Leave of Absence Policy

Overview

Keene State College is an academic institution equipped to meet many of the needs of diverse college students. While continuous enrollment to graduation is desired, circumstances may arise which require a student to take a leave of absence from his/her studies. The College has three types of leaves of absence: academic, diminished care, and administrative. All leaves of absence are requested through, approved by, and/or under the direction of the Dean of Students.

Academic Leave of Absence

Students may request an academic leave of absence from studies for compelling reasons such as military service, family emergencies, financial, or medical/health-related reasons. An academic leave of absence is appropriate when the student intends to return to the College to complete their degree program. An academic leave of absence does not normally extend beyond two consecutive semesters. Requests for an academic leave of absence must state the reason for such request and stipulate the exact date of return. Students approved for an academic leave of absence retain their status as an active student including retention of their MyKSC email account and the ability to register and apply for housing online.

Diminished Care (DC) and Administrative Leaves of Absence

The resources at Keene State College are not designed to meet the long-term needs of certain serious psychological episodes or health-related behaviors that put students or others at risk including (but not limited to) potentially lethal suicide attempts, significant acts or threats of violence to others, chronic eating disorders, dramatic and/or expansive displays of self-mutilation, chronic substance abuse, behaviors that are significantly disruptive to the KSC community and/or diminish the ability of a student to care for him/herself. In these cases, the College may require a student to take a leave of absence from the College to improve their emotional/behavioral/physical health. In other cases, a student may agree that he/she needs to take a leave of absence from the College to address emotional/behavioral health issues. The College has developed the following policies for Diminished Care and Administrative Leaves of Absence.

Students experiencing any health-related difficulties (psychological or physical) are expected to take personal responsibility for managing their behaviors and to seek appropriate treatment when necessary and/or to comply with professional recommendations for care. So, it is understood that some students may experience serious health-related difficulties that do not reach the need for separation from the College because they are utilizing appropriate emotional/behavioral or other medical health care. However, if serious health-related difficulties do rise to the level of putting the student or others at risk, significantly disrupting the College community, or diminishing the student’s ability to care for him/herself, a leave of absence from the College may be recommended and agreed upon or administratively imposed.

• Diminished Care (DC) Leave of Absence
  A diminished care leave of absence may be recommended when serious health-related difficulties as mentioned above exist and the student, in consultation with college health service providers, agrees that a temporary disruption of studies is in his/her best interests. Documentation from an appropriate health practitioner must support the request for a diminished care leave of absence.

  Once a student has been granted a Diminished Care Leave of Absence from the campus, he/she must follow all Return from DC/Administrative Leave procedures in order to be reinstated. Students approved for a diminished care leave of absence retain their status as an active student including retention of their MyKSC email account. A hold which prohibits reenrollment including course registration and housing application and assignment is placed on the student’s record at the time of leave and remains until approval for return from leave has been granted.

• Administrative Leave of Absence
  An administrative leave of absence is applied to any student who engages, or threatens to engage, in behavior which poses imminent danger of causing substantial harm to self or others, or engages, or threatens to engage, in behavior which would cause significant property damage, or directly and substantially impedes the lawful activities of others. Any student engaging in behavior that negatively impacts the emotional and/or physical welfare of any member of the College community may also be subject to an administrative leave from the College. Once a student has been placed on administrative leave from the campus, he/she must follow all Return from Diminished Care/Administrative Leave procedures in order to be reinstated. In some cases, College personnel will counsel Diminished Care Leave of the student from the College. However, if deemed necessary and appropriate, administrative leave procedures will be implemented. Students placed on administrative leave of absence retain their status as an active student including retention of their MyKSC email account. A hold which prohibits reenrollment including course registration and housing application and assignment is placed on the student’s record at the time of leave and remains until approval for return from leave has been granted.

Leave of Absence & Residential Hall Status

Students residing in KSC residence halls and who take a leave of absence during the semester are normally required to vacate their residence hall within 24 hours.

Notification of Others

Parents and/or guardians of dependent students and, where appropriate, family members of independent students may be contacted if the student is being considered for an administrative leave of absence. Should a student be taken to the hospital for a psychiatric or substance abuse related incident, or for fear of harming him/herself or another, or because the student has engaged in other acts of significant self-harm, parents may be notified by the Dean of Students. Should the College discover later in the semester that a student engaged in significantly dangerous behavior or was hospitalized for such behavior at any point since the beginning of the semester, parents may be notified by the Dean of Students.

Financial Obligations to Keene State College

Students approved for an academic leave of absence during a semester will be expected to fulfill all financial obligations to the College for that semester, in accordance with published "Tuition and Room" refund policy and the "Board" refund policy.

Students approved for a diminished care leave of absence during a semester will be given consideration for Tuition and Room refund dependent on the circumstances and the time of the leave and will be refunded Board according to the published "Board" refund policy.

Students who are placed on an administrative leave of absence will be expected to fulfill all financial obligations to the College for that semester, in accordance with published "Tuition and Room" refund policy and the "Board" refund policy.

Mandatory fees are not refundable regardless of the type of leave and/or circumstances necessitating the leave.

Revised June, 2011