LEAVE OF ABSENCE, COURSE WITHDRAWAL, TUITION REIMBURSEMENT AND RE-ADMISSION
Students who request support for the above administrative actions (as a result of medical illness or injury) must supply documentation of their medical issue to the Director of the Student Health Service (SHS). Once the appropriate documentation has arrived at SHS, a recommendation about the requested administrative action will be made to appropriate involved departments (Academic Advising, Student Accounts or Records and Registration). Students returning from a Medical Leave of Absence should also have their primary medical provider supply documentation about their medical issue to SHS to facilitate a healthy return to New Paltz.
To ensure the Director of Student Health Service has the required information, please download and have your primary care provider complete the following Leave of Absence Form. Support for a Leave of Absence for psychological reasons or for clearance to return from one must come from the Director of the Psychological Counseling Center.
SINGLE ROOMS FOR MEDICAL REASONS
SHS advises the University regarding requests for single rooms in the Residence Halls for medical reasons. Students must submit medical documentation supporting their request for a single room to the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC will then forward the information to the Housing Review Committee members for review (the Director of Student Health Service is a committee member). A joint determination is made by the committee on the student's request. Submitting medical documentation does not guarantee that a student will be assigned a private room. Private rooms for medical indications are distributed according to the individual's medical needs and availability.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Students who indicate on their Health Report that they have a condition covered by the Disabilities Act will be assisted by SHS in collaboration with the University's DRC.
POLICY ON FACULTY NOTES
On March 1st, 2024, the CDC dropped their recommendation of isolation for 5 days after a positive COVID test, the NYS Department of Health made the same recommendation on 3/7/24.
The new recommendation:
- Stay home when you are feeling sick from a respiratory virus (COVID-19, Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or an influenza like illness).
- Return to normal activities when you are feeling better and have been fever free for 24hrs.
These CDC / NYSDOH guidelines bring a unified approach for handling common respiratory viral illnesses. Due to these changes, medical excuse notes will not be as standardized as they have been in the past. Students will be given medical excuses from class depending on their symptoms. Recovery time will vary between individuals.
Our nurses, in consultation with our physicians, have been authorized to send medical excuse notes to students, which the student can then share with their faculty. (If the student forwards this note from their email, it should include the original thread from SHS.)
