How to Complete and Submit the University of Phoenix Withdrawal Form

To withdraw from the University of Phoenix, contact your academic counselor, who processes the withdrawal and explains the financial and academic consequences before anything is finalized. The 2026–2027 Consumer Information Guide instructs students to give official notification of intent to withdraw and to discuss the impact with a counselor first.¹ The enrollment line is 866-766-0766, or you can text 937473.² What follows covers what to have ready, how much tuition you get back, what happens to your federal aid, how your transcript is affected, and the special rules for veterans and international students.

How to Start the Withdrawal

Call your academic counselor before you stop attending. The university’s FAQ specifically directs students to speak with a counselor before dropping any course because attendance drives financial aid eligibility.³ Your counselor can tell you the refund at your current point in the term, whether you’ll owe federal aid back, and what grade will land on your transcript.

Have this information ready:

Your student ID number, which is available in your MyPhoenix portal.
The course codes for every course you’re currently enrolled in.
Your last date of attendance, meaning the last day you did anything academically related: submitted an assignment, posted in a discussion, or took a quiz. This date drives both your refund and your federal aid return.
Your reason for withdrawing. If it’s medical or military activation, say so at the start, because different rules may apply.

For financial questions, Student Financial Services can be reached at 888-346-8679 or StudentFinancialServices@phoenix.edu. Two state-specific rules to note: California online students may submit a written cancellation request by mail to University of Phoenix, 4035 S. Riverpoint Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85040. Arizona residents have a right to a full refund of all money paid, including application and materials fees, if they withdraw within three business days of signing their enrollment agreement.¹

Tuition Refund Schedule

What you get back depends on when you pull the plug. For traditional and competency-based credit programs, the university uses a pro-rata system: if you’ve completed 60 percent or less of the course, your refund equals the remaining weeks divided by the total weeks. Withdraw before the course starts and you get 100 percent back.¹

For a typical five-week course, that works out to:

Week 1: 80 percent refund
Week 2: 60 percent refund
Week 3: 40 percent refund
Week 4 or later: no refund

Direct Assessment programs are different. If you have at least one academically related activity recorded before the census date (day 15 of the term) and you request withdrawal before that date, you receive a full refund. Past the census date with recorded activity, you owe the full cost of the term with no refund available.¹

What Happens to Your Federal Aid

If you received a Pell Grant, Direct Loan, or parent PLUS loan, withdrawing triggers a separate federal calculation called Return of Title IV (R2T4), required by 34 CFR 668.22. It runs on top of your institutional refund.⁴

Here’s the mechanics. The university figures out what percentage of the payment period you completed as of your last date of attendance. That percentage is the share of federal aid you earned. Anything above it is unearned and must be returned to the federal programs. Complete more than 60 percent of the payment period and you’re treated as having earned 100 percent, so no return is required.¹

This is where students get caught off guard. The university returns its share of unearned aid to the federal programs, but once that money goes back, the tuition it used to cover is now on you. That balance becomes personal debt to the school. If the R2T4 calculation also shows you personally received more grant or loan money than you earned, you may owe a portion directly to the Department of Education.⁴ If your earned aid turns out to be more than what was actually disbursed, the difference is a post-withdrawal disbursement that the university processes separately.

How a Withdrawal Shows on Your Transcript

The grade recorded depends on your program and timing. In standard courses, a W is recorded when you’re withdrawn for exceeding maximum allowable absences or when the university administratively withdraws you. In competency-based programs, a W is assigned if you request to drop before the start of week 11, if you go 14 consecutive days without any academically related activity, or if you’re administratively withdrawn. In Direct Assessment programs, a W is recorded if you withdraw on or after the census date; drop before the census date with at least one recorded activity and you get a DC (Dropped Course) grade, which does not appear on your official transcript.⁵

A W does not factor into your GPA, but it is visible on your transcript to future schools and, sometimes, employers. If you simply stop attending without formally withdrawing, the university may assign a failing grade for nonattendance, which does hit your GPA. That difference alone is worth completing the formal process.

Effect on Future Aid Eligibility

A W counts as credits attempted but not completed under Satisfactory Academic Progress rules. Federal regulations require students to complete at least 67 percent of all attempted coursework to keep federal aid. Every W pushes your completion rate down without adding earned credits to offset it.

Falling below 67 percent typically triggers a financial aid warning for the first occurrence, giving you one more term to recover. Stay below the threshold after the warning and your aid is suspended. Getting it back generally requires an appeal that documents the circumstances behind the withdrawals.

Loan Grace Period and Exit Counseling

Withdrawing from all your courses drops your enrollment below half-time, which starts two clocks: your loan grace period and required exit counseling.

Federal student loans carry a six-month grace period before repayment starts. If you haven’t used it before, it begins the day after you fall below half-time. If you attended school in the past and already used your consecutive grace period on older loans, those older loans re-enter repayment, while any newer loans from your current enrollment may still have their grace period available.⁶

Federal rules also require the university to provide exit counseling before you leave or within 30 days of learning you’ve withdrawn. Exit counseling covers your total loan balance, repayment options, and servicer contact information. If you withdrew without the school’s prior knowledge, the university delivers the counseling electronically or by mail to your last known address.⁷ Don’t skip it. Understanding your repayment options before the grace period ends is the difference between an orderly first payment and an accidental default.

If You’re Using GI Bill Benefits

Veterans and service members using GI Bill or Chapter 32 benefits face an extra layer. The VA classifies a W as a non-punitive grade and will not pay benefits for a course that ends with one. If benefits were already disbursed, the VA creates an overpayment debt.⁸

Two things can reduce that debt. The first is the six-credit-hour exclusion: the first time you withdraw, the VA automatically treats mitigating circumstances as existing for up to six semester hours or the equivalent, with no documentation. It’s a one-time benefit. The second is mitigating circumstances for later withdrawals or credits beyond the six-hour threshold. You submit a written description and supporting evidence showing the withdrawal was caused by circumstances beyond your control. Qualifying reasons include personal illness, a family member’s illness or death, unavoidable job relocation, unanticipated financial hardship, and unexpected childcare difficulties.⁸

Without either, the VA may demand repayment of all tuition, housing allowance, and book stipend for the entire term, retroactive to day one. Talk to the school’s VA certifying official before you withdraw so you know the full exposure.

If You’re on an F-1 Visa

F-1 students face immediate immigration consequences. The university’s Designated School Official must update SEVIS to reflect the enrollment change. If the DSO grants you an authorized early withdrawal, you get a 15-day grace period to depart the United States.⁹ Leave the program without that authorization first and you lose your visa status immediately, with no grace period. Contact the university’s international student office before taking any step toward withdrawal so the DSO can process the authorization properly.

Coming Back Later

If you return within one year, you can plan your next course directly in the MyPhoenix portal. After more than a year away, you have to formally reapply. There is no application fee, and students returning to the same program keep their original tuition rate under the Tuition Guarantee. Any outstanding balance from your previous enrollment must be resolved before you can restart classes, and if the curriculum has changed while you were gone, you may need to move to a newer version of your program.¹⁰

1
University of Phoenix. 2026-2027 Consumer Information Guide
2
University of Phoenix. Contact University of Phoenix
3
University of Phoenix. Student FAQs
4
eCFR. 34 CFR 668.22 – Treatment of Title IV Funds When a Student Withdraws
5
University of Phoenix. Academic Catalog
6
University of Phoenix. Repaying Student Loans
7
eCFR. 34 CFR 682.604 – Required Exit Counseling for Borrowers
8
eCFR. 38 CFR 21.4136
9
Study in the States. Authorized Early Withdrawals and the 15-Day Grace Period
10
University of Phoenix. Admissions