More College of Podiatric Medicine Policies

• Academic and Summary Dismissals
• Academic Appeals Committee
• Academic Performance and Student Organizations
• American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination (APMLE)
• Attendance
• Background Checks and Drug Testing
• Board Prep Exam
• Clerkship and Senior Medicine Rotations
• Clinical Rotations
• Course Exemptions
• Eligibility for Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Degree
• Essential Requirements for Student Education
• Examination Policy
• Immunizations
• Incomplete Grades
• Laboratory Participation During Pregnancy
• Mediasite
• Professional Behavior
• Professionalism Deficiency Evaluation
• Promotion
• Readmission
• Registration for the College Podiatric Medicine
• Remediation and Mandatory Academic Counseling
• Senior Experience
• Student Conduct
• Student Malpractice Insurance Coverage
• Test Review Procedure
• Transfer and Advanced Standing Admissions
• Withdrawal from the College of Podiatric Medicine

Leave of Absence Procedure Download to print

For the university policy on Leave of Absence for Graduate Studies, please refer to the Academic Policies section of this Catalog.

A currently enrolled student at the College of Podiatric Medicine is entitled to request a leave of absence when his/her personal life situation necessitates such a request. A leave of absence is an excused absence (one-day to a maximum of 30 calendar days) from scheduled course and/or clinical responsibilities. In rare instances of severe illness and prolonged hospitalization, the senior associate dean of student affairs can authorize a one-time extension of leave for an additional 30 calendar days per academic year. The request for an additional 30-day extension must be substantiated with the appropriate medical records submitted to the senior associate dean. A student who is granted a leave of absence due to psychological, emotional or other like reasons will be required to be evaluated by a counselor or physician, either of the college's choice or approved by the college, prior to return, ensuring the student is able to fully meet educational and/or clinical obligations.

Below are the procedures to requesting an official leave of absence.

1. Student secures the Leave of Absence form from Office of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics, completes the form, returns it to and meets with the Director or Assistant Director of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics. Any request form received without a complete explanation and supporting documentation for the request will be automatically denied.
2. If the Office of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics approves the request for leave, all appropriate faculty and staff members will be notified of the approval and the intended return date. 
3. Upon returning from the approved leave of absence, the student meets with the Director or Assistant Director of the Office of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics to secure the “Return from Leave” form, completes the form and returns the completed form, along with supporting documentation, to the Office of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics. Once the return is approved, all appropriate faculty and staff members will be notified. 

NOTE: Any requests for a leave of absence longer than 60 consecutive days will be viewed as “Withdrawal” from the college and requested as such on the appropriate form secured from the Office of Academic Services and Enrollment Analytics. It is important to note that even though a currently enrolled student is on a leave of absence, the granting of the leave does not constitute a waiver of the student’s responsibility for tuition, fees or academic assignments.

Upon returning from a leave of absence, a student is required to make up any eligible missed assignments or examinations within 10 school days of the student's return. Students must contact in writing the appropriate course coordinators within two school days (no later than 3:00 PM on the second day) of their return to school to schedule the time and date of the makeup assignments and examinations. If there is insufficient time to complete the make-up assignments and examinations due to conflicts with other scheduled examinations, the make-up assignments and examinations must be taken within two school days of the conclusion of regularly scheduled examination period. Failure to adhere to the aforementioned timelines will result in the loss of students' eligibility to complete missed assignments and examinations, resulting in zero points for all assignments and examinations. The format of make-up assignments and examinations is at the sole discretion of the course coordinator.