Drop, Resignation and Refund Policies

Dropping Courses 

Dropping Courses - A student who drops one or more courses for any given term, but remains enrolled in at least one course for the remainder of the semester as a student at this University, may be eligible for refunds. There is a 100% refund (does not apply to students dropping to "0" hours.) for dropping classes for the first 12 class days for Fall / Spring terms. Drops must be processed by 11:59 p.m. on the day of the deadline to receive a refund on My Sam. You cannot drop your only class. You must resign if you are dropping your only course for the term.

Students may drop courses online without the grade of "F" until the deadline. See Add, Drop and Resignation Deadlines.

NOTE: Students may not resign after the last class day or if the final exam has been administered for that course, regardless of whether the final exam has been taken.  A resignation is considered the dropping of all classes from a student's current schedule.

• Limitation of Q Drops

  Limitation of Q Drops

  Students will be allowed to drop (Q-drop) no more than six classes during their academic career at Sam Houston State University. Classes dropped prior to the 12th class day will not be included in the calculation of the accumulated six Q-drop count. Students who have met their limit of six Q drops will need to petition the University Registrar for permission to drop any additional classes. If the Registrar denies the request to drop a class above the six Q-drop limit, the student will be required to remain in the class for the remainder of the term.

  This will take effect with the start of the Fall 2007 semester. Any drops accumulated prior to Fall 2007 will not be included in this calculation. Section 51.907 of the Texas Education code was enacted by the State of Texas in spring 2007 and applies to students who enroll in a public institution of higher education as first-time freshmen in fall 2007 or later and limits the number of courses a student is permitted to drop. Any course that a student drops is counted toward the limit if "(1) the student was able to drop the course without receiving a grade or incurring an academic penalty; (2) the student's transcript indicates or will indicate that the student was enrolled in the course; and (3) the student is not dropping the course in order to withdraw from the institution." Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to drop a course without having it counted toward this limit, but it is the responsibility of the student to establish that good cause.

  Any college student affected by this statute that has attended or plans to attend another institution of higher education should become familiar with that institution's policies on dropping courses.

Resignations

Deadlines and dates may be found on the Add, Drop and Resignation Deadlines webpage.

Students who fail to officially resign from the university will receive the grade of "F" for each course in which they are enrolled. If you are enrolled in only one class you must resign. To learn more about the University's policy on student resignations, view the Student Resignation Policy.

If you are a financial aid student and resign, you may be responsible for repayment of certain types of financial aid received during the term. For more information, view the Return of Title IV Funds Policy. Also review the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy to better understand how this could impact your future aid eligibility.

NOTE: 

• A resignation will withdraw a student from all registered courses in the entire term. A student cannot resign from a part of term if another part of term has been completed. Ex. If a student completes Summer I and is registered for Summer II they will not be able to resign from Summer II.
• If this is your first semester attending SHSU and you are resigning prior to the Census Day (12th Class day for Fall or Spring/4th Class day for Summer I & II), a new admissions application and non-refundable application fee through ApplyTexas.org is required. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Admissions at 936-294-1828 or admissions@shsu.edu.
• If a year or more has passed from the term of resignation a new admissions application will be required. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Admissions at 936-294-1828 or admissions@shsu.edu.
• If you have experienced an extenuating circumstance that affected your ability to resign at an earlier date, you may qualify for a resignation appeal. You may review the Resignation Appeal Policy for more information. Please note you may only request an appeal within 90 days of the end of the semester and official documentation of your circumstance is required. 

• Resignation Refund Policy

  Resignation Refund Policy

  The student who officially withdraws from all of his/her courses for a given term from Sam Houston State University may be eligible for a refund of tuition and the specified fees, based upon the highest number of hours in which he or she is enrolled for the term.

  A resignation will not be allowed if a grade has been earned or a final has been taken.

  Students that are registered for more than one part of term would not need to process a resignation unless they are dropping ALL class for ALL parts of term. Students process course drops as normal.

  If you have purchased GradGuard tuition insurance for the term in which you are resigning, please file a claim at GradGuard.

  Refunds are made in accordance with the following refund schedule:

  See more information about our resignation and refund policy here.

  • Full Term and 10-Week

  • 7A and 7B

  • 5A, 5B, 5C, Summer I, II, and Mini Courses

  If a student resigns from Fall or Spring Full-Term courses or Summer 10-week courses:
  Before the 1st class day	100%
  1st class day through 5th class day	80%
  6th class day through 10th class day	70%
  11th class day through 15th class day	50%
  16th class day through 20th class day	25%
  Thereafter	No refund

  If a student resigns from 7A or 7B courses:
  Before the 1st class day	100%
  1st class day through 3rd class day	80%
  4th class day through 6th class day	50%
  Thereafter	No refund

  If a student resigns from 5A, 5B, 5C, Summer I, Summer II, or Summer Mini courses:
  Before the 1st class day	100%
  1st class day	80%
  2nd class day	50%
  3rd class day and thereafter	No refund

  
  

  NOTE: Class days are University class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

• Counting Class Days for Refunds

  Counting Class Days For Refunds

  Class days are University class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

  Students who receive Title IV aid in the form of a Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Stafford Loan or PLUS Loan and resign on or before completing 60% of the term will be required to repay the percentage of unearned financial aid according to the federal Return to Title IV Aid formula from the 1998 Re-authorization of the Higher Education Act. The percentage of aid to be repaid to SFA programs is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the term divided by the number of calendar days in the term.

  Refunds are to be returned to lenders or program accounts in the following statutorily specified order provided the student has received funds from the account:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan	2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
  3. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans	4. Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
  5. Federal Perkins Loans	6. Federal PLUS Loans
  7. Direct PLUS Loans	8. FSEOGs
  9. Other federal, state, private or institutional sources of aid	10. The Student

  The above schedule assumes the student has paid his or her fees in full. A different schedule applies to the installment payment plan participants - the primary difference in the schedule being the requirement for the University to compute the refund based on the assumption that the full amount of tuition and fees has been collected. Therefore, it is possible, and probable, that a student in the installment plan could owe more in tuition and fees than already collected by the University. These extra amounts, if any, would be due and payable before the student would be allowed to resign from the University.

  Students may determine their account balance in MySam > "My Account" tab > select "Account Balance" under the "My Account" heading.

Resignation Resources

We are here to help, and we encourage you to use the many resources that are available to you