Printed on: 03/14/2025. Please go to policy.umn.edu for the most current version of the document.
University of Minnesota  Administrative Policy

Mandatory Medical Withdrawal

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Policy Statement

In rare situations where current medical knowledge or the best available objective evidence indicates that a student poses a significant risk to the health or safety of others, or where a student poses an actual risk to their own safety and where the student is unable or unwilling to carry out substantial physical or mental health self-care obligations, and the student does not want to withdraw voluntarily, the campus senior student affairs officer or designee has the authority to mandate the student’s withdrawal from the University after having followed Administrative Procedure: Mandatory Medical Withdrawal Procedure. In no instance will the University’s assessment of a student’s condition be based on speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations.

A mandatory withdrawal is not a substitute for appropriate action pursuant to Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code and administrative actions outlined in the Student Conduct Code, including interim suspension, may be enacted.

Training

The Care Team, decision-makers, and appellate officers, and any person who facilitates a mandatory medical withdrawal process, will receive training on:

  • the reason for the policy,
  • the scope of situations in which the policy is relevant, and
  • how to serve impartially, including by avoiding prejudgment of the student’s condition, conflicts of interest, and bias.

Reason for Policy

The University is committed to the health and well-being of its students by providing care and access to resources. The University is also committed to a safe and secure environment, free from threats to physical and mental health, for its campus community. In extraordinary circumstances, when these commitments are jeopardized or threatened because the University does not have the resources to ensure the student’s health and well-being, the University reserves the right to require that a student withdraw.

Contacts

Subject Contact Phone Email
Primary Contact Katie Jackson 612-625-0138 [email protected]

Campus Contacts

Campus Contact Phone Email
Crookston Dale Scully (218) 281-8505 [email protected]
Duluth Jeremy Leiferman (218) 726-8501 [email protected]
Morris Sandra Olson-Loy (320) 589-6013 [email protected]
Rochester Jenny Casper (507) 258-8242 [email protected]
Twin Cities Katie Jackson (612) 625-0138 [email protected]
Responsible Individuals
Responsible Officer Policy Owner Primary Contact
  • Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
  • Associate Vice President, Student Affairs Administration
  • Katie Jackson
    Associate Vice President, Student Affairs Administration

Definitions

Appellate Officer
The Appellate Officer is the President or their designee and decides any appeals of the campus senior student affairs officer’s decisions.
Care Team
Care Team is a committee on each campus that collaboratively addresses student concerns and student behavior, including threats to self and/or others. The Care Team brings representatives from a variety of campus departments together to:
  • share advice and counsel about student concerns or students in distress or crisis,
  • collaborate on plans and strategies to support students in distress and address individual student concerning or threatening behavior,
  • identify patterns of student concerns, and
  • recommend strategies and policies to address student concerns.
Mandatory Medical Withdrawal
Process to address circumstances where current medical knowledge or the best available objective evidence indicates that a student poses a significant risk to the health or safety of others, or where a student poses an actual risk to their own safety and where the student is unable or unwilling to carry out substantial physical or mental health self-care obligations, and the student does not want to withdraw or take a leave voluntarily, the senior student affairs officer or designee has the authority to mandate the student’s withdrawal from the University.
Support person
An individual who supports a student, and who may also accompany the student to meetings in the mandatory medical withdrawal process. A support person may be an attorney. The University will not provide a support person.

Responsibilities

Appellate Officers
Decide appeals.
Care Teams
Receive referrals of students relevant to the Policy Statement, engage in the conduction of individualized assessment, provide recommendations to the Senior Student Affairs Officer.
Counseling Services Offices
Provide counseling services and assessments.
Disability Resources Offices
Determine and provide reasonable accommodations to create educational access.
Health Care Services
Provide health care and counseling, referrals and assessments.
Senior Student Affairs Officers
Receive Care Team recommendations, meet with students and their families, and serve as decision-makers.

Related Information

History

Effective:
July 2024 -
  1. This policy implements the University’s right to require a student to withdraw in extraordinary circumstances, when these commitments are jeopardized or threatened because the University does not have the resources to ensure the student’s health and well-being.
  2. The policy includes a training element, a procedure for withdrawal and reinstatement, as well as an FAQ and appendix for student support persons.
  3. While we expect this policy will be used in extremely rare situations, the situations where the policy is needed necessarily are high-risk situations where a student poses a substantial risk to self or others.