Medical Withdrawal and Class Load Reduction Information and Procedures
Medical Withdrawal Requests for Current/Past Semesters
A “withdrawal” is dropping all (100%) of the classes being taken during a semester. All withdrawal requests (dropping 100% of classes for a current/past semester) are handled by the Office of the Registrar.
Students seeking a full withdrawal for any reason (including medical or psychiatric) do NOT need to be seen by or communicate with the M.S. Shook Student Health Service prior to their requesting a withdrawal from the University. Instead, students who find it necessary to withdraw from the current or a past semester/term (i.e., unenroll from all classes once the semester/term has started) should complete the Withdraw from the University form. For details regarding withdrawal from the University, including late/retroactive withdrawals, please review the Withdrawal Policy.
Please contact the Registrar's Office for any questions about full withdrawal.
Medical Classload Reduction Requests for the Current Semester
A “classload reduction” is dropping one or some (BUT NOT ALL) of the classes being taken. Classload reductions (-- again dropping one or some but not all classes-) are handled by Student Health.
Students can drop any class for any reason up until the “drop date” of the semester by using a “personal” or “career” drop. Students have a limited # of personal or career drops. However, if a student needs to drop a class for medical or psychiatric reasons, they may instead petition for a “medical classload reduction” at any time during the semester (rather than doing a personal or career drop). (This would preserve personal/career drops for later use.) Medical classload reduction requests during the current term go to Student Health Services. If a student has seen a clinician at Student Health for the medical issue leading to the request, then they may reach out to their clinician at SHS to make this request. If the student has not been seen for the health issue at student health, then they may reach out to the Medical Director at SHS on the Medportal to make the request. They would need to provide a personal statement via the Medportal detailing what class(es) they are requesting to drop and why they are making the request. They should include course names/numbers they would like to drop (example- BIO1101-101 Intro to Biology), whether labs also need to be dropped, and how many credit hours they are requesting to drop (and how many credit hours they would be keeping.) They will need to also submit documentation from their managing clinician. This documentation could be (preferably) a letter from their clinician supporting the request with details about the medical issues OR it could be released medical records if a summary letter is not available– (for example records from an ER visit). The supporting clinical documentation can be uploaded through the Medportal.
Once classes are complete and Reading Day/Exams have begun, in-term requests of this type will no longer be honored. Requests on or after Reading Day will be handled as retroactive classload reductions requests. Those requests must be made as detailed below. Retroactive requests are less likely to be honored unless there is a compelling reason for why the request was not made prior to exams.
Medical Classload Reduction Request for a Past Semester or Request on/after Reading Day
Requests for retroactive courseload reductions (dropping some but not all courses from a past semester OR for current semester after classes have ended but during Reading Day or Exams) are handled as follows:
- Submit a personal statement detailing your request. This statement should include the term(s) that you are requesting a retroactive course load reduction for and how many classes/credit hours that you are requesting reduction of. Your personal statement should also include details about the medical issue(s) that led to your request and how it impacted your class attendance and academics. Your statement should also detail why you did not seek to drop the class or classes during the regular drop/add period for the term(s) in question.
- Submit a statement from a medical provider that substantiates your medical claims. The statement should be on the practice's letterhead and the clinician's qualifications should be included. The statement should include details on the medical issue(s) leading to your request and should not be from a family member or friend. If you cannot obtain a statement from a medical provider, other medical records (such as from a clinic or ER visit) may be considered. If you received care from M.S. Shook Student Health Service you may provide written permission for the committee to review your Student Health medical records/documentation.
All documents should be submitted to M.S. Shook Student Health Service for our committee to review. Once your request has been reviewed (the committee meets a few times per semester) and a decision has been reached you will be notified via email of the results.
