Academic Retroactive Withdrawal

Jurisdiction
Alabama
I have recently been diagnosed with a medical condition that explains my bad performance in two previous semester (nonconsecutive). I would like to request medical withdrawal for both semesters, but Academic Affairs at my university tells me that I can only withdraw from one semester.

Could I receive a second withdrawal as an accommodation under the ADA? This would not be a retroactive accommodation because it is a withdrawal for me to repeat the classes - not a grade replacement. It seems that the only reason why I am not being given a second withdrawal is for the sake of the rule. Further, shouldn't the ADA supercede whatever university policy is in place?

I understand that the university has its policies, but shouldn't we be evaluated on a case by case basis? My medical condition is not life threatening, but it definitely did affect my academic performance.
 
Have you sought out the appeal process for that body? That's your next step.
 
Do I even have a case?

The only way to know if you can appeal is find out if the university offers an appeals process.

Once you discover that, you then need to find out of you are time barred.

If that is the case, your remedy would be to take th ematter to a federal district court, or comparable state court.

That takes money, lots of money.

If you go the route of the courts, you could also attempt it pro se.
 
The only way to know if you can appeal is find out if the university offers an appeals process.

Once you discover that, you then need to find out of you are time barred.

If that is the case, your remedy would be to take th ematter to a federal district court, or comparable state court.

That takes money, lots of money.

If you go the route of the courts, you could also attempt it pro se.

There is a final grade grievance, but the deadline for that has long passed. I'm not even sure if my situation would apply; I want a withdrawal, not a grade change.

I definitely do not plan on pursuing any sort of litigation.

I'm simply wondering whether multiple withdrawals are reasonable accomodations under the ADA.
 
I'm simply wondering whether multiple withdrawals are reasonable accomodations under the ADA.


Just because a law demands a certain action, doesn't mean the entity must perform or grant the action, unless a court enjoins such action.

Roads have stop signs.

The sign alone won't ensure every driver will obey it, or that enough cops exist to cite every scofflaw.

You can explore the school's position to see if you agree on ADA requirements.

I expect you'll be shooed away, as picnickers do ants.
 
The sign alone won't ensure every driver will obey it, or that enough cops exist to cite every scofflaw.

But we can agree that those who don't follow the sign are disobeying the law, right?

So this is not a question of whether I'm right or wrong, or if what I'm asking is covered by the ADA?
 
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If you are asking whether there is anything in the ADA that is going to force them to allow you to withdraw from two classes when the rules say only one, no, there is not.
 
If you are asking whether there is anything in the ADA that is going to force them to allow you to withdraw from two classes when the rules say only one, no, there is not.

"Under the ADA, retroactive withdrawal because of depression or other mental illness is considered a reasonable accommodation."

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | Managing a Mental Health Condition in College

The ADA clearly allows for retroactive withdrawal, and I have documentation supporting that due to misdiagnosis my performance was negatively affected during both semesters
 
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I deal with ADA (and 504) in an academic setting every day and the law does not require you be permitted to "erase" two semesters of grades. It is unfortunate that in all the years you were in school leading up to college, and during the semesters you were apparently struggling, you did not receive proper medical care or a diagnosis. Claiming your medical condition must be the reason for your poor performance for multiple semesters is not reasonable and therefore erasing them from your record is not reasonable. It makes sense to permit retroactive withdraw for the semester in which you had to take medical leave due to your health condition, as opposed to failing or listing the courses as incomplete. It does not undo semesters you have completed, even if you might have achieved higher grades had you been in proper treatment.
 
I deal with ADA (and 504) in an academic setting every day and the law does not require you be permitted to "erase" two semesters of grades. It is unfortunate that in all the years you were in school leading up to college, and during the semesters you were apparently struggling, you did not receive proper medical care or a diagnosis. Claiming your medical condition must be the reason for your poor performance for multiple semesters is not reasonable and therefore erasing them from your record is not reasonable. It makes sense to permit retroactive withdraw for the semester in which you had to take medical leave due to your health condition, as opposed to failing or listing the courses as incomplete. It does not undo semesters you have completed, even if you might have achieved higher grades had you been in proper treatment.

I'm sorry that I'm harping on this, but can you please explain why claiming an untreated medical condition is the reason behind lack of attendance and participation for multiple semesters is not reasonable? It should not set a bad precedent because I am withdrawing from the second semester purely due to a misdiagnosis. This would not allow a student to withdraw from any amount of semesters because I returned to school under the assumption that I would be okay to perform (after getting word from my doctor).

Also, there will still be a record of withdrawal on my transcript so these semesters will not be completely erased.
 
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For one it is purely speculative that you would have attended more often or had increased participation. Plenty of non-disabled students miss classes and do not fully participate. Were you registered as a student with a disability during the semesters in question? Were you receiving accommodations during those semesters? What if anything did you do to address your attendance with your professors during said semester?

Courts have held that retroactive withdrawal is not reasonable. If I get time, I will post the cases.
 
My documentation clearly states that my (newly diagnosed) disability is the reason behind symptoms that were noted (during the semester) as affecting my class attendance. These symptoms were not, however, noted as disabilities at the time of treatment.

If you can post the cases that would be really helpful. Thank you.
 
ADA/504 do not apply retroactively. I don't have the full case cite on me but one such case was Montgomery College.
 
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