Week 1 - 2: You may drop a full 18-week long class by the end of the 2nd week without any entry on your transcript, and you will receive a refund or reversal of class fees. Please drop the course via your myCuesta Portal. 

NOTE: Some fees are nonrefundable and may not be reversed; refer to the Cuesta College refund policy for more information.  

Week 3 to Week 12: You may drop a full 18-week long class by the end of the 12th week of a semester to receive a "W" entry on your transcript. No documentation or justification is required to drop a class with a "W." Please drop the course via your myCuesta Portal.

Dropping a class with a W will not affect your GPA. If you miss the deadline to drop with a W you will have to receive a grade, in most cases an F, which will affect your overall GPA. If you receive a C in a class and pass, you will be unable to repeat the course to get a better grade.

If you have a verifiable extenuating circumstance you may be eligible to file an appeal to receive an Excused Withdrawal (EW). An “EW” is acceptable if you have to withdraw from a course(s) due to reasons beyond your control and have verifiable documentation. An extenuating circumstance is an uncontrollable event such as a serious health condition, illness, or injury; a traumatic event such as a natural disaster; divorce, sexual assault; criminal assault; death of an immediate family member; employment changes such as military duty. Not included in this definition are issues such as transportation, roommate problems, incompatibility with faculty, difficult course load, dislike of a course, etc.

Week 13 to Week 18: You cannot drop a course after the 12th week of a semester unless you have a verifiable extenuating circumstance. If you quit attending a class but did not drop early enough, you may receive an F in the course. 

If you have a verifiable extenuating circumstance you may file an appeal to receive an Excused Withdrawal (EW). An “EW” is acceptable if you have to withdraw from a course(s) due to reasons beyond your control and have verifiable documentation. An extenuating circumstance is an uncontrollable event such as a serious health condition, illness, or injury; a traumatic event such as a natural disaster; divorce, sexual assault; criminal assault; death of an immediate family member; employment changes such as military duty. Not included in this definition are issues such as transportation, roommate problems, incompatibility with faculty, difficult course load, dislike of a course, etc.

You are not eligible for an Excused Withdrawal. Please check the drop deadline date to see if you are eligible to drop a course with a "W."

The drop deadlines are posted on your myCuesta Class Schedule Receipt for your enrolled courses. You can also click on the CRN for deadlines via the Class Finder after search results.

You may be eligible for an Excused Withdrawal. Please submit a petition with verifiable documentation for review. 

Verifiable documentation can include, but is not limited to a note from a doctor stating the student is not currently able to complete the work due to illness, employment verification of a new job, a booking report, police report of an accident, death certificate or obituary of immediate family member, or any other documentation that verifies the student’s extenuating circumstances or that completion of a course is beyond the student’s control