Policy: Medical Withdrawal and Tuition Adjustment

UNIVERSITY POLICY
Date Revised: June 2024
Date Effective: July 12, 2024
Responsible University Official(s): Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
Policy Owner: Dean of Students
Policy Contact: Dean of Students

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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.

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Immediate Family Member: A parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, child, or other member of the student’s familial support unit.

Last Date of Class Attendance: The last date one was present for or engaged in in-person or on-line class instruction. If it is not possible to determine last date of attendance, the institution shall use the date of withdrawal.

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 behavioral health condition that completely precludes the student from being able to function as a student.

Student: Anyone who has ever been enrolled at a UW System institution. 

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).

A medical withdrawal is granted in instances where a student is faced with a serious or unexpected 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. 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 behavioral health condition; who may need to provide care to an immediate family member who is experiencing a serious or unexpected physical or behavioral 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.

All requests are reviewed by the Medical Refund Team. If a student is denied their request, they may appeal, in writing, to the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance.

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.

The medical withdrawal policy shall be administered through the Dean of Students Office, with the term withdrawal process administered through the Office of the Registrar. Both offices shall provide 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 shall be housed in Maxient, a central and secure database system with restricted access due to the sensitive nature of the request and the accompanying documentation.

The medical withdrawal policy and procedures are to be made available to students as part of the overall Registrar’s policies and procedures for all students.

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 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 (as determined by the campus policies and procedures for withdrawals and return of financial aid funds) will 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 Refund Committee determines a refund of tuition and segregated fees is in order, UW-Platteville shall follow the refund ranges listed in the tables below. Exceptions to the schedule may only be granted by the chancellor or designee.

Fall and Spring Full Semester Courses

Weeks into Session	Refund Range
0-2 weeks	100%
3-4 weeks	70-90%
5-8 weeks	50-70%
9-12 weeks	30-50%
13 weeks or more	10-30%

 

Weeks into Session	Refund Range
First week	100%
Second week	70-90%
3-4 weeks	50-70%
5 or more weeks	10-50%

Usually, consideration is for a complete withdrawal from all courses. If a campus 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.

Students who wish to re-enter the institution shall follow all published reentry and re-application guidelines.

Position/Office: Dean of Students, Dean of Students Office
Responsibilities Convenes the Medical Refund Team and communicates all refund information to students.

Position/Office: Registrar, Office of the Registrar
Responsibilities Responsible for processing the Term Withdrawal Form and notifying any student who selects “Medical” or “Mental Health” as a reason of this policy/process. Communicates decisions on refunds to Financial Aid.

Position/Office: Bursar
Responsibilities Responsible for adjustments to student’s account.

Position/Office: Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
Responsibilities Responsible for hearing appeals when a refund request is denied by the Medical Refund Team.

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Subject	Contact	Phone	Fax/Email
Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance	Jana Steinmetz	608.342.1226	steinmetzja@uwplatt.edu
Dean of Students	Kari Hill	608.342.1854	hillkar@uwplatt.edu
Registrar	Dave Kieckhafer	608.342.1321	kieckhaferd@uwplatt.edu

No previous revisions.

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