Steps to Request a Medical Withdrawal

Introduction and Criteria

A student who is withdrawing from the University may make a request for a medical withdrawal. Approval of a request may qualify the student for a refund of a portion of tuition and segregated fees. Some examples of reasons for a request may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Serious illness (physical or mental) for which the student will need to withdraw from all classes in order to recover.
  2. Death or serious illness or injury to an immediate family member.
  3. An injury to the student which prevents the student from attending classes and completing academic requirements.

To initiate a request for a medical withdrawal, contact the Office of Student Life, University Center Room 245, 262/472-1533.

Policy:

A request may be granted to students who themselves become ill or injured; or who have experienced a death in the family; or who may need to provide care to an immediate family member who is seriously ill or injured. Approval will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Students enrolled in study abroad or faculty led travel study courses and programs who request medical withdrawals, and have the requests approved, will not be awarded refunds of any portion of tuition, segregated fees, travel, lodging, insurance, and/or other costs associated with those self-supporting courses and programs.

Tuition and segregated fee refunds will be determined by the UW-Whitewater Medical Withdrawal Committee based upon the documented circumstances in the student's request, whether the request is predicated on a pre-existing condition, University policy, and other factors that are deemed appropriate by the Committee. The Medical Withdrawal Committee will consist of the Dean of Student Life and representatives from the following offices: Registrar, Student Financial Services, and Financial Aid.

The Medical Withdrawal Committee will determine the official withdrawal date to be used by the Registrar's Office for recording academic record class drops and term withdrawals. Based on the date, dropped classes will either be removed entirely from student transcripts or they will continue to appear with grades of -W-. This date will also be used by the Financial Aid Office to make award and/or repayment decisions.

If the student lives in a residence hall, he or she must contact his/her hall director regarding the formal check out process. Failure to complete this process will result in the student being charged for the room until he/she checks out, as well as an administrative charge for improper check out and any other applicable charges. (For further information, please refer to the Residence Life Handbook.)

The student is liable for all charges incurred after the official withdrawal date.

Procedure:

The Dean of Student Life will notify the following offices of the approved Medical Withdrawal for their respective appropriate action: Student Financial Services, Registrar, Residence Life, Financial Aid, and HawkCard. The Dean of Student Life will also notify the directors of International Education and Programs, Athletics, and the Center for Students with Disabilities when appropriate.

For those situations where the student is to receive a refund, Student Financial Services will instruct the University Cashier to send the refund check to the student at his/her permanent address.

When a student is requesting a full medical withdrawal (i.e., dropping all classes for the term), the medical withdrawal committee will take action.

When a student is requesting a partial medical withdrawal to drop all in-progress classes after having completed one or more classes earlier in the term...

  • The medical withdrawal committee will take action
  • The academic deans will refer the student to the medical withdrawal committee

If the medical withdrawal committee believes a student seeking a partial medical withdrawal (i.e., drop some but not all classes) for the current term merits special consideration, the Dean of Student Life will consult with the appropriate academic dean(s). Should both the medical withdrawal committee and the appropriate academic dean(s) concur with the partial withdrawal request, the medical withdrawal committee will take action.

When the student is requesting a partial medical withdrawal, and the medical withdrawal committee believes the request is warranted, the dean of student life will consult with the appropriate academic dean before making a final determination.

If an academic dean believes a student completing the medical late drop process through the college should be granted consideration for financial remuneration, the academic dean will forward the medical late drop forms and supporting documentation to the medical withdrawal committee.

If an academic dean believes a student requesting a medical late drop might warrant a hold on their record, the academic dean will forward the medical late drop forms and supporting documentation to the medical withdrawal committee.

Approval Process:

All documentation as outlined in Steps To Request A Medical Withdrawal from UW-W is to be submitted to the Dean of Student Life. The Dean of Student Life will convene and chair a meeting of the Medical Withdrawal Committee. The Dean of Student Life is the University official responsible for approving the request. The student may appeal the Dean's decision to the Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs.

Notification:

The student will be provided written notification of the decision of the Medical Withdrawal Committee from the Dean of Student Life.

Medical Withdrawal Form

Medical Withdrawal Refund Policy

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