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Medical and Mental Health Emergencies and Withdrawals

Introduction

Pepperdine University cares deeply about the physical and mental health of its students. Therefore, health and counseling services are available on campus. At times however, a student may experience such extreme medical or psychological conditions that the ability to function successfully or safely in the role of a student is significantly impaired. Students are encouraged to prioritize their health and safety and take steps toward recovery, even if academic progress must be delayed. In such cases, the University will support student-initiated self-care plans where students request a leave of absence; otherwise, the University may initiate actions in consideration of the welfare of the individual student and the University community.

Student Care Team

The vice president for Student Affairs has appointed a Student Care Team (SCT) to meet regularly to address student needs and/or concerns. One of the goals of the team is to provide a safety net for students to ensure their academic and interpersonal success. Anyone in the Pepperdine community may identify students to this team who may be experiencing problems or encountering obstacles, setbacks, or challenges to their success and retention at Pepperdine. Sometimes there is a crisis or a situation discovered by concerned others and brought to the attention of the University. In such circumstances, the vice president, in consultation with the Student Care Team (SCT), will determine what, if any, role the University may need to take to assure the health and safety of a student or the University community.

The SCT is chaired by the Director of SCT. Members include representatives from the Office of the Registrar, Housing and Residence Life, Athletics, the Title IX Office and the Counseling Center. Depending on the emergency or concern, the chair may include other members on the team (e.g., Director of the Health Center, Director of Disability Services, Director of International Programs). Student situations that might be considered by the SCT include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • acute decline in physical health;
  • suicidal threat, intent and/or behavior; self-injurious behavior;
  • destructive, threatening, or other disruptive behavior;
  • drug and alcohol abuse, including overdose or misuse of over-the-counter or prescription medications;
  • eating disorders which are not responding to treatment and/or are posing safety concerns;
  • any physical or mental health problem that points to possible imminent or foreseeable danger to oneself or another member of the University community, or requires intensive monitoring to prevent such danger.

In responding to these situations, the SCT reserves the right to determine appropriate response including, but not limited to, the following options:

  • allow the student to remain in school, but require a specific and objective mental health or physical health evaluation, within a certain period of time (typically 10 days). The student may be referred to the Health Center, Counseling Center, and/or off-campus options (e.g., licensed mental health or physical health care providers, eating disorder or substance abuse programs/hospitals). The student will be responsible for any cost incurred by the evaluation and/or treatment. In the interest of gaining a better understanding of the student's ability to function in the University community, the University may require the student to sign appropriate release forms allowing designated Pepperdine staff to consult with the evaluating and/or treating clinician(s) serving the student. Based on the evaluation results, the SCT will determine appropriate next steps, including the possibility of allowing the student to remain on campus if a commitment is made to the recommended treatment plan;
  • invoke a Interim Medical Restriction (IMR); encourage a Voluntary Medical Withdrawal; or invoke an Involuntary Medical Withdrawal (see below);
  • notify the student's parent(s) and appropriate University officials (e.g., the student's professors, the student’s academic or program advisor(s)) about a mental or physical health or safety emergency. Note: University notifications will respect confidentiality, and will share limited information on a need-to-know basis only. All requirements and conditions determined by the SCT will be outlined in writing in a letter from the chair and delivered to the student.

Procedures

Interim Medical Restriction (IMR)

The SCT may invoke an interim medical restriction upon a student's medical or psychological hospitalization, emergency, or during a medical evaluation period. Students who are medically restricted for any health reason are temporarily not allowed to participate in any University activities, attend classes, reside in or visit on-campus student housing, and may not be on campus except to attend a meeting or hearing related to his/her case. This interim period allows time for a student to receive the needed medical and/or psychological care, and for the student and University officials to consider an evaluation of readiness to return to the University. The student must follow the clearance procedures listed below before returning. If class assignments or class time is missed due to the IMR, it is the student’s responsibility to partner with their faculty to address a plan for completing the missed coursework. Students who are medically restricted will be notified in writing and will have the opportunity to address the basis for the decision by contacting the associate vice president for student affairs.

Voluntary Medical Withdrawal

Students are encouraged to request a voluntary medical withdrawal when they believe their physical or mental health problems:

  • are preventing successful engagement in, and completion of academic coursework;
  • when safety is in question;
  • or when the demands of university life are interfering with the ability to recover from, or adjust to, a significant physical or mental health challenge.

Students interested in pursuing a voluntary medical withdrawal may wish to discuss this option with their medical or mental health providers. Students may seek care through the Student Health Center or the Counseling Center to establish care as needed, or they may independently initiate the process through their program office or OneStop. A medical withdrawal is only processed as a full-term withdrawal.

To request a voluntary medical or mental health withdrawal, students must submit a written request accompanied by medical documentation* to the Office of the Registrar and the Student Care Team (SCT). After the request is reviewed by the Office of the Registrar and the SCT, one of the licensed professionals on the SCT will consult with the student’s provider as needed. Subsequently, SCT will provide a recommendation (via the chair or designee) to the Office of the Registrar, who will process the medical withdrawal accordingly.

If a student is unable to complete the above outlined process due to an emergency situation such as hospitalization or inability to function independently, a parent or guardian identified as an emergency contact or with guest access to the student’s account in WaveNet may do so on behalf of the student.

The deadline to submit a request for a medical or mental health withdrawal is the first day of finals for the requested withdrawal term. A medical or mental health withdrawal request that is made after the student has completed the term will be considered for the upcoming term.

A student who medically withdraws from a term will be placed on an Interim Medical Restriction (IMR) and must complete the clearance process outlined below to enroll in a subsequent term. The student must communicate in writing to the SCT at studentcareteam@pepperdine.edu their intent to return to Pepperdine at least 30 days before the start of the term for which they are seeking re-entry.

After the voluntary withdrawal is approved, the person is no longer considered a student and must immediately leave campus and, if applicable, officially check out of on-campus housing.

*Medical documentation/note from a licensed professional (doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, etc.) must include the following information:

  • the licensed professional’s name and license number;
  • the licensed professional’s phone number/contact information;
  • a date range of when the student was seen by the licensed professional (the dates should be within the term date of the withdrawal request);
  • the licensed professional stating their recommendation of the student withdrawing from the term.

Involuntary Medical Withdrawal

In rare circumstances, the SCT may determine that a student must be involuntarily medically withdrawn. Those who are involuntarily medically withdrawn for any health reason are not allowed to participate in any University activities, attend classes, reside in or visit on-campus student housing, and may not be on campus except to attend a meeting or hearing related to the case. Examples of situations that might result in an involuntary medical withdrawal include the following:

  • the professional evaluation and documentation following an interim medical restriction do not support a student's readiness to return;
  • a student fails to complete the required assessment during an interim medical restriction;
  • a known condition has deteriorated (e.g., a student with an eating disorder), rendering the student to be in possible imminent danger and/or incapable of functioning as a student.

In most cases, these situations can be handled through voluntary medical withdrawals; however, if the student is unwilling to pursue a voluntary withdrawal, the SCT may submit a request to the Office of the Registrar to involuntarily withdraw a student. The SCT will recommend assessment and/or treatment conditions needed to return to Pepperdine. The student must follow the clearance procedures listed below.

If a student believes that a decision for an involuntary medical withdrawal made by the SCT is unreasonable or that the procedures used were unfair, the student may appeal. The appeal must be made in writing to the Vice President for Student Affairs. Appeals should clarify what facts the student believes were not considered, or explain what procedures were unreasonable or unfair. Once notified of the involuntary medical withdrawal, the student has three business days to submit an appeal. The Vice President (or designee) will respond in writing to the student's appeal within three business days. The response will clarify whether the Vice President concludes that all relevant facts were considered and led to fair and reasonable conclusions. The Vice President's (or designee's) decision is final.

Clearance Procedures

Any student who has been placed on an interim medical restriction (IMR) or an involuntary medical withdrawal will need to complete the following clearance procedures before being allowed to return to the University. The Office of the Registrar also requires a student who takes a voluntary medical withdrawal to complete the following clearance procedures. The following steps are designed to ensure that a health emergency no longer exists and a treatment plan for continuing good health and safety is in place. Note: Depending on the situation, students may complete these procedures on different timelines. Some students may complete these steps within days of the interim medical restriction notice or medical withdrawal while others may wait several months before pursuing a return to the University.

  • The student must be assessed by an appropriate outside licensed professional, whose opinions will be advisory to the University. The professional, who is selected by the student, must be a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist if evaluating mental health concerns, and must be a licensed physician if the evaluation is regarding other medical concerns. Further, all providers must be unrelated to the student and must have specialty/credentials appropriate for the condition of concern (e.g., an eating disorder or substance abuse specialist). To make an accurate assessment, before conducting the evaluation the provider must be given information related to the precipitating events that led to the leave. This typically would involve the student signing an authorization to release information to allow the University (e.g., the Health Center, Counseling Center, Student Care Team, or Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Student affairs) to share information regarding relevant incidents or concerns, and if applicable, recent hospital records. The student will be responsible for any cost incurred by the evaluation. The student shall sign a release permitting two-way communication between the provider and the University SCT representatives, and allowing all relevant information to be provided to the University SCT representatives who are involved in the decision-making and review process
  • The outside mental health or medical professional must provide an assessment of current functioning of the student and provide written recommendations regarding: 
    • given the precipitating events, the student's readiness to return to the academic and co-curricular demands of university life;
    • the student's readiness to live in the on-campus residential community;
    • ongoing treatment or testing needs;
    • any conditions or restrictions that the University should impose;
    • the student's readiness to return to competitive sports, if the student is a collegiate athlete.
      • Note: The University team physician, in consultation with the Pepperdine director of the Health Center and/or Counseling Center, will ultimately make the decision regarding athletic involvement but will consider this outside evaluation in making such a determination.
      • Note: Documentation of the assessment (conducted within 30 days of application for re-entry) and documentation of required treatment completion must be provided to the Office of the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Student Affairs no later than 30 days before the start of the term for which they wish to return. 
  • After the evaluation results and treatment documentation have been provided, an SCT representative (typically the director of the Counseling Center or Health Center) will consult with the provider to gain additional detail and verification regarding the student’s return.  This consultation may include a consideration of how the provider’s recommendations fit with the realities of student life at Pepperdine and services that are available on campus or in the community.
  • The SCT will consider the outside evaluator's recommendation and the results of the consultation with the SCT representative to inform its re-entry decision. Students will receive written notification of the SCT's decision.

Procedure Notes

There may be occasions in which an additional, approved evaluation is required.  In such cases, the University may assist with the costs of this assessment. The University reserves the right to require students to comply with a treatment plan recommended by the outside and/or Pepperdine healthcare/mental health professional as a condition of returning to, or remaining in, the campus community. Review and monitoring of students’ required treatment plan may be assigned to a University designee assigned by the SCT. Failure to comply with requirements may result in the University issuing an involuntary medical withdrawal.

For students living on-campus prior to the emergency, approval for return to the University usually includes approval to return to housing. However, students’ on-campus housing status may be restricted if their behavior poses a health or safety threat to themselves or others. Students who are required to complete specific treatment (e.g, eating disorder or substance abuse treatment) must provide documentation regarding the completion of this specific requirement or an update from their provider if there are changes with treatment recommendations.

Additional Considerations

Academic Credit, Tuition and Housing and Residence Life

For all approved medical withdrawals, the student receives Ws on the academic transcript (or, if the withdrawal occurs during the add/drop period, is completely dropped from classes, without any notation on the transcript of having left for medical reasons). Thus, a medical withdrawal will not affect a student's grade point average. University room and board charges are prorated from the date of checkout for residential students. All tuition actually paid by the student (total tuition less any grants and scholarships) for courses not completed during the term in which the approved withdrawal occurs may be credited as a scholarship for the next term in which a student re-enrolls at Seaver College (known as a Letter of Credit). This amount is not a refund and will be forfeited if the student does not re-enroll at Seaver College. Please contact Seaver Student Accounts for eligibility and additional criteria and information. Students enrolled at other schools within Pepperdine should contact their school’s Student Accounts department for information regarding their school’s Letter of Credit policies.

Financial Hardship

Every effort will be made to consider a student's financial situation and insurance coverage in making referrals for treatment or evaluation. Students who may need additional financial assistance or other consideration in meeting the requirements should contact the Student Care Team (SCT) at studentcareteam@pepperdine.edu.