Leave of Absence
Students may find it necessary to take one or more semesters of leave from the University for personal or professional reasons. In order to take a Leave of Absence (LOA), a student must file the Application for a Leave of Absence form in the Registrar’s Office. A student may apply for only one or two consecutive terms of LOA (Fall and Spring semesters only; Summer terms do not count toward a LOA). Graduate programs require the signature of the program director on the LOA form.
Students who have been academically dismissed from the University do not qualify for a voluntary Leave of Absence.
Students who do not intend to return to the University must complete an Application for Withdrawal from the University instead; please see the Withdrawal from the University section of this catalog for further information.
Deadlines
Registered students who file the LOA form in the Registrar’s Office prior to the deadline for a tuition refund and the deadline to drop courses will be partially refunded, and they will be dropped from all registered courses for the semester. The policies and deadline for a refund are found in the Tuition Refund policy, found on the Business Services Office website.
If the Leave of Absence form is filed in the Registrar’s Office after these dates, or if no form is filed, all tuition, fees, and other appropriate charges will be due. If the form is filed before the deadline to Withdraw from courses, all registered courses for the term will be assigned a ‘W’ (Withdrawn) grade. However, if the form is filed after the withdraw deadline, or if a student stops attending course without filing the LOA form, failing (‘F’ or ‘UF’) grades may be posted to the student’s record.
Taking Off-Campus Courses while on LOA
Students who wish to enroll in coursework at other institutions during their LOA from the University should submit an Authorization to Take Courses Off-Campus from with the Registrar’s Office. This form is used to obtain approval that this coursework is transferable to Dominican and applicable to the student’s degree program. Courses taken without prior approval may not be counted toward the degree, or eligible for transfer to Dominican.
Official transcripts for all coursework taken off-campus must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.
Returning from a LOA
In order to re-enroll after a LOA, students must submit the Re-Enrollment Application, a paper registration form, and official transcripts for any coursework they have taken off-campus during the LOA. For further information regarding re-enrollment, please see the Re-Enrollment section of this catalog.
Returning students who were on Academic Probation or Academic Warning at the time of filing the LOA form will remain on Academic Probation/Warning for one semester. Such students are subject to the same criteria for academic good standing outlined above; see the Academic Standing section of this catalog for further information.
Students returning within two semesters may retain the graduation requirements in effect at the time of first matriculation; students who do not return within two semesters may be required to meet the graduation requirements in effect at the time of their re-enrollment.