POLICY UPDATES

LEAVE OF ABSENCE (LOA) PROCEDURE (updated January 1, 2008)

Students who find that they cannot take a scheduled course within their cohort calendar can submit a written request for a Leave of Absence to their Academic Advisor. Leaves of Absence must be requested in writing by the student before the first night of class for which the leave is requested.

• Leaves of Absence must be approved before a course begins.  Any exceptions to this policy must be first approved by the Associate Dean of Students.
• LOA requests must include a valid the reason for the LOA.
• A single LOA may not exceed 60 calendar days.
• The student will not be charged for courses during the LOA. Accounting will reverse any charges associated with the LOA at the time the LOA is approved. If the LOA is not approved the student will be charged according to the refund policy below.
• In the case where a student has taken multiple Leaves of Absence, the total time out of attendance combined cannot exceed 180 calendar day within a 12 month period.
• The LOA must be approved by the student’s Academic Advisor or the Associate Dean of Students.
• LOAs will affect the timing of a student’s financial aid. Disbursements dates will be delayed until successful completion of the entire payment period in the student’s award.

If a student’s Leave of Absence is not approved or the student fails to return to Shorter at the end of the approved LOA, the student is considered to be withdrawn from school. The last date of attendance prior to the LOA will be used when determining the start of a student’s grace period.

Submitting an LOA request after the start of the course for which the LOA is requested becomes a course drop or withdrawal from the program if the student breaks the College’s attendance policy, unless it is an unforseen circumstance subject to the approval of the Associate Dean of Students. The written request must be received within 14 days of making the request for an unforseen circumstance. Failure to return at the end of a scheduled Leave of Absence without notifying an advisor will result in a withdrawal from the program as outlined in the Unofficial Withdrawal policy.

Click here for a Leave of Absence Form

Course Drop Procedure (Updated December 7, 2007)

Students who find that they cannot continue in a course must contact their Academic Advisor to officially withdraw from that course. The following grade and tuition charges will be assigned based on the number of class sessions a student attends in a course.

Those students who stop attending classes and do not notify the Academic Advisor to complete the drop form will be withdrawn from the program according to the policy for Unofficial Withdrawal (see below). Students who drop one course are expected to return with the following course, receive approval for an official LOA, or withdraw from the program.

Official Withdrawal from the College (Updated December 7, 2007 )

Official withdrawal from the College requires written notification from the student. A student leaving the College must formally withdraw by contacting his or her Academic Advisor to complete the necessary forms.

No refund of fees will be calculated until the withdrawal process is complete. Withdrawal grades are described above under course drop procedures.

The College reserves the right to request, at any time, the withdrawal of a student who does not maintain the required standard of scholarship, whose continued attendance would be detrimental to the student’s health or the health of others, or whose behavior is out of harmony with the Christian philosophy of the College. For regulations regarding nonacademic or disciplinary suspension, see the Shorter College Professional Studies Student Handbook.

Unofficial Withdrawal From the College (Updated December 7, 2007)

Unofficial withdrawal from the College will be processed when a student has not completed proper Leave of Absence or drop procedures. Whenever a student is absent from scheduled courses for 29 days without official notification, the student will be withdrawn from the College.