Student Leave of Absence Terminology

Withdraw Admission: Declining admission to the university which results in the cancellation of enrollment in all courses. This applies only to first semester undergraduate students.

Cancellation: Dropping all classes prior to the first meeting date for the first course, as defined by the official start and stop date of each term.

Standard Student Leave of Absence: Dropping all classes for the current term after the semester/session has begun.  Standard Student Leave of Absence occurs in three periods during the typical 16 week fall and spring terms.

Period One – First 5 days of fall or spring semester, week 1.

Period Two – Weeks 2 – 10.

Period Three – Weeks 11 – 15.   Period three leave of abence requests are granted only for extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control that impacts the ability to remain enrolled and complete academic responsibilities. (Examples include, but are not limited to personal trauma, family emergencies, legal difficulties, etc.)  Period three leave of absence requests require a written petition be submitted to the college requesting permission to leave. (For students with multiple majors, leave of absence requests should be directed to the appropriate college official for the student’s primary major.) The college may require appropriate documentation to support the extenuating circumstances prompting the leave request. Undergraduate students on probation who leave during Period Three will be subject to academic dismissal at the end of the term.

Finals Week - Students should not expect to leave during Finals Week.

Note: These leave of absence periods are adjusted for non-standard and summer sessions.

Medical Leave of Absence:  A standard leave of absence that indicates a medical rationale for the student’s discontinuation of courses in the current term. 

Out of Term Leave of Absence: A request for leave of absence from a prior term due to extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the student.  Out of Term Leave of Absence are only permissible within two years from the last semester of attendance. Out of Term Leave of Absence requests have significant potential impact on the student’s university record, academic status, financial aid eligibility, and capacity for future success.  As such, special consideration and coordination is required beyond the college level.  

University Initiated Leave of Absence: When a student’s behavior poses a credible substantial risk of harm to the health, safety, or well-being of others and/or substantially disrupts the educational mission or other activities of the university community, the Dean of Students may initiate a student leave of absence on behalf of the university. 

Substantial Risk is further defined as the high probability of harm or threats of harm to the health, safety or well-being of others, and not just a slightly increased, speculative or remote risk of such harm.  

Drop: Removal of individual course(s) from the semester/session schedule.  Dropping all courses is considered a leave of absence.

Term: For the purposes of this policy, term is defined as Fall or Spring semester, or Summer sessions.

Repeated Student Leave of Absence: When students repeatedly request to perform a leave of absence from the university, additional expectations may be required upon re-enrollment to facilitate their success.  These recommendations will be developed on a case-by-case basis by the College Official who authorizes the student’s leave of absence.