Medical Withdrawal Practice Directive
Policy Number
Policy Purpose
This policy outlines provisions with respect to UW-Whitewater medical withdrawals and refunds beyond the 100% refund date.
Responsible UW-Whitewater Office
Dean of Students
Policy and Procedures
Authority / Regent Policy Document(s):
UW System Administrative Policy 807, Medical Withdrawal and Tuition Adjustment Policy. Original Issuance Date: January 19, 2021. Last Revision Date: June 17, 2024.
Scope and Institutional Responsibilities
This policy applies to the UW-Whitewater medical withdrawal process, including tuition refunds beyond the 100% refund date per UW System Administrative Policy 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction.
UW-Whitewater has developed procedures and guidance to support this policy.
Background
A medical withdrawal may be necessary in instances where a student is faced with a serious or unexpected physical or behavioral health condition that completely precludes the student from being able to function as a student, and in which the regular university withdrawal process is not appropriate and or deadline has passed.
Definitions
Student: Anyone who has ever been enrolled at UW-Whitewater.
Immediate Family Member: A parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, child or other member of the student’s primary familial support unit.
Tuition: Includes both academic student fees and nonresident tuition. In the State of Wisconsin statutes, the term “academic student fees” generally applies to resident instructional fees paid by all students, and the term “tuition” applies to the additional amount paid by nonresidents (see UW System Administrative Policy 805).
Medical Withdrawal: The process used after the 100% refund period to fully remove a student from the requested term where a student is faced with a serious or unexpected physical or mental health condition that precludes the student from being able to function as a student.
Last Date of Class Attendance: The last date one was present for or engaged in in-person or on-line academic activity, as determined by the campus policies and procedures for withdrawals and return of financial aid funds.
Policy Statement
A medical withdrawal is granted in instances where a student is faced with a serious or unexpected condition that precludes the student from being able to function as a student and in which the regular university withdrawal process is not appropriate. The medical withdrawal is to be used after the 100% refund period, as indicated in UW System Administrative Policy 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction.
A request may be granted to students who experience a serious or unexpected physical or mental health condition; who may need to provide care to an immediate family member who is experiencing a serious or unexpected physical or mental health condition; or who have experienced the death of an immediate family member. Approval will be granted on a case-by-case basis.
In the case of pre-existing, recurring, or chronic health conditions, documentation must show that the recurrence or worsening of the condition(s) began after initiation of the term for which the withdrawal is requested.
Exceptions to any of the stated provisions in this policy can only be authorized by the chancellor or the chancellor’s designee. Any delegation of authority should be in writing and maintained in the designee’s offices. Documentation justifying exceptions should be maintained. Blanket exceptions are not authorized.
Policy Administration
The medical withdrawal policy is administered through UW-Whitewater’s Dean of Students Office. The office provides support for students seeking a medical withdrawal, helping them to understand their options and the implications of pursuing a medical withdrawal, and referring the student to necessary resources for additional support and information.
All medical withdrawal documents are housed in an electronic database system with restricted access due to the sensitive nature of the request and the accompanying documentation.
The medical withdrawal policy and procedures are made available to students as part of the overall Registrar’s Office policies and procedures for all students, located on the Registrar’s Office website, course catalog, and Dean of Students Office website.
The medical withdrawal documents must include a supporting letter from a licensed healthcare provider or healthcare records that correlate with and substantiate the request for the term of medical withdrawal. In the case of death of an immediate family member, an obituary or other official record of death may be requested as documentation.
Policy Timeline
Whenever possible, requests for a medical withdrawal should occur during the term in which the medical condition arose. Students may apply for a retroactive medical withdrawal up to one year after the end of the term in question. For applications submitted after the end of the term, transcript adjustments are the primary remedy; tuition adjustments may not be possible.
The last date of class attendance shall be considered 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 an appropriate grade designation that will not impact GPA calculations for the student. This date will also be used by the Financial Aid Office to make award and/or repayment decisions, which could result in a change to the student’s overall financial aid.
Tuition and Fee Refund Schedule
If the Medical Withdrawal Review Committee members determine a refund of tuition and segregated fees is in order, UW-Whitewater will follow the refund ranges listed in the tables below. Exceptions to the schedule may only be granted by the chancellor or designee.
Course Length: 2 weeks or less
Week 1: 100%
Week 2: 0%
Course Length: 3-4 Weeks
Week 1: 100%
Week 2: 75%
Week 3: 50%
Week 4: 0%
Course Length: 5-7 weeks
Week 1: 100%
Week 2: 80%
Week 3: 60%
Week 4: 50%
Week 5: 30%
Week 6+: 10%
Course Length: 8-11 weeks
Week 1: 100%
Week 2: 90%
Week 3: 75%
Week 4: 75%
Week 5: 50%
Week 6: 50%
Week 7+: 10%
Course Length: 12 weeks and longer
Week 1: 100%
Week 2: 100%
Week 3: 80%
Week 4: 70%
Week 5: 60%
Week 6: 60%
Week 7: 50%
Week 8: 50%
Week 9: 40%
Week 10: 30%
Week 11: 30%
Week 12: 30%
Week 13+: 10%
Refund or proration of other fees is subject to existing university policy.
Integration with Related Campus Processes
Usually, consideration is for a complete withdrawal from all courses. If UW-Whitewater allows the late drop of one or more courses for medical reasons under this policy while the student remains enrolled in other courses, the rationale must be especially well-documented to explain the selective nature of the academic impact.
The UW-Whitewater medical withdrawal procedures indicate that necessary re-entry steps may be required should the student be interested in returning in the future. The purpose of the re-entry activity is to help increase the likelihood of student success upon return and generally focuses on reminding students of university and community resources that are available to help in a successful transition back to campus. Potential steps include, but are not limited to, inviting a returning student to attend a voluntary return-to-campus meeting, or sending correspondence to a student welcoming them back and outlining resources. Re-entry requirements to return must not put undue burden on the student to prove their readiness to return. If UW-Whitewater requires a letter from a healthcare provider, the focus will be on aftercare recommendations that would allow UW-Whitewater to offer resources that would support a successful transition back to campus.
UW-Whitewater may incorporate the medical withdrawal as a specific process within the overall late withdrawal process at the institution, as many extenuating circumstances are highly sensitive in nature and should be reviewed for tuition and segregated fee proration.
Medical Withdrawal Committee
The Medical Withdrawal Committee consists of individuals representing various departments on campus: Dean of Students Office, CARE Team, Registrar’s Office, Financial Services and Financial Aid Office.
Procedures
UWW Medical Withdrawal Procedures
UWW Medical Withdrawal Request Webpage (which includes a link to the Medical Withdrawal Request Form.