307-4 - Academic Leave of Absence

Title:	Academic Leave of Absence
Owner:	Executive Director, Registrar Operations and Academic Compliance
Last Update/Revised:	02/25/2021

Policy: Students are expected to maintain continuous enrollment in their program of study. A leave of absence (LOA) may be granted for jury duty, military reasons, medical reasons, significant academic issues or other extenuating circumstance as approved by the Office of the Registrar. An official academic leave allows a temporary break from the University without going through a re-entry process.

A student must be in attendance for at least one semester (two 8-week sessions) to be eligible to request an LOA. An approved LOA cannot exceed more than 180 calendar days in a twelve month period. The 12-month period begins on the first day of the student’s LOA. Students should speak with their Academic Advisor prior to any request for an LOA.

Students are responsible for obtaining approval of the leave of absence prior to reaching excessive absences of 30 calendar days from the last date of attendance/participation. All requests for an LOA must be submitted in writing to the Office of the Registrar explaining reason for leave, dates for which leave is needed, and include appropriate supporting documentation. Students may not be granted an LOA if they are not in good academic standing (not on disciplinary action, academic probation or academically dismissed from the University).

Students are expected to return within the specified time frame and attend by the end of the add period of the scheduled session. Students not in attendance by the end of add period will automatically be considered a withdrawal. This temporary academic leave status will not be reported to external agencies as it does not meet the requirements under the Federal Student Aid definition for term based institutions.

Non-Degree Seeking students are not eligible to take a Leave of Absence.

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to provide students with an option to take a temporary leave from the University without any being withdrawn and going through the readmission process. All payment plans while on an academic leave of absences may be postponed until date of return or at point of withdrawal should students not return by scheduled date.

Scope: This policy applies to all university employees and current students.

Document and Form(s):

Leave of Absence Form
Supporting Documentation