Original Issuance Date: January 19, 2021  

Last Revision Date:  June 17, 2024 

1. Policy Purpose 

This policy outlines provisions with respect to medical withdrawals and refunds beyond the 100% refund date. 

2. Responsible UW System Officers 

Senior Associate Vice President for Finance  

Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success 

3. Scope and Institutional Responsibilities 

This policy applies to the medical withdrawal process, including tuition refunds beyond the 100% refund date per UW System Administrative Policy 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction. 

Universities must develop their own procedures to operationalize this policy. Universities may also develop guidance to support this policy and any university-level procedures. 

4. Background 

A medical withdrawal may be necessary in instances 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, and in which the regular university withdrawal process is not appropriate and or deadline has passed. 

5. Definitions 

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

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. 

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. 

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

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). 

6. 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. 

A. POLICY ADMINISTRATION 

The medical withdrawal policy shall be administered through a central office and/or limited offices on a larger campus and/or branch campus. It is important that the designated office can 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 on campus in 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.  

B. 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 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.  

C. TUITION AND FEE REFUND SCHEDULE 

If the central campus office overseeing medical withdrawals determines a refund of tuition and segregated fees is in order, UW universities should 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 

Winter Term, Summer, and other Non-Standard-Length Courses 

Refund or proration of other fees is subject to existing university policy. 

D. INTEGRATION WITH RELATED CAMPUS PROCESSES 

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. 

The university’s medical withdrawal procedures should articulate re-entry steps should the student be interested in returning in the future. The purpose of any re-entry activity is to help increase the likelihood of student success upon return and should generally focus 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 the university requires a letter from a healthcare provider, the focus should be on aftercare recommendations that would allow the university to offer resources that would support a successful transition back to campus. 

UW universities may incorporate the medical withdrawal as a specific process within the overall late withdrawal process at each university, as many extenuating circumstances are highly sensitive in nature and should be reviewed for tuition and segregated fee proration. 

7. Related Documents 

UW System Administrative Policy 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction  

8. Policy History 

Revision 1:  June 17, 2024 

First approved: January 19, 2021 

9. Scheduled Review  

June 2029