» Interrupted Enrollment and Re-Enrollment

Students may find it necessary to interrupt progress toward their degree; leave Chapman and decide to return at a later date.


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Undergraduate Interrupted Enrollment

Students wishing to leave during a semester and prior to the end of the withdrawal period, must officially drop all courses enrolled, or submit a request to drop at the Office of the University Registrar. 

Students who stop attending courses without dropping them or without officially requesting an Interrupt Enrollment, will receive a grade of “FW” (Failure to Withdraw), which is equivalent to an “F” grade in the computation of the Chapman University GPA. An “FW” grade may place the student in academic jeopardy, or cause financial aid recipients to lose some, or all their assistance.

Current undergraduate students who are uncertain whether to leave and interrupt their enrollment are urged to contact the campus Dean of Students prior to dropping.

Degree seeking students who completely withdraw from their first term due to family emergency, medical reasons, or military/occupational relocation may petition for Interrupted Enrollment. To petition for Interrupt Enrollment, complete an Undergraduate Petition Form and submit it to the Dean of Students' Office. The Dean's office will notify the Office of the University Registrar whether the leave is approved.

Undergraduate students who have been away for more than five consecutive semesters may apply for Re-Enrollment. 

To drop courses during the semester or term being attended, and prior to the end of the withdraw period, login to StudentCenter.Chapman.edu

Undergraduate Re-Enrollment

If a student has completed their first term in a degree seeking program and leaves the University in good academic standing or on academic probation, the student will not need to re–apply, but can re–enroll for classes at Chapman by submitting the re–enrollment form to the Office of the University Registrar. 

Undergraduate students who left Chapman University in good academic standing or on academic probation and were absent no more than four consecutive semesters (excluding interterm and summer sessions), may enroll for classes at Chapman University during the registration period for their return. Students with Interrupted Enrollment status will enroll under the general education and major degree requirements of their original catalog year.

Returning students may check for the current registration dates at www.chapman.edu/registrationdates. To review steps to register and enroll for classes, link to www.chapman.edu/registration.

If an undergraduate student left the university in good academic standing or on academic probation and was gone for 5 consecutive semesters or more (excluding interterm and summer sessions), and has not since earned an undergraduate degree from another institution, the student must submit an Application for Re-Enrollment to the Office of the University Registrar. The Application for Re-Enrollment must include all required official transcripts for review of re-enrollment eligibility. Official transcripts must be received in the Office of the University Registrar within 30 days of submission of the Application for Re-Enrollment. Otherwise, the application will be canceled.

If students take coursework during their absence from Chapman University, they must provide official transcripts of that work to the Office of the University Registrar. Students who have been away from the university for more than 5 years must provide official transcripts from all institutions attended. Chapman University will verify enrollments at other institutions to confirm that all official transcripts have been submitted.

Prior to applying for re-enrollment:

  • Review the policy for Undergraduate Re-enrollment as stated above.
  • Provide official transcripts from all institutions attended.
  • Submit the Application for Re-Enrollment Form - PDF

Official review of the Application for Re-Enrollment will not begin until all official transcripts have been received.

Students wishing to return to Chapman University are eligible for Re-Enrollment so long as the major and/or minor meet the following criteria:

  • The major and/or minor are still being offered by Chapman University.
  • The major and/or minor have not had significant changes due to regulatory requirements.
  • The major and/or minor are not impacted programs calling for selective admission.

The student will enroll under the general education and major or degree requirements in effect at the time the student returns to Chapman. The Office of the University Registrar will review student program requirements and evaluations under the student’s previous catalog year. Once reviewed, and previous information and evaluation are compiled, the information will be submitted to the academic department for review. Decisions made by the academic departments or schools on catalog requirements are final.

Graduate Leave of Absence

If, for acceptable reasons, graduate students find it necessary to interrupt progress toward their degrees for more than one semester (interterm and summer sessions do not constitute a semester, unless the program requires attendance during these semesters or trimesters), a Leave of Absence may be granted.

A leave permits students to retain the right to elect requirements in effect at time of the leave or to adopt those in effect at time of return. However, a Leave of Absence does not toll or place on hold the University rule that all degree requirements must be completed within 7 years from the date of matriculation to the graduate program; in other words, the 7-year clock continues to run even while a student is on Leave of Absence.

To review Chapman University's Academic Policies on Degree Requirements and Time Limitation, link to the University Catalog

Requests for Leaves of Absence are made by completing a Graduate Petition Form and submitting it to the Dean's Office of the student's college or school. The Dean's Office will notify the Office of the University Registrar whether the leave application is approved.

Graduate students wishing to leave during a semester and prior to the end of the withdrawal period, must officially drop all courses enrolled, or submit a request to drop at the Office of the University Registrar. 

To drop courses from Student Center, login to StudentCenter.Chapman.edu

The minimum requirements for a Leave of Absence are as follows:

  • A student must be in good academic standing.
  • The petition must be approved by the program director and dean of the college.
  • The petition must state clearly and completely the reasons for the leave.
  • Leaves may be granted for a maximum of two years (normally one year with a possible renewal of one additional year). Failure to return after the specified time is considered complete withdrawal from Chapman University. Retroactive leaves are not permitted.
  • A Leave of Absence does not supersede the policy that all requirements for a degree must be completed within a seven-year period.

Graduate Re-Enrollment

Graduate students who have broken enrollment for a period of more than one semester/trimester without receiving an approved Leave of Absence are required to request Re–Enrollment through their program department (interterm and summer sessions do not constitute a semester). All students are held to the degree requirements in effect at the time of their return unless approved for their original catalog year requirements by the program director or appropriate dean.

To apply for Re-Enrollment, contact the program department to submit a Graduate Re-Enrollment Form.