Readmission for Returning Students

Who needs to apply for readmission

If you were a degree-seeking Porter undergraduate and missed one or more fall or spring semesters, you file a re-entry application before you can register again. Summer does not count as a missed term. You do not need to reapply if you:

• were on an approved leave of absence (up to two consecutive semesters) and are returning on time;
• spent the time away on an approved study-away term or the National Student Exchange;
• only skipped a summer session.

Everyone else — students who withdrew, stopped attending, or were academically suspended — uses the re-entry application. It is free, takes about ten minutes, and lives in the same portal as the first-year application under “Former Porter student.” In 2025–26 Porter readmitted 312 former students; 41 percent had been away more than five years.

2026–27 deadlines

Those are the last dates, not the best ones. Continuing students begin registering for spring on November 9, 2026, and required sections fill. Readmitted students get registration access within two business days of their decision, so applying in October or early November means a real schedule rather than leftovers.

Clearing holds

Holds do not stop readmission, but they stop registration. Check MyPorter for any of these before you apply, and see registration holds for the full list:

• Student account balance (Bursar’s Office): a signed payment plan clears the hold even before the balance is paid. Accounts sent to collections can also be released with a payment agreement — call the office rather than assuming it is final.
• Library: unreturned Halvorsen Library items or replacement charges.
• Parking: unpaid citations from your previous enrollment.
• Dean of Students: an open conduct sanction must be resolved or scheduled.
• Health records: an immunization record that was never completed.

Academic standing when you return

You come back with the standing you left with. A student who left on probation returns on probation, with the same advising and credit-cap requirements described in academic standing.

• After a first suspension: one semester away, then a written petition covering what changed, a realistic course plan and a meeting with an adviser. The associate dean of your college decides within ten business days.
• After a second suspension: one full academic year away before petitioning.
• Financial aid is separate. Readmission does not restore aid eligibility; if you fell below satisfactory academic progress, file a financial aid appeal at the same time.

Students who return on probation and use the support recover at high rates; probation recovery describes what that support looks like.

Coursework elsewhere, catalog year and renewal

If you took college courses somewhere else while you were away, send those transcripts. You will be reviewed as a returning transfer student and need at least a 2.0 on that outside work. The credits are evaluated after readmission and post to your degree audit.

Catalog year: students away fewer than two consecutive years return under their original catalog. After a longer absence you move to the current (2026–27) catalog unless your department approves the older one — occasionally useful when a requirement has since changed.

Academic renewal: if you have been away at least three years and then complete 24 credits back at Porter with a 2.5 GPA, you can petition to set aside a block of old grades from your GPA. See academic renewal and fresh start before deciding; it is a one-time action.

Talk to someone first

Jun Park, Porter’s re-entry and transfer counselor, handles readmission questions and can pull your old record before you apply. Adults returning after a long gap should also look at adult and returning students and prior learning assessment — work experience since you left may be worth credit. If you only want a course or two before committing, non-degree enrollment is an option.