Medical Withdrawal
Are you seeking a withdrawal for medical-related reasons?
Please review the policies and procedures below. If you would like to move forward, contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 503-838-8221 or studentaffairs@wou.edu to discuss medical withdrawal options, including grade and financial accommodations. When emailing, please include “Medical Withdrawal Request” in the subject line.
After connecting with the office, submit your medical withdrawal request along with supporting documentation.
Medical Withdrawal Details
Standard Medical Withdrawal (During the Active term)
If a severe medical or mental health condition prevents you from completing your coursework, you should submit a Medical Withdrawal request during the term in which the illness or injury occurs. Requesting a withdrawal as soon as health issues arise protects your academic standing and allows the university to process your financial aid correctly before the term ends.
If it is within weeks 1 through 7 of the term and you intend to withdraw regardless of the outcome of your medical request, please login to Wolf Web and drop/withdraw all courses. Prompt action will ensure your academic and financial record reflect the earliest withdrawal date possible.
If you do not intend to withdraw unless your medical request is approved you should remain enrolled in your courses and be prepared to complete the term should your request not be approved. Be aware that if the request is not approved and you decide to withdraw at that time, the academic and financial outcome will reflect the date that you withdrew.
Retroactive Medical Withdrawal (After the term Ends)
Federal regulations require the university to finalize all academic and financial aid determinations within 30 days after a term ends. Because of these federal deadlines, the university can only consider a retroactive medical withdrawal request after the term has ended if you were medically incapacitated.
To qualify for a retroactive review, you must provide medical documentation from a licensed healthcare provider demonstrating that you were physically or cognitively unable to contact the university or request a withdrawal during the term.
- Examples of qualifying medical incapacitation: Emergency or involuntary hospitalization, severe physical trauma, or acute cognitive impairment that prevented basic administrative communication.
- Non-qualifying conditions: Chronic illness without acute incapacitation, lack of awareness of university deadlines, or attempting to retroactively remove failing grades after financial aid calculations have closed.
If medical incapacitation is not documented, the request cannot be accepted for retroactive review, and the standard official record established at the end of the term remains permanent.
Important Note on Financial Aid and Billing: Approving a medical withdrawal updates your transcript grades to neutral “W” marks so your GPA is not harmed. However, federal financial aid rules operate on separate, non-negotiable clocks. A retroactive academic grade change cannot restore or recalculate federal financial aid funds that were required to be returned to the government after the 30-day post-term deadline.
- Contact the Vice President for Student Affairs Office
- Gather all supporting documentation
- Complete the online medical withdrawal form
- All determinations related to the medical withdrawal will be based upon the date the form is received.
Financial aid recipients granted a medical withdrawal before the 60% point of the term may be required to repay some or all of the aid they received for the term. Students earn aid based on the number of days in attendance each term. All dropped/withdrawn courses require documentation of class attendance in order to maintain aid eligibility, prior to any aid recalculation. Additional information about withdrawing and financial aid is available online at wou.edu/finaid or in the Financial Aid Office.
Tuition and fee refunds are based on a refund schedule established by Western Oregon University. A copy of the refund schedule is available from the Office of Business Services during normal business hours or online at https://wou.edu/business/tuition-fees/concerning-refunds/.
Students granted a medical withdrawal during the current term will generally receive the refund amount one step higher than the posted schedule. For example, if a student receives a medical withdrawal during the term when the posted refund schedule provides a 25% refund, the student will receive the next step up, or a 50% refund. The largest refund a student will receive after the first week of classes is 87.5%. The University Bursar may consider exceptions when properly evidenced mitigating circumstances exist.
If the medical withdrawal results in a refund, the refund will be applied to accounts due to Western Oregon University. The remaining balance, if any, will be sent to the student. Refunds are only allowed on the first medical withdrawal requested.
Please note: If you receive Financial Aid, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs will ask you to connect with Financial Aid first. Federal financial aid rules operate on separate, non-negotiable clocks. A withdrawal change cannot restore or recalculate federal financial aid funds that were required to be returned to the government after the 30-day post-term deadline.
