Withdrawals and Leaves of Absence

Since faculty and staff salary commitments must be made in advance and the costs of plant operation are fixed, the college must follow a very limited refund policy. Refunds for a student enrolled and attending classes will be issued only after the registrar has received written notice of withdrawal from the student. In extraordinary circumstances, notice may be accepted from a parent or guardian. The date the notice is received by the registrar will be considered the withdrawal date.

The Bursar's Office will determine the billed charges for the period of attendance. If the student is receiving financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will determine any refunds and/or repayments to federal, state, and college aid programs. Federal aid is earned by the student based upon the percentage of the semester completed, until 60% of the semester has been completed. Once 60% of the semester has been completed, based upon federal calculation guidelines, the student is considered to have earned all of their federal aid. It is important to note that students may incur liability for a large percentage of their semester charges, while having earned only a small percentage of their federal aid. In such a case, federal aid may have to be either canceled or returned to the federal aid program, which may actually increase the amount of semester charges that a student must pay out of pocket. The order used in returning federal aid is: Federal Direct Loan, Federal Pell Grant, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG).

The college's refund (semester charges liability) policy shall entitle a student who withdraws from the college to a refund of tuition, room and/or board and student activity fee according to the following:

Withdrawal Timing	Refund	Liability
Withdrawal occurs prior to the second day of the semester	100% refund	(No liability)
From the second day of the semester to 10% of the semester	90% refund	(10% liability)
Within 10% and 20% of the semester	75% refund	(25% liability)
Within 20% and 30% of the semester	50% refund	(50% liability)
Within 30% and 50% of the semester	25% refund	(75% liability)
Over 50% of the semester	0% refund	(100% liability)

A student granted an academic or personal leave of absence will be given a refund for prepaid tuition, room and board charges in accordance with the college refund policy for the semester or semesters the student will not be in attendance at Skidmore.

You can find a schedule of dates for the semesters of the current academic year here.