Leave of Absence
An approved Leave of Absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s academic attendance for a specific period of time in an ongoing program. A student attending AIU must submit a written request for a Leave of Absence (LOA) to Student Advising. Requests must be made in advance of the requested time off unless there have been unforeseen circumstances that prevented the student from making the request in advance. If a student requests a Leave of Absence and is unable to submit the appropriate documentation within their allotted time frame, the student will be withdrawn for non-submission of required documentation. At AIU, the LOA is a minimum of one quarter.
A student may be eligible for a Leave of Absence if one of the following conditions applies:
- Medical (including pregnancy)
- Family Care (childcare issues, loss of family member, or medical care of family)
- Military Duty
- Jury Duty
The following requirements apply:
A student may be granted a Leave of Absence (LOA) if:
- A signed LOA request that includes the reason for the request is submitted in writing before the start of the session or within 5 calendar days of the begin date of the session if the student completed the prior term.
- If extenuating circumstances prevent the student from providing a written request within 5 calendar days of the student's last day of attendance, the institution may still be able to grant the student’s request. A signed LOA request must be provided by the last day in the school’s attendance policy (see attendance policy section) along with documentation explaining the extenuating circumstance(s) that prevented submitting the request within 5 calendar days of the start of the term. Extenuating circumstances are typically unexpected events, such as premature delivery of a child, illness, a medical condition that deteriorates, an accident or injury or a sudden change in childcare arrangements. However, in all cases, the request must be received no later than 15 days from the start of a term and the student cannot have attendance in the current term. Students may request multiple LOAs, but the total number of days the student remains on LOA may not exceed 180 days during a consecutive 12-month time frame.
- There may be limitations on LOA eligibility for a student enrolled in term-based programs due to scheduling requirements associated with the student’s return to school.
- Prior to applying for an LOA, the student must have completed his or her most recent quarter and received an academic grade or grades (A-F) for that quarter.
Failure to return from an approved leave of absence or failure to return within the 180 day timeframe will result in the student being administratively withdrawn from the school and may have an impact on the financial aid a student receives, loan repayment and exhaustion of the loan grace period. A student in an LOA status will not receive further financial aid disbursements (if eligible) until returning to active status. Contact the Financial Aid office for more information about the impact of a LOA on financial aid.