We know there may be times when continuing your coursework either isn't possible, or isn't the right call for you. If that's the case, you have two options: take a leave of absence, which pauses your enrollment for up to a year, or withdraw, which ends it. Each option has its own steps to get started, and what happens to your transcript and your tuition depends on exactly when you set your exit date.  This article walks you through both paths so you can decide what's right for you.

In This Article:

• Important Dates to Understand
• Taking a Leave of Absence
  • Initiating a Leave of Absence
  • Timing Your Leave of Absence
  • What Happens Next
• Withdrawing From Relay
  • Initiating a Withdrawal
  • Timing Your Withdrawal
  • Finalizing Your Withdrawal

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When it comes to planning your withdrawal or LOA, there are three important dates to be aware of: the census date and the refund date, and the end of the term. 

A census date is an administrative date each term when your enrollment is finalized and your credits are locked in. 

The refund date is a predetermined deadline that affects how much tuition you may or may not get back. 

And what happens to your transcript and tuition depends on the date you set for your leave of absence or withdrawal and its relation  to the census date, the refund date, and the last day of the term. 

Taking a Leave of Absence

A leave of absence pauses your enrollment for up to a year — three consecutive terms (summer, fall, and spring). If you haven't returned by the end of that year, we'll withdraw you from the program permanently.

Initiating a Leave of Absence

To request a leave of absence, follow these steps:

1. Talk with your Manager of Student Success and/or the Office of Student Financial Services to figure out how and when to take your leave. Keep in mind that taking a leave of absence from Relay while you're pursuing your teaching certification can affect your certification status.
2. Talk to your school leaders and any partner programs you're working with, like NYCTF or TFA. There can be serious financial, professional, and academic consequences to pausing your enrollment, so it's worth understanding those before you move forward.
3. Once you've confirmed a leave of absence is the right decision, submit a leave of absence request application to the Registrar's Office. 

Be sure to keep the date in mind when you decide when to submit — we'll cover what that means for your transcript and tuition next.

Ready to get started? Click here to be redirected to the leave of absence request form.

Timing Your Leave of Absence

If You Select a Date On or Before the Census Date

• Your Transcripts: None of your courses from that term will appear on your transcript.
• Your Tuition: You'll receive a full refund of that term's tuition. If you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You'll find the exact census date for your term in Table 4 of the Enrollment Definitions article. 

If You Select a Date Before the Last Day of the Term

• Your Transcripts: You'll receive a "W" on your transcript for every course you were enrolled in that term, instead of a grade.
• Your Tuition: Within this window, exactly when you submit makes a difference. If you submit before the refund date, you'll receive a 50% refund of that term's tuition, and you'll owe the remaining 50%. If you submit after the refund date, you won't receive a refund for that term. Either way, if you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You’ll find the exact refund dates for your term in Table 13 of the Enrollment Definitions article.

If You Select a Date After the Last Day of the Term

• Your Transcripts: You'll have already completed your coursework for that term, so you'll receive your standing grades for every course in that term.
• Your Tuition: You won't receive a refund for that term's tuition. If you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You can double-check on the last day of the term in Table 3 of the Enrollment Definitions article. 

Finalizing Your Leave of Absence

Once you start the process, you'll need to submit your completed leave of absence request form within 10 days. If we don't receive it within that window, we'll use the date we do receive it to determine your refund eligibility.

You're still enrolled at Relay — with all the academic, financial, and administrative responsibilities that come with it — until your leave of absence application is processed. Once it is, you’ll receive an email confirmation from the Registrar's Office. That confirmation email will also include details on how to re-enroll when you're ready to return (see Useful Resources below). Until you hear back, we recommend continuing to attend class and complete your coursework as usual.

If you have an unpaid balance when you exit, the Office of Student Financial Services will send you a financial-obligations email explaining what you owe, your payment options, and your collections date. You'll have 30 days to respond and either set up a payment plan or make a payment. If you don't respond or take action within that window, your account may be sent to a collections agency, and you could be responsible for the cost of collections in addition to your balance.

A note on financial aid: A leave of absence is treated the same as a withdrawal for federal Title IV financial aid purposes. This means you may be required to return a portion of unearned Title IV funds, like direct unsubsidized loan funds, if you take a leave of absence. For more on how that works, see Financial Obligations Upon Changes to Enrollment in Useful Resources below. Keep in mind that any tuition tied to pending, unearned financial aid awards becomes payable immediately if you don't complete the term, which can make your outstanding balance larger than you might expect. 

 

Withdrawing From Relay

If it's not possible — or not the right call for you — to complete your coursework, you can withdraw from Relay.

Initiating a Withdrawal

To withdraw, follow these steps:

1. Talk with your Manager of Student Success and/or the Office of Student Financial Services to figure out how and when to withdraw. Keep in mind that withdrawing from Relay while you're pursuing your teaching certification can affect your certification status.
2. Talk to your school leaders and any partner programs you're working with, like NYCTF or TFA, about what withdrawing means for you. There can be serious financial, professional, and academic consequences to suspending your enrollment, so it's worth understanding those before you move forward.
3. Once you've learned about those implications and decided you still want to withdraw, complete a withdrawal form and submit it to the Registrar's Office. 

Be sure to keep the census date in mind when you decide when to submit — we'll cover what that means for your transcript and tuition next.

Ready to get started? Click here to be redirected to the withdrawal request form.

Timing Your Withdrawal

If You Select a Date or Before the Census Date

• Your Transcripts: None of your courses from that term will appear on your transcript.
• Your Tuition: You'll receive a full refund of that term's tuition. If you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You'll find the exact census date for your term in Table 4 of the Enrollment Definitions article. 

If You Select a Date Before the Last Day of the Term

• Your Transcripts: You'll receive a "W" on your transcript for every course you were enrolled in that term, instead of a grade.
• Your Tuition: You won't receive a refund for that term's tuition. If you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You can double-check on the last day of the term in Table 3 of the Enrollment Definitions article. 

If You Select a Date After the Last Day of the Term

• Your Transcripts: You'll receive your standing grades for every course in that term.

• Your Tuition: You won't receive a refund for that term's tuition. If you owe tuition from any prior terms — including deferred tuition — that balance is due in full when you exit.

You can double-check on the last day of the term in Table 3 of the Enrollment Definitions article. 

Finalizing Your Withdrawal

Once you start the process, you'll need to submit your completed withdrawal form within 10 days. If we don't receive it within that window, we'll use the date we do receive it to determine your refund eligibility. You're still enrolled at Relay — with all the academic, financial, and administrative responsibilities that come with it — until your withdrawal form is processed and you receive an email confirmation from the Registrar's Office.

If you have an unpaid balance when you exit, the Office of Student Financial Services will send you a financial-obligations email explaining what you owe, your payment options, and your collections date. You'll have 30 days to respond and either set up a payment plan or make a payment. If you don't respond or take action within that window, your account may be sent to a collections agency, and you could be responsible for the cost of collections in addition to your balance.