Medical Withdrawal and Re-Enrollment Policy

Policy  The Office of Student Advocacy and Support (SAS), as authorized by the office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA), or the Title IX Coordinator may authorize a withdrawal of a student for medical reasons if a request for withdrawal is supported by competent, credible, and thorough documentation from the requesting student and an appropriate, licensed healthcare provider.  The Office of Student Advocacy and Support, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs or the Title IX Coordinator has discretion over decisions made related to this policy.  

Guidelines for Medical Withdrawals   

1. The term “medical” is broad and includes illnesses, injuries, or conditions that are mental or physical.   
2. Medical withdrawals may occur at any time during a semester. Students withdrawing from courses after the withdrawal deadline must provide a detailed explanation to support their requests for withdrawal. 
3. Medical withdrawals are considered complete withdrawals. This means that students requesting a medical withdrawal are withdrawn from all classes. On a case-by-case basis, a student may be granted a partial withdrawal for medical reasons. If a partial medical withdrawal is sought, the supporting documentation must justify it.   
4. Requests for medical withdrawal must be completed in writing and include the student’s personal statement and letter from appropriate, licensed healthcare provider. The student should complete the request form when capable. If the student is not capable, a designee may do so on behalf of the student.  
5. Supporting documentation from an appropriate, licensed healthcare provider must be submitted via one of the following options:  
   1. faxed to the Office of Student Advocacy and Support,  
   2. mailed to the Office of Student Advocacy and Support, or  
   3. other submission method approved by the Office of Student Advocacy and Support.   Documentation that cannot be verified as legitimate will not be accepted.   
6. The University expects that during the time a student is withdrawn from the University, the student will receive treatment or care from an appropriate, licensed healthcare provider that either (a) eliminates the interfering health condition, or (b) manages or controls the interfering health condition to a degree that enables the student to complete academic requirements with or without accommodation.  
7.  Additional requests for medical withdrawal are not typically granted for the same medical condition or circumstances. The Office of Student Advocacy and Support or Title IX Coordinator will consider a student’s enrollment history and prior medical withdrawals before granting a subsequent medical withdrawal.   
8. At times, the student who requests a medical withdrawal for the current term in which they are enrolled may also have registered for courses in future terms. The student’s future courses will be administratively dropped by the University if the request for medical withdrawal is approved.  On a caseby-case basis, a student may be allowed to remain enrolled in the future term if the supporting documentation justifies it. A student should be cautious in attempting to return to school before they are physically or mentally ready.   
9. A student granted a medical withdrawal will have Ws recorded on their transcript unless the circumstances justify a cancellation of enrollment. The W from a medical withdrawal is not different than a W if the student self-withdraws. A registration hold will be placed on the student’s account and remain until the re-enrollment process is completed.   
10. Completion of the re-enrollment process is required for all students granted a medical withdrawal who are wishing to return to campus.   
11. Financial aid implications of the Medical Withdrawal are dependent upon the student’s financial aid package, as determined by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. 
12. Students should review “Things to Consider before Withdrawing from ALL of Your Classes” at https://success.unl.edu/resources. Withdrawing can have implications for degree completion, future registration, financial aid eligibility, return of financial aid funds, visa status, and the University Housing contract.  
13. A student who is granted a medical withdrawal and remains unenrolled for three (3) consecutive terms needs to re-apply for admission before returning. Re-application is handled by the Office of Admissions and is separate from the re-enrollment process following a medical withdrawal. 
14. A student may request a retroactive medical withdrawal up to one (1) year after the end of the term in which the medical condition impacted engagement with the University, provided the student has not been enrolled nor has been awarded a degree in the enrolled program of study.  
15. Submission deadlines for medical withdraw and re-enrollment requests can be found in Appendix A.  The Office of Student Advocacy and Support, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs or the Title IX Coordinator has discretion over these deadlines.  
16. Medical withdraw and re-enrollment requests that do not meet the threshold for approval can be appealed to the Behavioral Intervention Team. Appeal decisions are final.  

Appendix A: Submission Deadlines 

1. Medical withdrawal requests for current term enrollment must be submitted by 5pm on the last Friday of the term (finals week). All requests submitted after this deadline are considered retroactive.    
2. Re-enrollment request deadlines are dependent on the term the student wishes to re-enroll:  
   1. FALL: on or before JUNE 1   
   2. SPRING: on or before OCTOBER 1   
   3. SUMMER: on or before MARCH 1  
3. Requests for medical withdrawal and/or re-enrollment will only be reviewed once all required documentation has been provided.