Can I take a leave of absence from my program?

LEAVE OF ABSENCE - A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program of study. LOA refers to the specific time period during an ongoing program when a student is not in academic attendance. The school may allow more than one LOA at its discretion.

Students must request a Leave of Absence in advance unless unforeseen circumstances prevent the student from doing so, and that: 

 The request must be in writing 

 The request must include the student’s reason for the LOA

 The request must include the student signature 

 The request must include supporting documentation from the student’s physician indicating that the leave is deemed medically necessary

The reasons for which a leave of absence may be approved include: 

 Pregnancy 

 False pregnancy

 Termination of pregnancy

 Recovery there from 

The institution may grant an LOA to a student who did not provide the request prior to the LOA due to unforeseen circumstances if: 

 The institution documents the reason for its decision 

 The institution collects the request from the student at a later date

 The institution established the start date of the approved LOA as the first date the student was unable to attend. 

If approved, the official Leave will extend the contract period by the same number of days designated in the leave document or actually used by the student. No additional charges will be assessed as a result of an LOA. A student granted an LOA in accordance with this policy is not considered to have withdrawn and no refund calculation is required at this time. The Leave of Absence and any additional approved leaves of absence may not exceed a total of 180 days in any twelvemonth period. 

For federal aid recipients, the student’s payment period is suspended during the LOA and no federal financial aid will be disbursed to students while on a Leave of Absence. Upon the student’s return, the student will resume the same payment period and coursework and will not be eligible for additional Title IV aid until the payment period has been completed.

If the student is a Title IV loan recipient, the student will be informed of the effects that the student’s failure to return from a leave may have on the student’s loan repayment terms, including the expiration of the student’s grace period. A contract addendum will be completed and signed by all parties upon return from the LOA to extend the ending date by the applicable number of days. 

A student will be withdrawn if the student takes an unapproved LOA or does not return by the expiration of an approved LOA and the student’s withdrawal date for the purpose of calculating a refund will be the student’s last date of attendance.