Institutional Policies for Military Leave of Absence
Flexible Policies:
UIW proudly follows the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003 when making financial aid judgments for covered individuals. Affected students should contact the Office of Financial Assistance to discuss options.
Students who are making successful progress in a course may request an Incomplete if they are nearing the end of the course and are unable to complete the course in the allotted time. Granting of an incomplete means that the student will have extra time to complete the course. Reasons for an incomplete can include illness, deployment or activation. Students who are unable to qualify for an Incomplete may ask to be withdrawn from a course when deployment or activation occur and the student cannot continue in the course.
Readmission Policy for Military Service members and Dependents:
The University of the Incarnate Word is committed to full compliance with the Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members established by executive order of the President of the United States, the rules and regulations listed in the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, and all applicable financial aid regulations established by the U.S. Department of Education.
Definitions:
Military service (or service in the uniformed services) for the purposes of readmission is defined as service, whether voluntary or involuntary, in the Armed Forces, including service by a member of the National Guard or Reserve, on active duty, active duty for training, or full-time National Guard duty under federal authority, for a period of more than 30 consecutive days under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 consecutive days (this does not include National Guard under state authority).
A service member is someone who is a member of, applies to be a member of, performs, has performed, applies to perform, or has an obligation to perform, service in the uniformed services on the basis of that membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation to perform service.
An appropriate officer is a warrant, commissioned, or non-commissioned officer authorized to give such notice by the military service concerned.
The University will promptly readmit a service member with the same academic status as he or she had when last attending or accepted for admission. The student must notify the appropriate program representative of his or her military service and intention to return to school, as follows:
- The student (or an appropriate officer of the Armed Forces or official of the Department of Defense) must give written notice of such service to the appropriate program representative as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances. This notice does not have to indicate whether the student intends to return to UIW. No notice is required if precluded by military necessity such as service in operations that are classified or would be compromised by such notice.
- Any service member in a U.S. military reserve unit should provide a copy of all training orders to the appropriate program office as far in advance as possible, at least 30 days, or as far in advance as is possible under the circumstances. If the service member will miss a portion of class (either on campus or online) during a semester due to their reserve unit two-week yearly training obligation, the student should make accommodations with the appropriate program representative prior to registering for classes that semester.
Course Withdrawals and Tuition and Fee Adjustment:
Once sufficient documentation is received and reviewed for approval, the University will work with the student to complete the necessary documents for course withdrawals and a full adjustment of all tuition and fees for the term. All financial aid funds, tuition assistance, and veteran education benefit payments will be returned to the agencies that provided them in accordance with all federal laws and regulations.
Notification of Intent to Return to School:
The student must also give oral or written notice of his or her intent to return to the school within three years after the completion of the period of service. A student who is hospitalized or convalescing due to an illness or injury incurred or aggravated during the performance of service must notify the appropriate program representative within two years after the end of the period needed for recovery from the illness or injury. A student who fails to apply for readmission within these periods does not automatically forfeit eligibility for readmission, but it subject to the University’s general readmission policies.
Readmission:
The student will be admitted to with the same academic status. This status is defined as being admitted to the same program to which the student was last admitted or, if that exact program is no longer offered, the program that is most similar to that program, unless the student chooses a different program. The student will be readmitted at the same enrollment status, unless the student wants to re-enroll at a different enrollment status. The student will be enrolled with the same number of credit hours previously completed, unless the student is readmitted to a different program to which the completed credit hours are not transferable. The student will be readmitted with the same academic standing. The cumulative length of the absence and of all previous absences from the school for military service may not exceed five years. Only the time the student spends actually performing service is counted.
Tuition and Fees:
If the student is readmitted to the same program, for the first academic year in which the student returns, unless there are sufficient veterans or other service member education benefits to pay the increased amount of tuition and fees, the student will be charged the same tuition and fees the student was or would have been assessed for the academic year the student left on a military leave of absence. For subsequent academic years, veterans admitted to the same or a different program may be charged the same tuition and fees as are other students in the program.
Prior Learning Assessment Policies (PLA):
The University of the Incarnate Word has a variety of ways that military service members can take advantage of PLA. These include credit by examination (DANTES/DSST, CLEP, and challenge exams), acceptance of all military service credits as evaluated by ACE, and portfolio evaluation. Refer to the section on Credit by Exam for policies related to PLA.