Drop a Class

When You Can Drop

The information below applies to dropping one or more Main Campus classes while remaining enrolled in at least one.

Dropping all of your Main Campus classes constitutes withdrawal and has a different impact on your tuition and fees. See Withdraw from the Semester for details.

Dropping Without Penalty

You may drop a class without penalty during:

The last day to drop a class without tuition/fee charges and without a W grade is published in the academic calendar (see below).

Dropping with W Grades & Full Tuition/Fee Assessment

If you drop a class after the no-penalty deadline, but before the published last day to drop a class (see calendar below), a W (withdrew) grade will post to your transcript and you'll be required to pay full tuition and fees for the dropped class.

To learn more about grade policies, see the in the CU Boulder catalog.

After the last day to drop a class with a W grade in Buff Portal, you'll need to contact your advisor to discuss your options for a class withdrawal. Supporting documentation may be required.

In a Registration Program?

Nondegree students, high school students, auditors, CU faculty and staff using the tuition assistance benefit, and students taking classes through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) or intercampus enrollment follow different registration schedules.

Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ Registration Programs 

How to Drop

CU Boulder Class Search Buff Portal
CU Boulder Class Search

To drop one or more of your enrolled or waitlisted classes, follow the steps below:

  1. Log in to .
  2. Click the cart icon on the upper right.
  3. In the cart, click the class you want to drop.
  4. In the course details panel, click "Drop."
  5. A pop-up will confirm that you're adding a drop request to your cart. Click "OK."
  6. In the cart, click "Continue to Enrollment."
  7. If there are changes in your cart you don't want to submit, untick the checkbox to the right of those classes.
  8. When you're ready to submit the selected changes, click "Submit Registration."

If it worked, you'll see a confirmation message. If it didn't, you'll see an error message; read the description for details.

  1. Log in with your IdentiKey to access .
  2. If you land on a page telling you you've completed preregistration, click "Continue in Portal."
  3. In the registration system, scroll down to the "CU Boulder Shopping Cart" section and tick the checkbox next to each class you want to drop.
  4. Click "Drop Selected Classes."
  5. Review your selection(s), then click "Finish Dropping."

If it worked, you'll see a confirmation message. If it didn't, you'll see an error message; read the description for details.

To drop one or more of your enrolled or waitlisted classes:

  1. Follow this link to Buff Portal's  (you may be prompted to log in).
  2. Select the class you want to drop.
  3. Select "Drop/Swap/Edit Class."
  4. Select "Drop This Class," then "Continue."
  5. In the registration system, scroll down to the "CU Boulder Shopping Cart" section and tick the checkbox next to each class you want to drop.
  6. Click "Drop Selected Classes."
  7. Review your selection(s), then click "Finish Dropping."

If it worked, you'll see a confirmation message. If it didn't, you'll see an error message; read the description for details.

Administrative Drops

Administrative drops can occur for two reasons:

  • Nonattendance
  • Missing required course prerequisites or corequisites

You must attend class regularly to guarantee your place in a class before the drop without penalty deadline of the semester or session. If you fail to attend, you may be administratively dropped at the discretion of the department offering the course; however, this is not guaranteed. Administrative drops by the department must be completed by the drop without penalty deadline.

For remote or online classes, attendance policies are developed by instructors in consultation with their department chairs. Instructors have been asked to clearly define their policies in the syllabus, and to remain in communication with their students to verify class attendance and participation.

Check with your instructor about their specific policy regarding administrative drops for nonattendance, and review your schedule to confirm any and all drops.

Contact Us

   registrar@colorado.edu
   303-492-6970

Add/Drop Calendar

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