financial aid
• Financial aid will be adjusted based on federal, state and institutional rules
• Balances not covered by the fee refund and adjusted aid will be made up by special administrative financial aid funds
• Students with Federal Direct Loans must complete exit counseling at http://www.dlssonline.com/exit counseling/ecec-main.asp
• To avoid having to begin loan repayment, borrowers must request military deferments on any federal loans by contacting the loan holder directly.
        o Federal Perkins Loan, Nursing Student Loan and Health Professions Student Loan (received at OSU): http://www.treasurer.ohio-state.edu/stud_guards/index.html then click on Forms
        o Federal Direct Loan: http://www.dlssonline.com/defer/defer-req.asp?DeferId=ps_af
        o For loans taken at prior institutions and alternative loans, contact the individual lender (if uncertain of FFELP lenders, check on NSLDS at http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ - you will need your federal PIN to access your information)

Step 4 HOUSING: Students who withdraw once the quarter begins, are eligible for a refund as follows:

Prorated daily rate assessed for the time spent in the residence halls (determined by return of the resident’s room key) assessed for number of meals eaten, and for the amount of the debit card (BuckID) monies that have been spent. There are no refunds after the 8th Friday of the quarter. If you are interested in withdrawing from your housing contract, please contact the Housing office by phone (614.292.8266) or by email at housing@osu.edu.

Step 5 EMAIL: The Office of Information Technology ( OIT ) will delete your OSU e-mail account if you do not respond to the warning e-mails sent to notify you of the deactivation of your account because off inactivity. The e-mail warning is sent to all affected accounts 6 weeks before the actual deletions. Midway through the process, accounts are checked again, and a second warning message is sent. If you fail to respond to these warning e-mails your account will be deactivated. If you respond to the warning e-mail letting OIT know that you have been called to active duty they will not deactivate your account. You will need to respond to these warning e-mails each quarter that you are not in attendance because of military duty. If you choose to allow your account to be deactivated you can re-activate your account once you have followed the steps below under the Return from Active Duty category.

 

Credit/Grades
If it is determined that it is in your best interest to remain in one or more courses, the following needs to occur in order to document a partial withdrawal (meaning the student plans to remain in one or more of his/her registered courses). Your College office will use the new Post 7th Friday Drop/Withdrawal Form, they will check the box labeled, " I request permission to drop the following course(s) but not withdraw from the University". In the space below this statement is where the college will list the classes being dropped. If more than three courses are being dropped, the college office will need to use another copy of the Post 7th Friday Drop/Withdrawal Form as a continuation sheet. On the form where it requests a reason please have the college office mark in bold letters “UNDER MILITARY ORDERS” and the effective date of the drops. The effective date should be backdated to the 100% refund period.

NOTE: If you are receiving Financial Aid, please include the annotation, “SFA Involved”, and the actual date of withdrawal on the form. This date will be the date used for the return of financial aid calculations. For Financial Aid Recipients, the Registrar’s Office will also put the following record comment on the RCOM screen, “QQYY/Mil Orders/WD Date: MM/DD/YY.” This will be the only place on the record where the actual withdrawal date will be recorded.

The college office will then forward the original copy of the Post 7th Friday Drop/Withdrawal Form, appropriately annotated and accompanied by a copy of the military orders directing the student to active duty to 320 Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Students will normally be granted a 100% refund provided the active duty order or other supporting documentation is provided and is attached to the form.

The partial withdrawal will be noted on your academic record that you were called to active duty. This comment will appear on the record with the notation, “Under Military Orders,” on both the advising report and the transcript. The message will be posted as a record action rather than a record comment (except for financial aid recipients in which both will be included).

IMPORTANT NOTE: In these cases it is recommended the student and faculty member/instructor formalize a written contract detailing how the coursework is to be completed. A copy of this document should be deposited in the course offering Departmental/Regional Campus Office and retained indefinitely. This is important because the responsibility for monitoring incomplete grades and the extension of incomplete resides with the faculty member/instructor and course offering Departmental /Regional Campus Office.
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Re-Enrollment Process

Once you know that you will be returning from active duty and wish to begin classes again, these are the steps you must take:

Step 1 Contact your College Office (new window) as soon as you know you are going to be able to take classes again. The College Office will "update" you in the student database, thus giving you a segment and a window time for the next quarter.

Step 2 Once you have been "updated" by your college office, if you did not keep your e-mail active while in the service, you will need to go to OIT's web page (new window) and re-activate your account.

Step 3 Here is the process for reactivating your financial aid:

       • Complete FAFSA and OSU Scholarship and Financial Aid Applications for new academic year
       • Contact Office of Student Financial Aid if unable to meet the March 1 deadline due to date of return or file the General Appeal (for deadline)
       • Complete Student Resource Appeal if academic year income will be reduced
       • Forms available at http://sfa.osu.edu/forms/index.asp?tab=c#pagecontent (new window)

Office of Student Financial Aid Contact Information

       • Phone: 614-292-0300 or 1-800-678-6440 (outside 614 area code)
       • Email: sfa-finaid@osu.edu
       • Mail or in person: 340 Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive, Columbus, OH 43210
       • Financial Aid Web Page (new window)

Step 4 Contact the Resident Hall and Dining Services Office (new window) if you wish to live on campus when you return from active duty.

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FINANCIAL ASPECTS

Instructional Fee Refunds (Questions: 292-8500)
The University will refund 100% of the instructional fees paid by student for courses they cannot complete. Refunds will only be made after the student has provided a copy of the military order directing the student to active military duty.
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Residence & Dining Hall Charge Refunds (Questions: 292-8266)
Residence & Dining Halls will refund the charges on a daily basis based on the date the room key is returned.
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Student Health Insurance Refunds (Questions: 292-0113)
Koster Insurance, the broker/agent for the OSU student health insurance program, and not the University may refund the quarterly student health insurance premium payment. The refund will be based on the date the student (the insured) is officially activated for military service. To receive a refund the student must submit his/her request for a refund, in writing, to Koster Insurance, 1515 Hancock Street, Suite 204, Quincy, MA 02169. The request must include documentation from the branch of the armed services recalling the student, i.e., active duty orders. For a copy of the Active Duty Military Status Form, please go to http://www.shi.osu.edu/page.asp?ID=12
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Financial Aid Refunds (Questions: 292-0300)
Financial aid recipients who withdraw from all classes due to being called up for military duty, will retain the financial aid for which they remain eligible. Refunds from University fees will be used to repay federal and state aid that were used in payment of fees.
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