2008 Woodie Awards
Policy and procedure committee revises mental health guidelines
Amendments include new language that broadens the definition of mental illness and explain the absence of an appeal process after a withdrawal
By: Lanz Christian Banes
Issue date: 4/6/06 Section: News
A committee consisting of faculty, staff and students issued their recommendations for minor modifications to university-wide policy and procedures, including its emergency health policy.
The policy, which lays out how Webster will respond in the event of a health emergency, was renamed "Administrative Withdrawal for Non-Academic Reasons" from "Mental and Physical Health Emergency Policy."
In the current policy, an emergency situation is defined as including "destructive or other inappropriate behavior; drug and alcohol abuse; eating disorders; [and] any behavior that points to possible imminent danger, foreseeable danger to oneself, or another member of the University community."
However, this definition was revised as behavior that "includes, but is not limited to: suicidal threat or attempt; eating disorders, including self-starvation and /or purging behavior; ongoing substance abuse or addiction; serious threats of harm to self or others; or bizarre or destructive behavior."
Besides the name change, the most notable adjustment was the rewriting of the policy's introductory paragraph that immediately makes more explicit that the university "may require a student to take an administrative withdrawal if there is sufficient evidence that the student is engaging, is likely to engage, in behavior that represents a real danger of harm to self or others, or substantially disrupts the learning environment and activities of the campus community."
Another change is the addition of a line that stresses "there is no appeal to this policy since it is invoked only in extraordinary circumstances in response to immediate concerns."
"No decisions are made arbitrarily," said Patrick Stack, director of counseling, who, along with associate director Gladys Smith, is responsible for recommending administrative withdrawal to Dean of Students Ted Hoef and his office.
If a student clearly needs help that the university cannot provide, then the recommendation for administrative withdrawal is made after Stack and members of the counseling department discuss the student's particular issue, Stack explained.
The policy, which lays out how Webster will respond in the event of a health emergency, was renamed "Administrative Withdrawal for Non-Academic Reasons" from "Mental and Physical Health Emergency Policy."
In the current policy, an emergency situation is defined as including "destructive or other inappropriate behavior; drug and alcohol abuse; eating disorders; [and] any behavior that points to possible imminent danger, foreseeable danger to oneself, or another member of the University community."
However, this definition was revised as behavior that "includes, but is not limited to: suicidal threat or attempt; eating disorders, including self-starvation and /or purging behavior; ongoing substance abuse or addiction; serious threats of harm to self or others; or bizarre or destructive behavior."
Besides the name change, the most notable adjustment was the rewriting of the policy's introductory paragraph that immediately makes more explicit that the university "may require a student to take an administrative withdrawal if there is sufficient evidence that the student is engaging, is likely to engage, in behavior that represents a real danger of harm to self or others, or substantially disrupts the learning environment and activities of the campus community."
Another change is the addition of a line that stresses "there is no appeal to this policy since it is invoked only in extraordinary circumstances in response to immediate concerns."
"No decisions are made arbitrarily," said Patrick Stack, director of counseling, who, along with associate director Gladys Smith, is responsible for recommending administrative withdrawal to Dean of Students Ted Hoef and his office.
If a student clearly needs help that the university cannot provide, then the recommendation for administrative withdrawal is made after Stack and members of the counseling department discuss the student's particular issue, Stack explained.