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Medical Withdrawal Process

A student may request a Medical Withdrawal through the Dean of Students Office.  The Medical Withdrawal process is outlined below.  It should be noted that a Medical Withdrawal can only be requested after mid-term.  A student wanting to withdraw before mid-term must follow the Withdrawal from Course Policy stated in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs.  Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Office of the Registrar (333-5727).  It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw officially in accordance with university regulations.

Medical Withdrawal Process

  • Students must contact the Dean of Students Office and give written permission allowing the Dean of Students Office to withdraw them from all of their current semester classes.  The Dean of Students Office strongly encourages students to contact their professors/instructors by phone and/or email to notify them of their intentions to withdraw.
  • Students must provide medical documentation from their physician on their physician’s letterhead and it must be signed by the physician (documentation on a prescription pad is unacceptable).
  • The Dean of Students Office will verify the authenticity of the physician’s letterhead.
  • The medical withdrawal process can not begin until both the students’ written permission and the physician’s documentation have been received and verified.
  • The Dean of Students Office will contact professors/instructors via email that the student is withdrawing from their class for medical reasons.  This email will include a request from the Dean of Students Office for permission to sign off on the medical withdrawal form for the professor/instructor.  Since this request comes after midterm, the Dean of Students Office will request whether the professor/instructor wishes to assign a grade of W or WF for the course.  It is important that the professor/instructor respond to this request via email because this documentation supports the medical withdrawal.
  • The Dean of Students Office will then contact the student’s Advisor/Department Head of their major, the Dean of the College of their major and the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs to request permission to sign off on the student’s medical withdrawal form for them.
  • The Dean of Students Office will complete Sections A, B, C and D of the withdrawal form and will forward it to the Registrar’s Office without medical and supporting documentation.  All medical and supporting documentation will be on file in the Dean of Students Office under lock and key.
  • Per Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) the Dean of Students office is not permitted to discuss a student’s medical issues with professors/instructors.

The Dean of Students Office will not accept any medical withdrawal requests after the last day of class as indicated by the Academic Calendar; any exception to this must be requested through the Vice President for Academic Affairs Office.