Financial aid awards may be reduced or canceled if the student fails to maintain required registration status, so it is important that students speak with the Financial Aid Office before reducing one’s course load or changing registration or enrollment status.
Leave of Absence
In order to remain a coursework student, students must stay continuously registered. Leaves of Absence are discouraged as they disrupt the continuity of the learning experience. However, if illness or other serious circumstances occur that prevent a student from continuing in their program (e.g. death of a family member, financial crisis, illness) the student may apply for a Leave of Absence. During a Leave of Absence:- The student does not receive services;
- Students in the Psychology programs may not use any psychotherapy hours accrued during the leave towards the graduation requirement, nor accrue fieldwork hours.
- Students in the MBA program may not accrue hours towards their Creative Action Practicum.
Initiating a Leave
To initiate a Leave of Absence, the student submits a Leave of Absence Application along with the leave of absence fee. The application must include the student’s specific personal circumstances for requesting a Leave of Absence. Tuition and all fees continue to accrue until the Leave of Absence Application and fee are received. The Leave of Absence Application is evaluated by the Student Development Committee and may require 20 to 30 working days for evaluation.Returning from Leave
To return from a Leave of Absence, the student must submit a written request for return to the attention of the Student Services Team at least six weeks prior to the beginning of the quarter in which the student intends to return. Requests to return are reviewed based on financial and academic clearance, and include the Student Development Committee’s review. (Submit this request for return to the Student Services Team: academicrecords@meridianuniversity.edu) Students requesting to return from a Leave of Absence must be cleared to register and may be asked to complete a return-from-leave interview. In some cases, students returning from a Leave of Absence may be required to take additional coursework which was not specified at the time the Leave was initiated. Such additions may lengthen a student’s coursework requirement by as much as one year, in addition to the length of the leave itself. A student who is on academic probation will not meet the terms of probation if the leave is not part of the approved academic plan upon which the probation is based. It is the student’s responsibility to track the availability of courses required for graduation and how a leave may impact their estimated completion date. It is the student’s responsibility to track the courses they have missed over the period of their leave. The Student Development Committee may specify that some of these missed courses can be taken at another graduate institution to be transferred into the student’s record. Prior to starting a course taken elsewhere, the student is advised to submit a description of the course, to make sure that it would be acceptable to transfer in against the course they missed. Students who have outstanding coursework (Incomplete grades) from their last quarter of attendance will need to submit their late work for each such incomplete course within five calendar days from the start of the quarter in which the student returns. Students on financial aid should be aware that disbursements of student loan funds and in-school deferment statuses are affected by leaves of absence. (See “Implications and Limitations on Leaves of Absence for Federal Student Aid Recipients” below.)Administrative Leave of Absence
Typically, the student initiates their own request to the Student Development Committee for a Leave of Absence. However, on occasion as an outcome of an academic review, the Student Development Committee may require that the student take an Administrative Leave of Absence (ALOA). An ALOA is for a specific period of time during which no student fees are charged. The Student Development Committee chooses this option when the student's success at Meridian would be better enabled through learning and development in contexts other than Meridian. The committee makes recommendations for learning during the period of the ALOA, and specifies conditions for return to study at Meridian. The student is supported to return from an ALOA after a review by the Student Development Committee, during which the student's responses to the committee's recommendations and conditions are assessed.Implications and Limitations on Leaves of Absence for Federal Student Aid Recipients
Students who have federal loans (called Title IV Federal Funds) and who are requesting a Leave of Absence should be aware of the following:- While Meridian academic policy does permit students to take approved leaves of absence, per Federal Student Aid (FSA) regulations, the student is reported to the Department of Education as withdrawn from the University as of the effective date of their approved Leave of Absence.
- Students who have FSA awards who take a Leave of Absence will need to complete Exit Counseling as required by federal regulations and should be aware of additional implications regarding their aid from Meridian and previous institutions described directly below:
- If the leave exceeds 180 days, the student’s “grace period” will end and the federal loan(s) received while enrolled at Meridian will immediately enter requirements for repayment.
- If a student has any prior financial aid where the grace period for this prior aid has already ended, repayment of those loans will start immediately based on the effective date of the student’s Leave of Absence.
- The Return of Title IV Federal Funds process will be initiated based on the effective date of the student’s change of enrollment status (i.e., Day One of the student’s leave). See Return of Title IV Federal Funds below in this policy for information on the timeline of calculation and return of federal funds to the Department of Education.