Leave of Absence (LOA)

A student may request a Leave of Absence for a period of up to 90 days.  An approved Leave of Absence will be granted when the absence is emergent or unforeseen and there is a reasonable expectation that the student will return to the university.  The reasons for granting an approved Leave of Absence may include, but are not limited to, the student having serious medical problems, military duty, pregnancy, or jury duty.  For an approved Leave of Absence, the student must provide a written request that is signed and dated and documentation that supports the reason for the request.  Extensions may be requested if the student’s circumstances warrant; the student, however, may be on approved Leave of Absence for a maximum of 180 days in any twelve month period  (Note: Extensions must be requested; they are not automatically granted if the student remains absent).  The student will be dismissed from the university if he/she does not return at the conclusion of the approved Leave of Absence, unless an extension has been granted.

If a student does not return from an approved Leave of Absence on the expected return date, the student will be dismissed from the university and a Return of Title IV Funds calculation will be processed.

Return to Title IV Funds

If the student is the recipient of a Title IV, HEA loan, failure to return from an approved Leave of Absence may result in changes to loan repayment terms, including exhaustion of some or all of the grace period. If a student does not return from the Leave of Absence, the 6-month grace period is retroactively applied back to the beginning of the leave of absence date.

Changes to Private Loans

The student is solely responsible for contacting any financial aid sources/lenders from which they may receive financial aid in order to determine any changes that may occur in any grace period or repayment schedule for financial aid based on the increased length of their program due to a Leave of Absence.  The student must also contact any financial aid source or lender to determine whether interest on the loan(s) will continue to accrue while on Leave of Absence.

Resumption of Classes

If the Leave of Absence is of sufficiently short duration, students will be allowed to rejoin their track and resume their studies.  Remediation of theory course material per the requirements of the student’s program is required, as is remediation of missed clinical education for Vocational Nurse students.  Missed sessions during a Leave of Absence, however, will not be counted as absences for attendance purposes, and students will not be placed on Attendance Probation or dismissed for absent periods during a Leave of Absence.

If the leave is of longer duration, and the student cannot rejoin his/her original cohort, the student will be readmitted to the beginning of the course during which the leave commenced.