Student Handbook

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Involuntary Withdraw

The involuntary withdrawal policy serves to outline the conditions by which William Woods University may intervene and withdraw a student from classes based on a student’s health and/or behavior. Involuntary Withdraws are only utilized in exigent circumstances.

The Vice President for Student Life or designee, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Student Accessibility Resources and/or Chief Student Experience Officer, reserves the right to take appropriate action to protect the health, safety, and well-being of an individual and/or the University community in cases where a student exhibits the behaviors described below:

  1. Student demonstrates an inability to satisfy personal needs including but not limited to nourishment, shelter, personal safety, well-being, and activities of daily living such that there is reasonable possibility that their physical and mental health is in jeopardy and/or poses jeopardy to others in the University community.

  2. Student demonstrates behavior consistent with mental health distress and refuses to seek medical, therapeutic, and/or psychiatric care to the extent to which the Office of Student Life is satisfied with the student’s condition and ability to function within the University community.

  3. Student demonstrates behavior or threatens behavior that poses immediate risk or danger to themselves or others.

Should a student exhibit any of these behaviors the Vice President for Student Life or designee will meet with the student. During this meeting the student will be made aware of the concerns and provided a detailed action plan, based on consultation with appropriate faculty, staff and administrators, for addressing the concerns. The student will be provided a reasonable amount of time to implement the action plan to the satisfaction of the Vice President for Student Life. Should the student not complete the action plan in the time specified, they will be referred to the University Community Standards Board and charged with an alleged violation of the Failure to Comply policy. The student is then held accountable through the Community Standards Process. All Community Standards Processes and procedures will then apply.

The Vice President for Student Life or designee may place the student on Temporary Suspension until a University Community Standards Board Hearing when a student exhibits behaviors that may be an immediate threat to the student or the University community.