Health Clinics: Withdrawals / Deferrals

We encourage all undergraduate students to review the SFU Student Services withdrawals policy, and to discuss extensions, deferrals and withdrawals with your professors and/or your teaching assistants before requesting documentation from staff at HCS. It is important to note that HCS staff can only provide supporting documentation. Any decision to authorize a withdrawal or deferral is made by the instructor or departmental chair.

Supporting documents are provided at the discretion of the professional staff member when:

• you are a patient/client of HCS
• HCS professionals are familiar with your situation and how it affected your ability to work/study/write exams, and/or
• retroactively, if you were a regular user of the HCS services during the time of difficulty and there is enough supporting information in your file to validate your request.

In addition, you need to demonstrate that you have a relevant issues management plan for the future. Not to worry, HCS staff can help you develop your strategy and resolve your problem creatively and definitively.

If you need a letter to support a request for retroactive withdrawals, please make an appointment with your counsellor.

Are you a graduate student?

Students in graduate studies often have complex responsibilities outside their life as a student. Work, family and health can all require attention, and may interrupt a student's program of study and research. Accordingly, we have instituted a number of policies to help students manage their complex lives. Please note that, in order to be fair to all students, we keep strictly to rules and deadlines when implementing these policies. We also suggest that students inform their graduate programs and their senior supervisors of impending problems and interruptions. Please review the graduate students leaves and withdrawal policy for further information. If you have any further questions, please contact the Dean of Graduate Studies Office at 778.782.3042.