Senate Bill 11-12-30
| Bill ID: | 11-12-30 |
| Name: | Proposal to Implement a Retroactive Withdrawal Policy at the University of Maryland |
| Proposed: | 02/04/2012 |
| Sponsor: | Samantha Roman, Undergraduate Student |
| Proposal: | On college campuses across the nation, mental illness is a significant barrier to student success, often causing a student to miss class or leave school altogether to seek treatment. The University of Maryland should take steps to help students experiencing psychological distress by making it simpler for students to return after an extended absence and by implementing a policy allowing for retroactive withdrawal from a previous semester. Within any given 12-month period, 26.2% of Americans over the age of 18 experience a diagnoseable mental health disorder (Kessler et al., 2005). This means statistically, there are approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students on campus every academic year coping with a psychological disorder. Additionally, among people with a serious mental illness (which includes major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder), young adults ages 18-24 are the least likely to seek help, with less than 50% receiving treatment for their disorder(s) (NAMI, 2011; NIMH, 2010). For students that experience the onset or exacerbation of mental illness while at the University of Maryland, College Park, there are many resources available on campus. However, sometimes a student's illness is of such severity that the student fails to seek help, to attend class, or to complete his or her work; this student may ultimately have to leave the university, whether from academic dismissal or to seek treatment. It has come to my attention that the university's reinstatement policy may hinder a student with a mental illness from successfully re-enrolling in classes, and the lack of a retroactive withdrawal policy may prevent that student from achieving further success. This proposal includes implementation of a policy which would allow students to petition the Faculty Review Board to withdraw from a semester prior to a period of absence due to psychological distress and/or extenuating circumstances that negatively affected the student's academic performance during that semester. By removing a semester of failing grades, a student's GPA may be improved and the student may have a greater chance of successful matriculation to graduate school or in securing a well-paid job following graduation. Additionally, this proposal includes changes to the current re-instatement policy in which a student who must leave the university due to mental health issues can return to the school within 4 semesters without having to reapply or defend his/her case before the Faculty Review Board. This change would also require documentation from a mental health professional attesting to the student's treatment and ability to return to school, if the student left for mental health reasons. These changes will only benefit the students at the University of Maryland, College Park. Indeed, many other universities across the nation have implemented a similar retroactive withdrawal policy for students who experience extenuating circumstances that require them to leave school or else fail to complete the semester without formally withdrawing. Among these schools are some of our aspirational peers, including the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Even our sister institution, University of Maryland, Baltimore County has a retroactive withdrawal policy in place. In order to remain competitive and further care for its students' mental health, the university should also implement this policy. It would cost the university nothing to make these policy changes, and the proposed changes utilize an organization that is already in place, the Faculty Review Board, which would allow for a smooth policy transition. By supporting and implementing a policy, the university not only directly shows students that mental health matters, but also that it does not have to be a barrier to higher education. |
| Active? | No |
| Policy: | http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/27/ss/1586/s/1526 |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 02/20/2013 |
History
| Status: | Complete |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate |
| Received: | 2013-02-07 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-02-14 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted in favor of the report. |
| Next Step: | Presidential Approval |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2013-01-25 |
| Decision Date: | 2013-02-01 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the item on the February 14th Senate Agenda. |
| Actions: | The SEC reviewed the APAS Committee's report and recommendation at its meeting on February 1, 2013. |
| Next Step: | Senate Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Academic Procedures & Standards (APAS) Committee |
| Received: | 2012-02-27 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-12-12 |
| Decision Due By: | 2013-03-30 |
| Decision: | To not recommend the creation of a formal retroactive withdrawal policy, but to recommend that the section in the University's Undergraduate Catalog on 'Withdrawal and Leave of Absence' be revised to clarify the standing procedures for retroactive withdrawal. |
| Actions: | The 2011-2012 APAS Committee reviewed the proposal and charge at its last meeting of the semester on April 30, 2012. The 2012-2013 APAS Committee discussed this charge at its first meeting of the semester on September 17, 2012. The committee decided to invite a representative of the Office of the Registrar to its meeting on October 5, 2012, to further discuss the Office of the Registrar's processes for reviewing appeals for retroactive withdrawals. On October 5, 2012, the committee met with Ernest Cartledge, Assistant Registrar. On December 12, 2012, the committee met with Cartledge again for further discussion. The APAS Committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending that the Withdrawal and Leave of Absence section of the Undergraduate Catalog be edited for purposes of clarity. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2012-02-16 |
| Decision Date: | 2012-02-22 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the APAS Committee with reviewing the proposal. |
| Actions: | The SEC review the proposal at its meeting on February 22, 2012. |
| Next Step: | APAS Committee Review |
| Related Files: |