Winter Session

The student terminates their enrollment in all courses prior to the first day of classes.

• A 100% refund of tuition and fees will post to the student account.
• Courses will not appear on the student record, nor count towards the number of attempts a student has for any given course.
• Students may process the cancellation of registration prior to the first day of classes via Testudo Registration (Drop/Add). 
• See Academic and Financial Deadlines. 

Overview

For Winter Session, schedule adjustment begins and ends on the first day of the session. 

• During schedule adjustment, students may continue to add, change course section, change credit level, or change grading option with no academic or financial penalty. 
• Students may process most changes via Testudo Registration (Drop/Add). 
• See Academic and Financial Deadlines.  

Even Exchange

During schedule adjustment, dropping a course and then adding one of equal credit value on the same day is called an even exchange. To avoid incurring penalties, BOTH the drop AND the add must be done on the same day. With an even exchange, the dropped course will not appear on the student's official University transcript.

Single Course Drop Without a 'W'

During schedule adjustment, students may drop a single course without a ‘W.’

• Students must be registered for two or more courses and remain registered for at least one course.
• A single course drop before the end of schedule adjustment will not appear on the student record, nor will it count towards the number of attempts a student has for any given course.

Dropping All Courses 

Dropping all courses during schedule adjustment constitutes a Withdrawal. This applies even if the student is registered for just one course. 

Overview

Once schedule adjustment has ended, changes to registration require special permission. Some actions differ for undergraduate and graduate students. All such actions have deadlines with academic and financial consequences. See Academic and Financial Deadlines.  

Single Course Drop With a 'W': Drop Period 

Student drops a single course after the end of schedule adjustment and before the end of the posted deadline. Students may process single course drops via Testudo (Registration (Drop/Add)). 

• Student must be registered for two or more courses and remain registered for at least one course.
• Students are limited to dropping a maximum of 4 credits or one course.
• Undergraduate students: Courses dropped during the drop period will be recorded on the student’s official transcript with a ‘W’ notation. (This mark is not used in computing the semester or cumulative GPA.) 
• Graduate students: Courses dropped during the drop period will not have any notation appear on the student’s official transcript.
• Note: Dropping all courses (even if just one) between the first day and last day of classes constitutes a Withdrawal. 

Other Actions: Undergraduate Students

For undergraduate students, changes to registration after schedule adjustment ends (add, credit level, grading option, section) requires the permission of the student’s academic college. Contact the academic college for specific instructions. That unit works with the student to process the change.

Other Actions: Graduate Students

For graduate students, changes to registration after schedule adjustment ends requires the following:

• Add Course or Change Section: To process, use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action. Permission required from both course instructor and the program’s graduate director. Students must contact the course instructor and the program’s graduate director to send their approval via email to exst@umd.edu. 
• Change Grade Option or Change Credit Level: To process, use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action. Permission required from the program’s graduate director. Students must ask their program’s graduate director to send approval via email to exst@umd.edu.

Students may drop all courses anytime between the first and last day of classes. This constitutes a withdrawal and applies even if the student is registered for just one course.

• This action has academic and financial consequences. See Academic and Financial Calendars.
• A notation of Withdrawn from Term and the effective date will post to the official transcript. The courses will show on the unofficial transcript with a 'WW' notation.
• For current UMD students: This action has no effect on enrollment status for the upcoming semester.
• Students must submit a written request to be withdrawn. Use the EXST contact form. Include full name, UID, and a complete statement regarding the requested action. 

The University reserves the right to cancel courses due to insufficient enrollment or for other reasons that it deems valid. Appropriate refunds will post to the student account. Because cancellation of a course may occur so close to the beginning of classes, there is not always time to send notification. Notification will be made via the student’s TERPmail account. 

Overview for Winter Session

• Undergraduate and graduate students may register for up to four credits maximum.

Current University of Maryland Students

• Course loads exceeding these maximums require prior approval of the college dean. If the college grants approval, students are academically and financially responsible for this course overload. The University will not consider granting exceptions to academic and refund policy resulting from an inability to manage this workload.
• Contact the college advising office to obtain approval. The college will assist with registration.

Visiting Undergraduate Students Must Submit the Following:

• A statement to exst@umd.edu detailing the request, including a full list of requested courses and sections, full name, and permanent mailing address. The statement must also include an acknowledgment that the student is aware of the associated workload and that the student is academically and financially responsible for this course overload. The University will not consider granting exceptions to academic and refund policy resulting from an inability to manage this workload.
• A statement from the home institutions' academic advisor to exst@umd.edu stating that the student is in good academic standing and should be allowed to register for above the credit limit. The statement must include the student full name and permanent mailing address.
• Registration will not be permitted until BOTH statements are received.

Undergraduate Students

• Enrollment in courses totaling three semester hours of academic credit will be defined as full-time status for the three-week Winter Session.

Graduate Students

• Enrollment in academic credit totaling 12 graduate units will be defined as full-time enrollment for the three-week Winter Session.

Additional Information

• Students receiving financial aid and/or VA benefits should check with appropriate offices to determine full-time status.
• Students enrolled in UMEI 001-004 are considered full-time.
• Courses taken for audit are not included in the calculation of full-time status.

Overall

The University uses plus/minus grading. One week after the end of Winter Session, students can view their course grades online. Course grades post to the official UMD transcript. A visiting student must request that an official transcript be sent to the home institution. Learn More on Transcripts.

Pass-Fail Option

Current UMD students should check with their academic advising office before selecting this option. Visiting students should contact their advisor from their home institution. Many institutions will not accept transfer courses if the courses were completed on a pass-fail basis.

Audit

A student may register to audit a course or courses in which space is available. The notation "AUD" is placed on the transcript for each course audited. Courses taken for audit are not included in the calculation of full-time/part-time status. Tuition and fees for courses taken with the audit grading method are charged just as courses taken for credit at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Credit hours taken as audit will be added to hours taken for credit in order to determine full-time or part-time status for fee assessment purposes. Special Students are assessed fees in accordance with the schedule for the comparable undergraduate or graduate classification. See Fees for Auditing Courses. 

Final examinations must be held on the last day of class.  No final examination shall be given at a time other than the last day of a class without the permission of the department chair. A final examination will be given in every undergraduate course. Exceptions may be made with the written approval of the chair of the department and the dean.

The average review time is 30 business days (Monday - Friday, excluding holidays) from the date that the appeal and all documentation are received. Confirmation of the decision is sent to the email address listed on the appeal form.

Appeal Form and Deadlines

Access TerpEngage-EXST Forms to submit the Appeal Form.

1. Select Log In with UMD Directory ID to access the portal.
   • Former students: Reactivate your Directory ID via the Former Student Identity Verification website. After reactivation, set a passphrase and log in to the TerpEngage-EXST Forms Portal.
2. Select My Forms.
3. Select Start New Form.
4. Select Appeal Request for Exception to Academic Policy from the dropdown and select Save and Continue.
5. Complete and submit the Appeal Form.
6. Attach documentation. See How to Attach Documentation details, below.

The average review time is 30 business days (Monday - Friday, excluding holidays) from the date that the appeal and all documentation are received. Confirmation of the decision is sent to the email address listed on the appeal form.

Required Supporting Documentation

Appeal requests due to extenuating circumstances relating to a student’s registration require a formal written appeal. An exception to academic policy will not be considered until documentation supporting the claims made in the appeal is received.

• Medical: Documentation from a health care/mental health care provider must be typed and signed on official letterhead. General emails or unsigned letters on a plain stationary are not acceptable. Ask the health care/mental health provider to provide the following information:
  • Name of health care/mental health care provider
  • Type of Practice/Specialty
  • Title/Degree
  • Practice Address
  • Practice Telephone
  • Practice Email
  • License Number
  • License Board
  • Brief statement of support
  • Signature
• Death in the Family: Copy of death certificate (or verification of death from hospital or attending physician, typed and signed on official letterhead) with a statement of the deceased's relation to the student. Emails or unsigned letters on plain stationary are not acceptable.
• Course Instructor or Academic Advisor: May submit a statement of support on department letterhead or from the instructor/academic advisor’s campus email. The statement must include the student name, UID, course information, date of registration, and an explanation of why the course instructor or academic advisor supports the appeal.
• Approved Appeal from College/Department: Some Colleges/Departments require that the appeal be sent to them first for requests that have academic ramifications such as late/retroactive changes to the student record. Our office will assist with this process.

How to Attach Documentation

After submitting the Appeal Form, return to the portal landing page to upload documentation to support your appeal request.

1. Locate the Application Materials Section at the bottom of the portal homepage.
2. Select Click here next to Upload Documents.
3. On the Application Required Documents page, select the desired Document Name from the list.
4. Select Upload and choose the file to submit. After uploading, the file will be listed in the File List Section.
   • To add additional files for the same document type, select Upload again and choose a new file.
   • Note: Files must all have distinct names.
5. Select Back to return to the portal landing page. 
6. To add a different document type, repeat the steps above.

Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct

See Office of Student Conduct for information on academic dishonesty, academic integrity, code of student conduct, and more. 

Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct

See Office of Civil Right and Sexual Misconduct for contact information and an overview on these UMD policies and procedures.