Leave of Absence for Graduate and Doctoral Students
A leave of absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program of study. When unforeseen circumstances (e.g. personal, family, financial) require a student to temporarily withdraw from his/her studies, the student must submit a Leave of Absence form in advance of becoming inactive.
Continuous Registration and Leave of Absence:
When unforeseen circumstances require a student to temporarily withdraw from their studies, the student must submit a Request for a Leave of Absence form in the first quarter of becoming inactive (see Appendix A). When applying for a leave of absence, the student must meet with his/her academic advisor to develop a plan that includes when the student intends to re-enter the program. Further, the advisor must attach to the Request of Leave of Absence form, a brief statement that indicates the student has developed an appropriate plan to return and that the leave is approved by the program. A subsequent leave of absence may be granted for the same student due to an unforeseen circumstance such as military duty, jury duty or a circumstance covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Any additional leaves of absence request may not exceed a total of 180 days in a 12-month period. This 12-month period begins with the first day of the initial leave of absence. There must be a reasonable expectation that a student will return from a leave of absence to continue enrollment at NLU.
All documentation related to the leave of absence must be submitted for approval to the Director or Chair of the program. Doctoral candidates must also contact and receive approval from their dissertation committee chair (if one has been assigned). Once all approval signatures are acquired the Academic Advisor must submit the completed LOA form to the University Registrar’s Office for filing and to apply the LOA hold to the student’s record. NCE students who have not been enrolled for one or more academic year, must consult with their academic or faculty advisor and submit a petition to the Academic Policies Committee (or respective college review unit if warranted by the program) stating the reason for the inactivity, and file a re-entry form with the Office of Admissions and Records.
For Doctoral Students:
Doctoral students who were granted a leave of absence must still complete the program requirements within the original eight-year time limit. Students who have been away from the University for more than 1 year but fewer than five, upon re-entry, must meet the degree requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of their re-entry. Students who have been away from the university for 5 calendar years or longer (excluding the summer session or an approved leave of absence), must apply for readmission.
For Teacher Candidates/Education Students:
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) may change the state licensure and endorsement requirements at any time and without prior notice. Teacher candidates will be bound by the requirements in place when applying for licensure, not by the licensure requirements in place when beginning their program. That is, the state may specify that a new regulation is immediately applicable to all candidates with no provisions made for candidates who began their work on licensure under different regulations.
University Leave of Absence (LOA) Policy Requirements:
- Students should first contact their Academic Advisor and/or Faculty Advisor to create a plan for their smooth return to studies at National Louis.
- To qualify, students must be actively enrolled in a program and in good standing.
- Time on an approved LOA will not count towards a student's time limitations for degree completion and advancement to candidacy (6 years for Masters; 8 years for Doctorate).
- If a student has finished his/her program requirements but is working on his/her thesis or dissertation, the student must be registered for continuation courses until such time the thesis or dissertation is complete. (Doctoral students are required to be registered for continuation until such time they successfully defend their dissertation.) If the student has finished his/her program requirements but is unable to begin work on his/her thesis or dissertation, the student must request a leave of absence. Once the leave of absence is approved, the student will not be required to register for continuation while the leave of absence is active.
- Students with an “I” grade on their transcript should consult their Academic Advisor and refer to the in-progress (incomplete) grade policy before requesting an LOA.
- If a student does not return from an approved LOA, he or she will be considered as having withdrawn from the University. To be reconsidered for their program of study, he or she will need to return to the University under the conditions stated in the Reentry or Readmission policies.
- Students with NLU student loans should be aware that their loans will go into repayment six months after they drop below half-time student status. Students with loans prior to those received at NLU should contact their loan servicer as their payments may resume sooner than six months. Leave of absence status has no bearing on their student loans.
- Additional documentation may be required for the approval of the Leave of Absence