E. Involuntary Withdrawal Policy

Process:

1. This notification is received in the form of an incident report to the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities, or a psychiatric evaluation filed with the UCF Police Department. The student will be withdrawn if the Director of OSRR concludes, on the basis of preponderance of evidence, that the student engages or threatens to engage in behavior that:
   • Poses a significant danger of causing harm to the student or to others, or
   • Substantially impedes the lawful activities of other members of the campus community.

2. The Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities reserves the right to impose an immediate and interim withdrawal (the equivalent of a summary suspension), prior to the review of all information, if the Director concludes that the student poses a threat to the welfare of any individual, the student body, or any part of the University or its community. In such cases, there will be a scheduling of a hearing within three (3) calendar days to determine the status of interim withdrawal. At this hearing, the student shall be offered an opportunity to provide documentation from an appropriate healthcare provider of their choice who has conducted a proper assessment.

3. The Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities will call a meeting of the University Crisis Committee at the earliest possible date. This committee is composed of representatives of the following University offices: Student Health Services, Office of Student Conduct, Counseling Center, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, and other University officials as deemed necessary. The student may be present at this meeting and may present information in support of his/her case. Following the student’s presentation, the committee shall convene in executive session. At the conclusion of this proceeding, the committee shall make a recommendation to the Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities whether to withdraw the student, reinstate the student, or reinstate the student with conditions.

4. The Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities will make a final decision regarding the student’s enrollment status and notify the student in writing within 24 hours of the Crisis Committee’s recommendation.
5. A student subject to involuntary withdrawal is entitled to the following:
   • Notice of intent to remove the student pursuant to this policy stating the reasons for the action.
   • The opportunity to examine the psychiatric or other evaluations provided to the committee and to discuss them.
   • The opportunity to present relevant information for consideration of his/her case personally, or by a health professional working with that student, if the student is not capable of self-representation.
   • The opportunity to have an advisor of the student’s own choice accompanies the student.
   • The right to appeal.

6. In the event a student disagrees with the decision of the Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities, the student may appeal the finding. The appeal must be made in writing to the Associate Vice President for Campus Life, or designee, within three (3) calendar days after the date of the notification to the student of the decision. The Associate Vice President for Campus Life, or designee, shall, within three (3) calendar days, sustain the initial decision or remand the case to the Crisis Committee for re-consideration. The Associate Vice President for Campus Life shall have fourteen (14) calendar days after receiving the appeal to review the case and render a decision.

7. Further administrative appeal may be made in writing by the student to the Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services. Such appeal must be made within three (3) calendar days after the date that the student was notified of the Associate Vice President’s decision. The Vice President may, within three (3) calendar days, approve, modify, or reject the original decision, or approve or reject the Associate Vice President’s decision. The Vice President’s decision will be considered final agency action. The Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services shall have fourteen (14) calendar days after receiving the appeal to review the case and render a decision.

8. Upon being withdrawn, the student may no longer attend classes, may not be an active member of a registered Student Organization, may no longer use University facilities, must vacate University owned or affiliated housing, and may be entitled to whatever refunds of tuition, fees, and room and board charges as would be appropriate given the timing of the withdrawal.

9. Students who are involuntarily withdrawn from the University shall have a hold placed on their records, which will prevent them from being readmitted or reenrolled in the institution except as stated in this paragraph. A student may request readmission or reenrollment at the University and provide the Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities with documentation from an appropriate healthcare provider of their choice who has conducted a proper assessment of the student and concluded that the student does not pose a serious threat of harm to himself/herself or others. In cases where the Director has imposed other conditions for readmission, it is the responsibility of the student to provide documentation of compliance with such conditions.

10. A student who is not involuntarily withdrawn may be subject to conditions to continue enrollment at the University. In such cases, the student will be provided with a written summary of conditions and must meet all conditions in order to maintain student status. A student who fails to meet such conditions will be subject to involuntary withdrawal by the Director of the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities, or will be subject to charges through the University’s Student Conduct Review Process for failure to comply.

11. The current medical withdrawal process should not be used to handle withdrawals related to mental health issues where an imminent threat is evident or a violation of the Golden Rule has allegedly occurred. However a student could choose to pursue a medical withdrawal within six (6) months of the end of the semester. As a general principle, the regular Student Conduct Review Process and its policies and practices are preferred in serious instances of misconduct, without regard to whether there might be a mental health issues present. The procedures and specifications given in this rule are to be employed in those extraordinary situations in which, in the judgment of the appropriate administrative officers, the regular Student Conduct Review Process is not applicable or cannot be applied.