Student Outreach & Support

• Extended periods (at least one week) of physical or mental illness of the student (including hospitalization)-documented by a physician's statement or other medical support on official letterhead.
• Extended periods (at least one week) of physical or mental illness of the student's immediate family member (including hospitalization) who is dependent upon the student for support-documented by physician's statement or other medical support on official letterhead.
• Death of a student's immediate family member.
• Involuntary changes in employment schedule or military orders.

SOS will not provide an absence notification for brief, self-limiting illnesses. It is understood that brief self-limiting illnesses will be common during the normal course of the school year and may be cared for by the student him/herself. It is the student's responsibility to notify instructors of illnesses and make arrangements regarding missed assignments.

Doctor's note/letter, accident report, military orders, or obituary. Please note that any documentation provided is subject to verification. SOS will not accept medical documentation.

You have five business days to request an absence notification. Requests will not be accepted after the last day of classes for the semester.

No, an absence notification verifies the extenuating circumstances that caused a student to be absent. Your instructors will then determine whether to excuse the absence or not.

You may complete an Extened Absence Notification form online by clicking here.

SOS will review the request and documentation and determine approval. If a request is approved, SOS will notify all professors that a request for an absence notification is being processed on the student's behalf. The student will be included on the notification and should then follow up with each instructor on specifics for each course.

If a student's request or documentation is incomplete or insufficient to approve, SOS will contact the student for additional information, or in cases where a notification cannot be sent, to discuss other options available to the student.

Yes, if you have missed a week or more of your online course due to extenuating circumstance, you can submit an EAN request. While your absence may not be a physical absence from a classroom, you may have missed deadline or synchronous virtual class meetings.

The Administrative Withdrawals allows students to request withdrawal from a full semester of classes due to documented extenuating circumstances. Requests may be submitted after other withdrawal deadlines have passed for a semester, including after the semester has ended.

If your Administrative Withdrawal request is approved, all of your grades for the semester of request will become "W"s. Please note that all grades will be changed, including those courses you may have passed.

No. The University only has one letter grade to denote Withdrawal. Your transcript will only show a "W".

Students have up to one year to submit a Request for Administrative Withdrawal. Please note that one year is from the start of the semester of request (for example, if your request is for Spring 2019, you have up until the start of the Spring 2020 semester to submit your request).

If you would like to submit a request after the one year timeframe, you may do so, and your request will be reviewed by an appeals committee. In addition to the request form and supporting documentation, you will also need to submit a statement including convincing evidence explaining the student's inability to submit the request within one calendar year. You may attach any additional documentation supporting your statement for review.

The type of documentation needed to support your request will depend on the basis of your request. The following list provides examples of documentation that may be required. Please feel free to contact SOS if you have questions about your specific circumstances.

• Student Medical/Mental Health Circumstances: a letter of support from student's healthcare provider indicating that, due to the student's medical diagnosis/circumstances/treatment during the semester, the provider supports withdrawal. Letters should be typed, dated, on letter head, and signed by the provider.
• Medical/Mental Health Circumstances of an Immediate Family Member: a letter of support from the family members healthcare provider indicating that, due to the family members medical diagnosis/circumstances/treatment during the semester, and the student's role as a care provider, the provider supports withdrawal. Letters should be typed, dated, on letter head, and signed by the provider.
• Death of an Immediate Family Member: obituary, copy of a funeral program listing the student as a family member, or death certificate.
• Involuntary Changes in Employment or Military Requirements: an official letter from the student's employer or commanding officer outlining the specific changes in employment (change in schedule, relocation, increased workload) and potential impact on coursework. Letters should be typed, dated, on letter head, and signed by the employer/commanding officer.

You can submit your request and documentation through the request form here. Once SOS has received your request and supporting documentation, your request will be reviewed. If approved, you will receive notice by email (your ODU student email account). If denied, you will receive notice by email. If your request requires additional information or documentation, SOS will contact you to discuss your request further.

Once a completed request has been submitted (including request form and supporting documentation), your request may take up to two weeks for review and processing through SOS. Please note that once the notification of approval is sent, the Registrar's office may take an additional week to update your transcript.