Leave of Absence
Any student in Yale College who is in academic good standing will normally receive permission, upon petition to the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing through the residential college dean, to take one or two terms of leave of absence, provided that the student departs in academic good standing at the end of a term and returns at the beginning of a term. (See Requirements for Academic Good Standing under Promotion and Good Standing.) In order that the University may make plans to maintain enrollment at the established level, students desiring leaves of absence are requested to make their intentions known to their residential college deans as soon as possible. Yale College assumes that students who take leaves of absence will inform their parents or guardians in good time that they intend to do so. Ordinarily, residential college deans do not notify parents or guardians that a student has taken a leave of absence, though they may do so if they believe that such notification is appropriate.
- Petition for a fall-term leave For a fall-term leave of absence, a student is requested to submit a petition by May 1. Since a student's plans often change during the summer, however, the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing will ordinarily grant a petition for a leave that is received on or before the tenth day of the term in the fall. See paragraph 3 below.
- Petition for a spring-term leave For a spring-term leave of absence, a student's petition must be received on or before the tenth day of the term in the spring. See paragraph 3 below.
- Relinquishing housing Students considering a leave of absence should be aware that there is a substantial financial penalty for relinquishing on-campus housing after the relevant deadlines for relinquishing such housing. See Rebates of Undergraduate Charges in the Financial Services regulations of the Yale College Undergraduate Regulations.
- Canceling a leave A student may cancel a leave of absence for either term as late as the first day of classes in the term for which the leave has been requested. However, the deadlines for payment of the term bill and the penalties for late payment apply in such cases. See Payment of Bills in the Financial Services regulations of Undergraduate Regulations.
- Total terms of leave A student is eligible for a total of two terms of leave of absence. These two terms need not be taken consecutively.
- Accelerated students A student taking an accelerated degree by use of acceleration credits who has had two terms of leave of absence may receive a third term of leave if the third term of leave is needed to bring the student's pattern of attendance into conformity with the pattern of attendance stipulated for an accelerated degree. See under Acceleration Policies.
- Returning from a leave Permission to take a leave of absence normally includes the right to return, with prior notification to the residential college dean but without further application, at the beginning of the term specified in the student's petition to the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. In the case, however, in which a student achieved eligibility for a leave of absence because of a postponement of a deadline for course work as a result of an identified medical problem, the Yale College Dean's Office may require medical clearance from Yale Health before the student's return from the leave of absence.
- Financial aid Students taking leaves of absence who have received long-term loans will be sent information about their loan repayment obligations, which in most cases begin six months after the last day of formal enrollment at Yale. A student taking a leave of absence who is receiving financial aid through Yale must consult with a counselor in the Student Financial Services Center before leaving Yale; see Rebates of Undergraduate Charges in the Financial Services regulations of Undergraduate Regulations.
- Health coverage A student on a leave of absence is eligible to retain coverage by Yale Health during the time of the leave, but the student must take the initiative to apply for continued membership in Yale Health by completing an application form and paying the fee for membership. See "Leave of Absence," paragraph C.2 in the Health Services regulations of Undergraduate Regulations. Application forms and details about medical coverage while on leave of absence may be obtained from the Member Services Department of Yale Health.
Medical Withdrawal
A withdrawal for medical reasons must be authorized by the director of Yale Health or the chief of the Mental Health and Counseling department, or by their official designees within the Health Center. If a student under the care of a non–Yale Health physician wishes to withdraw for medical reasons, that physician should submit sufficient medical history to the director of Yale Health for a final decision on the recommendation. A student planning to return to Yale should discuss the requirements for readmission with the residential college dean or the chair of the Committee on Readmission.
Yale College reserves the right to require a student to withdraw for medical reasons when, on recommendation of the director of Yale Health or the chief of the Mental Health and Counseling department, the dean of Yale College determines that the student is a danger to self or others because of a serious medical problem, or that the student has refused to cooperate with efforts deemed necessary by Yale Health to determine if the student is such a danger. An appeal of such a withdrawal must be made in writing to the dean of Yale College no later than seven days from the date of withdrawal.
Withdrawal for Personal Reasons
At any time during the year, a student may withdraw from Yale College for personal reasons. After consulting with the residential college dean, a student wishing to withdraw should write a letter of resignation to the college dean. In consulting with the college dean, a student planning to return to Yale should discuss the requirements for readmission. Also, students in academic good standing who fail to register in a term will be withdrawn for personal reasons.
Rebates of Undergraduate Charges
For information on financial rebates on account of withdrawal from Yale College, consult the Financial Services regulations of Undergraduate Regulations.
Readmission
During the time that a student who has withdrawn is away from Yale College, the Committee on Readmission expects him or her to have been constructively occupied and to have maintained a satisfactory standard of conduct.
Students whose withdrawal was for either academic reasons or personal reasons must remain away for at least one fall term and one spring term, in either order, not including the term in which the withdrawal occurred. Students whose withdrawal had been authorized as medical by the director of Yale Health must normally remain away at least one full term before a return to Yale College, not including the term in which the withdrawal occurred. The period of withdrawal for disciplinary reasons is set by the Yale College Executive Committee at the time the student's enrollment is suspended.
Further requirements depend to some extent on the circumstances of the withdrawal and its duration. Students who are not in academic good standing, i.e., students who withdrew while a term was in progress or who were dismissed for academic reasons (see Academic Penalties and Restrictions), must ordinarily complete the equivalent of at least two term courses, either in Yale Summer Session or at another college or university, earning grades of A or B. Courses conducted on line, whether taken at Yale Summer Session or elsewhere, do not fulfill this readmission requirement. In general, such a record of course work is also required of students who withdrew for medical reasons and of any students who have been away from full-time academic work for two years or more, whether or not they were in academic good standing at the time of their departure, in order to demonstrate that upon return they can satisfactorily complete their academic program. Courses themselves, as well as the institution at which they are taken, should be cleared in advance with the chair of the Committee on Readmission or the applicant's residential college dean. In some cases, the Committee on Readmission may require more than two courses or courses in a specific subject area. All such course work must be completed no later than the opening of the term to which the student has applied to be readmitted, but no earlier than two years before the date that term begins. Courses completed in fulfillment of readmission that are eligible for graduation credit must be applied to the student's Yale College transcript.
Interviews with members of the committee are required of all applicants. The committee cannot approve a student's return to Yale College until after the necessary interviews have taken place. These may include meetings for any applicant with the chair of the committee, the applicant's residential college dean, and any other member of the committee, including a member of the Yale Health staff. Interviews are normally conducted just prior to the beginning of the term to which the student is seeking readmission.
As an integral part of the application for readmission, students who withdrew for medical reasons must obtain a recommendation from Yale Health. Such a recommendation must come from either the director of Yale Health or the chief of the Mental Health and Counseling department, or from their official designees within the Health Center; no such recommendation can be made in the absence of documentation provided to Yale Health that the student has had successful treatment from an appropriate health clinician.
Inquiries about readmission should be directed to the chair of the Committee on Readmission, Yale College Dean's Office, 110 SSS, Yale University, P.O. Box 208241, New Haven, CT 06520-8241. The first inquiry about readmission to a fall term should come no later than the previous April 30, and applications must be submitted in person or by receipted mail by June 1. The first inquiry concerning readmission to a spring term should come no later than the previous September 30, and applications must be submitted in person or by receipted mail by November 1. These deadlines are strictly enforced.
While the majority of students who apply for readmission do return to Yale College, readmission is not guaranteed to any applicant. Since the committee seeks to readmit only those students who have demonstrated the ability henceforth to remain in academic good standing and thus complete degree requirements within the specific number of terms of enrollment remaining to them, the committee may sometimes advise an applicant to defer his or her return until a time later than the one originally proposed.
Students who are readmitted to Yale College are expected to be complete and passing in all their courses at the conclusion of each of the two terms following their readmission. A student who fails to meet this condition is ordinarily required to withdraw after his or her record has been reviewed by the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. A student is eligible to be readmitted only once; a second readmission may be considered only under unusual circumstances, ordinarily of a medical nature.
For complete information about readmission to Yale College, consult the brochure "General Information concerning Readmission to Yale College" available from the Committee on Readmission.
U.S. Military Service Readmission Policy
Students who wish or need to interrupt their studies to perform U.S. military service are subject to a separate U.S. military leave readmission policy.
In the event a student withdraws or takes a leave of absence from Yale College on or after August 14, 2008, in order to serve in the U.S. military, the student will be entitled to guaranteed readmission under the following conditions:
- The student must have served in the U.S. Armed Forces for a period of more than thirty consecutive days.
- The student must give advance written or verbal notice of such service to his or her residential college dean. In providing the advance notice the student does not need to indicate whether he or she intends to return. This advance notice need not come directly from the student, but rather, can be made by an appropriate officer of the U.S. Armed Forces or official of the U.S. Department of Defense. Notice is not required if precluded by military necessity. In all cases, this requirement of giving notice can be fulfilled at the time the student seeks readmission, by submitting an attestation that the student performed the service.
- The student must not be away from the University to perform U.S. military service for a period exceeding five years (this includes all previous absences to perform U.S. military service but does not include any initial period of obligated service). If a student's time away from the University to perform U.S. military service exceeds five years because the student is unable to obtain release orders through no fault of the student or the student was ordered to or retained on active duty, the student should contact his or her residential college dean to determine if the student remains eligible for guaranteed readmission.
- The student must notify Yale within three years of the end of the U.S. military service of his or her intention to return. However, a student who is hospitalized or recovering from an illness or injury incurred in or aggravated during the U.S. military service has up until two years after recovering from the illness or injury to notify Yale of his or her intent to return.
- The student cannot have received a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge or have been sentenced in a court-martial.
A student who meets all of these conditions will be readmitted for the following term unless the student requests, in writing, a later date of readmission. Any student who fails to meet one of these requirements may still be eligible for readmission under Yale's general readmission policy but is not guaranteed readmission. Upon returning to Yale, the student will resume his or her education without repeating completed course work for courses interrupted by U.S. military service. The student will have the same enrolled status last held and will be in the same academic standing. For the first academic year in which the student returns, the student will be charged the tuition and fees that would have been assessed for the academic year in which the student left the institution. Yale may charge up to the amount of tuition and fees other students are assessed, however, if veterans' education benefits will cover the difference between the amounts currently charged other students and the amount charged for the academic year in which the student left. In the case of a student who is not prepared to resume his or her studies with the same enrollment status and academic standing as when he or she left or who will not be able to complete the program of study, Yale will undertake reasonable efforts to help the student become prepared. If, after reasonable efforts, Yale determines that the student remains unprepared or will be unable to complete the program, or Yale determines that there are no reasonable efforts it can take, Yale may deny the student readmission.
