EIU Counseling Clinic

Attendance Policies in Counseling 

In an effort to ensure that the Clinic is providing services in the most effective manner possible, we have established the following policies:

• You must call within 2 hours of your appointment time to cancel, reschedule, or to notify your counselor that you will be late for your appointment.  We would appreciate as much advance notice as possible, preferably, at least 24 hours prior to your appointment time.
• If you arrive 15 or more minutes late for your appointment, it will be considered a no show and you will need to reschedule.  Due to high demand and a limited number of counselors, duration and frequency of services can vary. Students will be evaluated at intake, and number of sessions will be determined based on need.
• All missed and canceled appointments (without 2 hours’ notice) may count toward the total number of sessions available to you. Group counseling sessions are not included in this limit.
• A $15 Health and Wellness charge will appear on your student bill for all appointments in which you are more than 15 minutes late, you do not cancel within 2 hours of your appointment time, or you no-show your appointment.   In order for your account to be charged, your name and E-number will be sent to the Student Accounts office for the charge to be applied. The Counseling Clinic reserves the right to terminate counseling services if three consecutive or four total appointments are missed (i.e., not canceled 2 hours prior to the session). Services may also be terminated if an excessive number of sessions are canceled.

There are legitimate reasons for missing an appointment and not canceling it prior to the date of the appointment. To dispute a No-Show charge, you may complete the “No-Show Fee Dispute Form” and return it to the Counseling Clinic for consideration. The granting of the appeal will be determined by your counselor and Counseling Clinic administration. Completing the form does not guarantee a reversal of the $15 Health and Wellness charge.

Additionally, if a student no shows or late cancels 3 or more appointments within the academic year, they may become ineligible for services at the counseling clinic for the remainder of the semester. This student may be referred out to the community for treatment. Also, if a student repeatedly cancels their counseling appointments, but remains within the 2 hour, late cancellation policy time frame, the student’s counselor may have a conversation with the student about attendance, scheduling, and motivation for counseling. The counselor may make the clinical decision to refer the student out to resources in the community. Due to high demand for services, no shows and late cancellations may also make it harder to get a prompt appointment, as clinicians’ schedules typically fill up in advance.