Student Leave of Absence Petition Process

It may be necessary for a student to take a leave of absence for personal, professional, academic, or medical reasons. Students should first discuss a leave with their Program Director, Associate Dean, or Dean of their program/college. After the initial conversation with the student to assess their need, the Dean of their designee will counsel them on the differences and implications between the types of leave. The different types of leave are detailed in the Academic Catalog, the Student Leave of Absence Policy, and the Student Handbook.

If a student is not actively participating in a course(s) or on rotations (excluding approved vacation time during rotations/clinical experiences) for more than three consecutive business days, they must be on an approved Extended Absence contract or an approved leave of absence. Leaves of absence are reported to the Department of Education and can impact financial aid disbursement. It is critical that students who are not participating, and who do not fall under the conditions required for an extended absence contract, are placed on a leave of absence as required by the Department of Education. Failure to do so can result in institutional audit findings.

Extended Absences (LOA not required in this case)

Students who anticipate being unable to participate in all course requirements or activities for a defined period of time from four to fifteen (4-15) consecutive didactic class days are required to submit a Extended Absence Contract via the Office of the Registrar Pulse page.
Extended absences are not an option for all students in the clinical phase of training; please consult program clinical affairs team for additional details.
Extended absences do not appear on the student transcript.
Extended absences absences beyond the 15-day timeframe must be converted to a leave of absence.

Voluntary LOA (submitted by student)

Students who are unable to participate in all course/clinical experience requirements or activities for more than 15 days, must petition for a Voluntary Leave of Absence.

A voluntary leave of absence may be requested for medical (physical or mental) reasons, including maternity, personal, scholarly pursuit (OMM Fellowship, dual enrollment, research opportunities, etc.), military deployment or other circumstances, which must be specified. Medical leaves of absence require the student attach documentation to the LOA petition from their healthcare provider identifying the condition and anticipated time needed for the leave of absence. Students returning from a medical leave must provide a medical release prior to their return.

Voluntary LOAs:

Can be granted for up to one (1) year
Stops a student's program clock. Each academic program has a set limit of time in which a student must complete all degree requirements. Please see the student handbook for additional details.

LOAs during Clinical Experience/Rotations/Clerkships

DO students who go on a leave of absence in year IV, may need waive their vacation time
Additional details may also be located in a Clinical Years handbook, if provided by the academic program; please consult program clinical affairs team for additional details

Student Process to Submit Voluntary LOA

Student submits the Voluntary LOA Petition on the Registrar Pulse page. After submission, the petition is routed through an approval workflow. See workflow chart below.
- Academic program year is required on the form to assist with routing. DO Year I & II requests go to the Associate Dean Academic Curriculum and Medical Programs; DO Year III & IV requests go to the Associate Dean Clinical Affairs.
  - Students transition from the overview of the Associate Dean Academic Curriculum and Medical Programs to the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs after they have sat for COMLEX Level I. If a student selects DO year I or II, they are asked if they have sat for COMLEX Level I in order to assist with appropriate form routing.
Students will receive a confirmation email (via their DMU email address) once their petition is either approved or denied.

Student Process to Update Voluntary LOA status

While on LOA, students are expected to check their DMU email periodically. Students will receive an automated email every four (4) weeks that contains a personalized link that should be used to make any necessary updates to their LOA status. Status changes must be submitted at least 60 days before the student's approved return date. 60 days before the student's approved return date.

LOA update options are:

1) Confirm return from LOA

2) Request to extend the LOA (voluntary LOA cannot extend beyond one year)

3) Withdraw from the academic program

The LOA update is then routed back through the approval workflow.

If a student does not return from leave of absence and if the University is unable to contact the individual, the student will be administratively dropped from the academic program.

Documentation of the voluntary LOA approval workflow and all automated emails sent are attached at the end of this article.

Involuntary LOA (submitted by Program Director or Associate Dean)

A student is placed on an involuntary LOA, aka administrative LOA, either due to lack of academic progression or in the event of personal or medical circumstances wherein the student is unwilling to place themselves on a voluntary leave. Please see Student Leave of Absence policy for additional details.
- Requirements for academic progress in each academic program is defined in the student handbook on Pulse
- The program clock does not stop while a student is on an involuntary LOA

Process to Submit an Involuntary LOA status

Program director/associate dean submits the Involuntary LOA petition via the Office of the Registrar Pulse page. The workflow automatically routes these petitions directly to the College Dean.

Process to Update an Involuntary LOA status

Every four (4) weeks, the program director/associate dean will receive an automated reminder email asking them to update the student's LOA status. The status of the leave can be updated to return, extend, or withdraw. LOA petition tasks can also be located on the program director/associate dean’s AgilePoint dashboard in MyPulse.

When extending an involuntary LOA, please review student's six-year program clock. Please contact Registrar for details.

If a student does not return from leave of absence and if the University is unable to contact the individual, the student will be administratively dropped from the academic program.

LOA Review Workflow

Emails are automatically sent to the relevant approver(s) at each step in the workflow.

An example of the notification email is listed below:
A direct link to the review page is provided in the email notification. Please complete all verifications requests within 1-3 business days in order to ensure review process is not delayed.

Program director/Associate Dean Review

This the first level of review. The program director/Associate Dean reviews the information submitted and verifies the following information:
1. LOA start date - this is the first day the student is not actively participating in required courses/clinical experiences
2. LOA end date
3. Last date of attendance (LDA). LDA accuracy is critical as this date is reported to the Department of Education and used for financial aid refund calculations. These dates are audited each year.
4. Verify appropriate documentation has been included by the student, if seeking a medical LOA. Documentation from a health care provider is required to approve a medical LOA request.

Dean of College Review

If approved by the Program director/Associate Dean, the petition then moves to the Colleague Dean for final review. All the information the student and the Program director/Associate Dean provided is visible for review.
Dean selects approve or deny from the drop-down menu
Dean also indicates what access a student should retain. For students seeking voluntary LOAs, all access is typically granted. Access should only be denied in cases with extenuating circumstances.

Clearances

Each department in the clearance process review the LOA and provides student with necessary information involving financial aid, student health insurance, financial obligations, etc.

Registrar

Registrar reviews and processes leave of absence. This includes updating a student’s registration status, transcript, and official enrollment status with the Department of Education. The student transcript will display LOA start and end dates but do not indicate the type of LOA.
- Notification emails are sent out to relevant departments/individuals.