Steps to Request a Medical Withdrawal

Deadline to apply for medical withdrawal: 2 years after the end of the term in question.

Introduction and Criteria

A student who is withdrawing from the University (or who has withdrawn within two years after the end of the term in question) may make a request for a medical withdrawal. 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 which requires the student to withdraw from the university.
  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.

The Medical Withdrawal Committee, consisting of representatives from the Offices of Student Life, Registrar, Student Accounts, and Financial Aid, will determine whether the Medical Withdrawal will be granted and, if so, 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 Web Site.)

The student will continue to receive e-bill notifications and will be responsible for the payment of all charges until a decision has been made to the contrary.  The student is liable for all charges incurred after the official withdrawal date.

Steps for the Student to Request a Medical Withdrawal:

  1. Contact the Office of Student Life (University Center, Room 245 or 262-472-1533) to discuss the possibility of pursuing a request for a medical withdrawal.  If you qualify, the Office of Student Life will provide you with a Medical Withdrawal Request Form (or you may download the form from the Student Life website).  The form must be completed in full and should be accompanied by the supporting documentation cited below.
  2. Write a narrative Personal Written Statement:
    1. Describe the medical condition/circumstances that required you to withdraw from the university.
    2. Explain why the medical condition/circumstances prevented you from completing the academic term.
    3. Detail the dates of the onset of your medical condition/circumstances, along with the dates of any treatment you received, if appropriate. 
    4. If you stopped attending classes, explain why and when. (Please note:  non-attendance does not exempt you from academic and financial responsibilities.)
    5. If you stopped attending classes, did you continue to utilize other campus services such as purple point card, residence hall meal plan, Health and Counseling, attendance at student events? If so, please describe your activities.
    6. Explain what relief you are seeking from this request.  Be as specific as possible.
  3. Provide supporting documentation:
    1. Written documentation could be from your from your health care provider(s) or other pertinent sources. The documentation should be on clinic letterhead, describe the diagnosed medical/ psychological condition or circumstances and indicate when treatment commenced. It should also explain how the condition or circumstances prevents you from attending classes and completing the semester. If able, the health care provider(s) should address potential health/clinical consequences if a medical withdrawal is not granted. To ensure confidentiality, the health care provider(s) may use a Release of Information form.
  4. In order to determine the most appropriate date of withdrawal, contact instructors from the term in question and ask for written documentation of the last date of attendance.
  5. Submit all the documents and information listed above to the Office of Student Life. All questions, correspondence, and documentation should be addressed to:

Office of Student Life
800 West Main Street
University Center, Room 245
Whitewater, WI  53190
Phone:  262/472-1533
Fax:  262/472-4944

If you are an International student; student athlete; student with a disability; or a student receiving financial aid, veteran’s, or other benefits you may be well served to obtain additional written documentation to support your request.  Any missing information may delay consideration of your request.

Steps Taken Administratively

The Medical Withdrawal Committee will convene and review the submitted materials. The student will be notified of the outcome in writing, which may be done via the campus email address.

If the request is granted, the Office of Student Life will notify the following offices of the approved Medical Withdrawal for their respective appropriate action: Student Accounts, Registrar, Residence Life, Financial Aid, and HawkCard. The Office of Student Life will also notify the directors of International Education and Programs, Athletics, and the Center for Students with Disabilities when appropriate. The Registrar’s office will notify appropriate academic advising staff.

For those situations where the student is to receive a refund, the University Cashier will process the refund.

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

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 Office 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.

If an academic dean believes a student completing the medical late drop process through the college should be granted special consideration by the Medical Withdrawal Committee, the academic dean will forward the medical late drop forms and supporting documentation to the 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.

In certain rare cases when the student files a request for a medical withdrawal by the end of the term for which the withdrawal applies, the UW-Whitewater Medical Withdrawal Committee may consider granting the student a refund of a portion of the term’s tuition and segregated fees on a pro-rated basis.  Refunds will be 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.

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.

Notification:

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

Downloadable Medical Withdrawal Request Form:

Medical Withdrawal Form

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