Leave of Absence Policy
Course Incompletion Due to Active Military Duty
Voluntary Withdrawal
Administrative Withdrawal
Appeal for Academic Reinstatement

Leave of Absence Policy

Students may request a leave of absence from the university if they do not plan to enroll for courses for more than one semester. Examples of why a student might request leave of absence may include the following: military leave, medical emergency, family emergency or work related situation such as a change in professional duties.

A request for a leave of absence must be made in writing to the student’s respective program director prior to the planned leave. Students requesting a leave of absence must be in good academic standing and must be on track to complete their program within the program time limit. Extensions to an already approved leave of absence may be requested following the same process used for the original request. Students who are not registered in three consecutive semesters and who are not on an approved leave of absence will be administratively withdrawn from the university.

Course Incompletion Due to Call to Active Military Duty

Students called to active military duty before completing their courses have two options. They must indicate their choice in writing to the Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services or designee, before departure.

1. If the student is close to completion of the course, he or she may make arrangements with the program director to complete the course or request a grade of Incomplete (I). The student then completes the remaining required work when they return. There are no academic or financial penalties associated with a grade of “I”. If the student does not complete the work within 90 days of his or her return, the grade of “I” will be changed to W (Withdraw) and the student will need to re-register and retake the course.
2. The student may request withdrawal from the course. There are no academic or financial penalties associated with withdrawal from a course under these circumstances. No drop fee will be charged and the student will receive a full tuition refund. The course will be removed from the transcript.

Voluntary Withdrawal

Students who wish to voluntarily withdraw from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota must do so in writing to the program director.

Administrative Withdrawal

Since all degree requirements must be completed within the degree completion time limit, students who exceed this limit will be administratively withdrawn unless an extension is granted. Students who have not registered for three consecutive semesters will be administratively withdrawn. Students who have been administratively withdrawn from a course as a result of an unauthorized withdrawal and not enrolled in at least one credit during the same term will be administratively withdrawn from the university. Students who have been administratively withdrawn must reapply and be accepted before resuming their studies.

Appeal for Academic Reinstatement

A student dismissed for academic reasons may appeal once, in writing, for academic reinstatement. The procedure is:

1. A committee composed of the student’s program director, the school dean who dismissed the student, and one other dean convenes to review the student’s written appeal.
2. The committee, chaired by the other dean, either:
   1. requests additional information or,
   2. recommends or does not recommend reinstatement based on review of the appeal.
3. A recommendation for reinstatement shall include:
   1. specific provisions for making up the academic deficit (e.g. retaking a course) and,
   2. a date for reinstatement (e.g. immediately or the following semester).
4. The academic dean of the schools of graduate and professional programs makes the final decision regarding reinstatement and communicates the decision in writing to the student. The decision of the academic dean may be appealed to the Vice President of the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
5. The program director monitors the progress of any reinstated student and reports to the dean whether the student has satisfied the stipulated provisions for reinstatement.
6. The academic dean writes to the student that all provisions for reinstatement have been met, or that provisions have not been satisfied. If not, the student is dismissed.