Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

I hope this message finds you, and your student well at the start of what is likely to be another unique, creative, and challenging semester. 

My name is Louise Cracknell and in my role as MICA’s Student Development Specialist I work with students when they are experiencing situations that may impact their personal and/or academic lives during their time at MICA.  This includes situations where your student may find themselves in a position where they need to be hospitalized for any health-related concerns. 

We want to share the work process and procedures for all enrolled students at MICA in case of hospitalization.  The global Pandemic (Covid-19) and challenges of remote learning and working make it an imperative that we share this information at this time.  While this is not the most positive scenario, I felt that it was important to share with you the steps to take should your student face hospitalization.

In the event that your student is admitted to the hospital, for any reason that may negatively impact their academics, I should be the primary point of contact for that information. This includes all students who are currently enrolled at MICA, regardless of their geographic location. While it is strongly encouraged that students reach out to me, I understand that not all situations allow for this to occur. Should your student be unable to communicate with me directly, it would be appropriate for you to contact me on their behalf.

It’s important that any concerns come directly to me so that I can work on contacting their faculty and putting support resources into place.  Students are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Student Development Specialist prior to contacting any faculty or other staff members.  This allows for the process to move more quickly and efficiently. Your student will be copied on all communication that I send out to their faculty for transparency and the ability to coordinate support.

Working directly with me also provides your student with additional levels of privacy and confidentiality surrounding the nature of their concerns, as I will never directly communicate to faculty the specifics of their situation, just that they are away from class due to a medical or other health related concern.  Students may choose to disclose more information to faculty should they wish to do so, but I want to avoid a situation where students feel pressured to share sensitive information out of fear that their absence may not be believed. 

Students who are absent from MICA due to hospitalization are expected to submit documentation to me to confirm the dates of their hospitalization, as well as confirm that they are cleared to return to classes.  This documentation can be uploaded using this secure link: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?MarylandInstCA&layout_id=52. 

Students may be required to meet with me as needed once they are discharged so that we can talk about their on-going support needs and formulate a plan for how they wish to proceed with the remainder of their semester.

If you need to reach me with any questions, concerns, or to report a student hospitalization I can be reached: