Hospitalization

It is common for the Student Advocacy Center to receive notice from hospitals, residence hall staff, and parents that a student is sick, injured, or dealing with a crisis or emergency. When a student is hospitalized at the Wexner Medical Center, the Student Advocacy Center is often notified directly by hospital staff.  Other times, parents, hall directors, instructors, university staff, or other hospitals/agencies will contact us with information about a student who is unable to attend classes.  In these instances, we send a general notification to the student's instructors to inform them that the student is in the hospital and to expect their absence.   We then forward that notification to the student and ask that they follow up with the instructors when possible.  When a student is unable to communicate with instructors, we are happy to serve as a liaison until it's reasonable for the student to resume that communication.

If you ARE ABLE to communicate after an illness or injury

We recommend e-mailing your instructors, and TAs if you are able, to let them know of your condition. Please try to provide them a time-frame with how long your absence is expected.

Because you have a better relationship with your instructors than we do, our recommendation is to not intervene until you have encountered difficulties with a class or instructor. For example, if one instructor is difficult to get ahold of and you are unsure of how they will treat your absence, we are glad to try contacting them directly.

If you have waited longer than 3 business days after sending your initial e-mail to your instructors, we recommend calling our office and we will make sure that all instructors are aware of your condition.

If you are NOT ABLE to communicate due to illness or injury

Have an individual (physician, parent, or friend) report your condition to our office by phone, e-mail or online reporting. We will contact your instructors and work with them (and you) to accommodate your illness. Depending on the severity of the condition or length of absence, we may recommend you take an Incomplete or Withdraw from classes. Please visit these sections of our site for more information.

We will contact your instructors and send you an e-mail to notify you that we have done so. Once you are well enough to check your e-mail and begin an active correspondence with our office, we will work with you to make transitioning back to classes as smooth as possible.