The Medical Withdrawal policy is in effect as of fall 2011 for all students, except those enrolled in the School of Dentistry and Law School, which have independent Medical Withdrawal policies.

Purpose

An official medical withdrawal may be needed when, in extraordinary cases, a student’s physical and/or psychological condition interferes with that student’s ability to participate in campus life, including the ability to complete or make satisfactory progress toward academic goals.  Upon request, an official medical withdrawal may be granted, or in some cases, required by the university, as referenced in the Student Handbook, or other university, college or school policies.  Note:  a student may withdraw from a term for various reasons, including medical; however, if the student wishes to be verified by the university as having withdrawn with an official medical withdrawal, this policy and the processes outlined below then applies.

Process

A student who chooses to withdraw and requires documentation of the withdrawal for health insurance or other purposes, must complete the appropriate Medical Withdrawal form found here. This form must be submitted before or within the term of illness/injury and by the deadline to withdraw from the session/term, as published in the University Academic Calendars. If the student is unable to participate in the medical withdrawal process and an official medical withdrawal is needed, the student’s college/school office, parent, spouse, partner, or other designee may do so on behalf of the student, once the incapacitation of the student is documented or power of attorney is provided.  The Office of Student Affairs may, at times, require a student’s medical withdrawal on an involuntary basis.  In this case, that office will process the Medical Withdrawal form on behalf of the student.  In either case, voluntary or involuntary withdrawal, the university will not grant retroactive official medical withdrawals of any kind for previous terms/sessions.  In addition, all previously graded courses at the time of the request will remain on the student’s record, regardless of the term/session in which the courses were taken. 

A student who withdraws, or is withdrawn, for medical reasons prior to the end of late registration will have no courses reflected on the academic record for the term of the withdrawal.  A student who withdraws, or is withdrawn, for medical reasons after the end of late registration will receive final grades of ‘W’ in all courses for the term of the withdrawal, except when courses have already been graded, or when grades of ‘ADW’ (administrative withdrawal) are warranted.

The completed Medical Withdrawal Request form is to be submitted in person to Marquette Central or mailed to the Office of the Registrar by the student, the student’s designee, the student’s college/school office, or the Office of Student Affairs, and must include all relevant documentation as described on the form.  The form and all documentation will be confidentially forwarded to the Medical Withdrawal Committee (MWC) for action.

The Medical Withdrawal Committee is comprised of four to five members.   Permanent members include representatives from the Counseling Center, the Office of Student Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar.  Additional representatives will be included as follows:  a designated representative from the Committee on Academic Procedures (for undergraduate student requests); a designated representative from the Graduate School (for graduate student requests); a designated representative from the Graduate School of Management (for GSM student requests); designated representative from the College of Health Sciences (for Health Sciences Professional or pre-professional student requests).  The Medical Withdrawal Committee reserves the right to consult with individuals from the student’s college/school office, Counseling Center and/or Student Health Services on a case-by-case basis.  The Medical Withdrawal Committee will carefully review each request for medical withdrawal and determine the action to be taken, including any refund, if appropriate.   A medical withdrawal determination will result in a registration hold placed on the student’s record.

A student has the right to appeal the Medical Withdrawal Committee’s determination by writing to the Office of Student Affairs within five business days of the Committee’s decision.  The refund decision, if any, may not be appealed on its own, but will be considered as part of an appeal of the withdrawal decision.  The Office of Student Affairs will, in turn, consult with the student’s college/school office, or other university offices if appropriate, and reply to the student within five business days.  The determination of the Office of Student Affairs is final.

Once a final determination has been made, the form will be signed by the chair of the committee and forwarded to the Office of the Registrar.  The Office of the Registrar will then notify the student’s college/school office and other offices, as appropriate; process the withdrawal; add the registration hold; and apply any refund, if granted.  The original signed form will be retained by the Office of the Registrar as part of the permanent academic record.

Because a medical withdrawal can affect so many aspects of academic progress at Marquette, the student is encouraged to first consider other options that might enable the student to remain enrolled.  Before requesting a medical withdrawal, a discussion with the student’s college/school office, the Office of Student Financial Aid (if applicable), the Office of International Education (if applicable) and other offices, as appropriate, is highly encouraged (e.g., Veterans, ROTC).  It is also recommended that each student discuss the ramifications of a withdrawal with his/her health insurance or other service providers.

Readmission after Medical Withdrawal: Immediate Subsequent Term

1. A student who withdraws prior to the end of registration, such that no courses appear on the academic record for the term of withdrawal, must apply for readmission to the university in order to attend any subsequent term. 
2.  A student who withdraws after the end of late registration and  has already earned grades, or receives grades of ‘W’ and/or ‘ADW’ in the term of withdrawal, is not required to apply for readmission to the university for the immediate subsequent term.

Approval to return to the university following a medical withdrawal is not guaranteed.  The review process will follow all of the regulations outlined in the university readmission policy, in addition to any additional requirements imposed at the time of the medical withdrawal.  The Medical Withdrawal Committee must approve a student’s return to the university and the student’s college/school must subsequently approve readmission to the college/school (if applicable).  The registration hold imposed at the time of the medical withdrawal will not be removed from the record until the student is readmitted by the college/school (as applicable) and/or approved to return to the university by the Medical Withdrawal Committee.

Because of the documentation required, and the various decisions that must be made by university officials, it is necessary that the process to return, as outlined above, begin well in advance of the term/session in which the student wishes to re-enroll.  At a minimum, the completed readmission application (if applicable), the Request to Return After a Medical Withdrawal form and all required documentation must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the start of the session/term in which the student desires to return to the university.  Failure to meet the two-week deadline may result in deferment of readmission to the following term/session.

Readmission after Medical Withdrawal:  Future Terms 

1. A student who withdraws prior to the end of registration, such that no courses appear on the academic record for the term of withdrawal, must apply for readmission to the university in order to attend any subsequent term. 
2. A student who withdraws after the end of late registration,  has already earned grades or receives grades of ‘W’ and/or ‘ADW’ in the term of withdrawal and who does not enroll in the immediate subsequent term, must apply for readmission to the university.

Approval to return to the university following a medical withdrawal is not guaranteed.  The review process will follow all of the regulations outlined in the university readmission policy, in addition to any additional requirements imposed at the time of the medical withdrawal.  The Medical Withdrawal Committee must approve a student’s return to the university and the student’s college/school must subsequently approve readmission to the college/school.  The registration hold imposed at the time of the medical withdrawal will not be removed from the record until the student is readmitted by the college/school, and/or approved to return to the university by the Medical Withdrawal Committee.

Because of the documentation required, and the various decisions that must be made by university officials, it is necessary that the process to return, as outlined above, begin well in advance of the term/session in which the student wishes to re-enroll.  At a minimum, the completed readmission application, the Request to Return After a Medical Withdrawal form and all required documentation must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the start of the session/term in which the student desires to return to the university.   Failure to meet the two-week deadline may result in deferment of the readmission decision to the following term/session.