Students are expected to attend all classes and participate online in courses as required. If a specific course or program has particular participation and attendance requirements, they will be published as part of the course syllabus or program description. Students who notify the Coordinator of Admissions and Student Services of their intention to withdraw after the course has begun, but before the last class, will be assigned a grade of "W." The withdrawal request may be in the form of a letter to the SPS Coordinator of Student Services, or by mailing to the Coordinator of Student Services the SPS withdrawal form.

Students who stop attending class without formal notification to SPS will be assigned a grade of "WU" which signifies Unofficial Withdrawal; and is considered equivalent to a failure.

If a course is cancelled by SPS, students will receive a full refund of both tuition and fees.

If a student submits a written request to withdraw from a course, and it is postmarked and sent in before the first class session, 100% of the tuition and course related fees will be refunded. (The application fee is non-refundable.)

In classroom courses lasting for seven (7) weeks or longer, 50% of the tuition will be refunded upon receipt of written notification before the second class session; 25% of the tuition will be refunded upon receipt of written notification after the second, but before the third class. There is no refund after the third meeting. The date of the letter's postmark is used to determine the appropriate refund.

In online courses lasting seven (7) weeks or longer, the deadline for withdrawals with 100% tuition refunds is before the first day of online coursework. The deadline to receive a 50% tuition refund is prior to the start of the first day of the second week of online coursework, and the deadline to receive a 25% tuition refund is prior to the start of the first day of the third week of online coursework.

In courses that meet for less than seven (7) weeks and courses that consist of less than seven (7) weeks of online coursework, the refund policy will be published with the class schedule.

Written notification of a course withdrawal should be sent to:

CUNY School of Professional Studies
The Graduate School and University Center
Attn: Student Services #8205
365 Fifth Avenue
NY, NY 10016
jlee2@gc.cuny.edu

Students in online courses may submit notification via a regular postmarked letter, as indicated above, or via email, prior to the dates outlined above for courses lasting seven (7) weeks or longer. Notification via email should be sent to jlee2@gc.cuny.edu.

Upon approval, a refund check will be mailed to the student's home.

Students enrolled under special program initiatives may have different refund dates-please inquire directly about those programs.

Some courses are offered by SPS in conjunction with an outside partner (such as SPS online science education courses offered with the American Museum of Natural History). In such cases, this policy applies only to SPS tuition and fees. The partner organization will enforce its own refund policy for any fees paid directly to it.

Download a printable Withdrawal Request form.