Leave of Absence

LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY & PROCEDURE

The school’s policy for a Leave of Absence requires a student to submit a request in writing, the dates and the reason for the request, supporting documentation if needed, and have reasonable expectation to return from the leave.  The school Executive Director may grant or deny a leave of absence.  The student has the right to appeal the denial within five (5) business days.  The school allows up to two (2) separate leaves of absence for a maximum of sixty (60) calendar days within a twelve (12) month period.                                                    

The school’s policy requires a student to apply in advance for an LOA unless unforeseen circumstances (emergency) prevent the student from doing so.  For example, if a student were injured in a car accident and needed a few weeks to recover before returning to school, the student would not have been able to request the LOA in advance.  The school may grant an LOA to a student who did not provide the request prior to the LOA due to unforeseen circumstances if the school documents the reason for its decision and collects the request from the student at a later date either via mail, email, fax, an authorized individual or in person.  In this example, the beginning date of the approved LOA would be determined by the school Executive Director to be the date the student was unable to attend school because of the accident.  The request for Leave of Absence Form is made available here. 

The school Executive Director will provide counseling to the student on the consequences that can occur with Title IV funds, extended graduation date, curriculum interruption, etc.  prior to approving the Leave of Absence.  

Official and Unofficial Withdrawal From School

If a student on an approved leave prior to the expiration of the leave notifies the school Executive Director that he or she will not be returning, the date of notification will be used as a drop date.         

If a student fails to return back from the leave of absence, the withdrawal date will be last date of attendance. 

Explanation of Consequences of Withdrawal to Loan Recipient

A student who is granted an approved LOA remains in an in-school status for Title IV loan repayment purposes.  If a student on an approved LOA fails to return, the school must report to the loan holder the student’s change in enrollment status as the withdrawal date.

One possible consequence of not returning from an LOA is that a student’s grace period for a Title IV program loan might be exhausted.  Therefore, in order for an LOA to be an approved LOA, prior to granting a Leave of Absence, a student who is a Title IV loan recipient will be counseled of the possible consequences a withdrawal may have on the student’s loan repayment terms, including the exhaustion of some or all of the student’s grace period.  A student who has exhausted his or her grace period and is unable to begin repayment of a loan may apply for a deferment or forbearance or payment.

For Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) purposes, VA students who do not return form an approved Leave of Absence will be reported to DVA within 5 days from the drop date.