Administrative Leave of Absence

Policy 590.20

Policy Statement

Students can request a leave of absence for medical, family or personal reasons. In addition, students may be placed on administrative leave for various reasons.

  1. The Associate/Assistant Dean for Students or their designee, in consultation with appropriate professionals and supervisors, may place a student on administrative leave of absence for a specified period of time in the following circumstances:
    1. The student is charged with a crime that brings into question the student’s fitness to practice medicine.
    2. The student is suffering from an illness that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the student, patients, or colleagues (faculty, staff, residents, and fellow students).
    3. The student demonstrates impaired judgment or behaviors that pose a direct threat to the health or safety of the student, patients, or colleagues (faculty, staff, residents, and fellow students).
    4. The student is not responsive to communication instructing them to process voluntary leave of absence request documentation necessary to ensure compliance with full-time enrollment status expectations.
  2. Prior to placing a student on administrative leave, the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students will provide written notification to the student of the administrative leave and the reasons. The student will be provided an opportunity to respond to that notification.
  3. However, when a student poses a direct threat to health or safety, the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students may immediately place a student on administrative leave with verbal notice. The Associate/Assistant Dean for Students will provide written notification as soon thereafter as practical and will provide the student with an opportunity to respond. A student on administrative leave retains their student status, subject to the provisions of the Medical Student Handbook Policy 560.00 - Satisfactory Academic Progress, but may not participate in clinical or academic activities. The student may appeal a decision for administrative leave to the dean. Such an appeal must be made within eight business days of the written notification of administrative leave. The student must provide written notification of intent to appeal an administrative leave assignment within twenty-four hours of receipt of written notification of the leave.
  4. The Larner College of Medicine may stipulate conditions to be met in order to return from a leave of absence.
  5. Students who fail to return to active student status or fail to request a medical, family or personal leave of absence by the approved expected return date will be administratively withdrawn from the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM). The student will be informed of the withdrawal by the LCOM Registrar via their LCOM email address and via certified mail to the local address recorded in their myUVM account. In such instances, the student may appeal the administrative withdrawal to the Advancement Committee within 14 days of the withdrawal notification.
  6. Administrative leaves of absence are subject to the Medical Student Handbook Policy 560.00 - Satisfactory Academic Progress; students must complete their studies within 6 years.  In accordance with Policy 310.00 - Support for Disabilities: Technical Standards Procedure for Admission, Advancement & Graduation for Students with Disabilities Seeking Accommodation, a Larner College of Medicine student may contact the UVM Student Accessibility Services Office at any time to initiate the process of requesting reasonable accommodations.
  7. Students are subject to changes in their financial aid eligibility during a leave of absence.
    1. Title IV of the Higher Education Act stipulates that for Federal Student Aid purposes, a leave of absence, together with any additional leaves of absence, must not exceed a total of 180 days in any 12-month period. Only an enrollment interruption that meets Title IV guidelines is reported as a “leave of absence” to the National Clearinghouse by the UVM Registrar’s Office. Any enrollment interruptions that do not meet the federal definition are recorded as inactive or withdrawn periods.
    2. Students planning leaves of absence MUST meet with a member of the financial aid office prior to taking the leave in order to ascertain how the leave will affect their financial aid status, unless they have no scholarships or current or prior loans or grants.
    3. Leaves of absence that do not meet the Federal Title IV definition utilize grace periods and cancel deferments of student loans. Students on leaves of absence are not eligible for financial aid.
  8. Students are subject to certain requirements with respect to their liability and health insurance status during a leave of absence.
    1. Students on leaves of absence are not covered by the University of Vermont general liability policy.
    2. Students on leaves of absence must continue their coverage by the Larner College of Medicine disability insurance policy and will be charged the standard fee for this coverage.
    3. Students on leaves of absence are not eligible for health insurance under the University of Vermont student plan. However, insurance purchased prior to the onset of the leave provides coverage through the end of the semester following the time the leave was initiated.
    4. Students on leaves of absence may continue to be covered by the Student Health Prepayment Plan, provided that they reside in the Burlington area, that they provide documentation of appropriate health insurance covering hospitalization, and that they pay the requisite student health fee.
  9. Students on leave of absence must return the LCOM provided laptop to the Service Center as defined in their Laptop Agreement Form located in the COMET Support tab. All LCOM owned equipment, such as loaners, tablets or accessories in the student’s possession must be returned in accordance with the Agreement to avoid related fees.
  10. Students on leaves of absence will not be charged other fees.
  11. Students on leaves of absence will not have access to CATcard privileges. Student status for those on a leave of absence is noted as “inactive” in the Registrar’s Office (Banner). Only students whose student status is “active” have access to the fitness center and transportation services. A student wishing access to the fitness center while on a leave of absence may purchase a pass from RecSports. Bus passes may be purchased from Green Mountain Transit (GMT) directly.
  12. Students returning from a leave of absence during clinical rotations will be assigned to the next available placement to continue their education. Such placements may be in a different location and at a later date than the desired return date of the student.  Inability to schedule a return to the curriculum therefore may result in a delay in graduation.
  13. Students returning from a leave of absence should contact the UVMMC IS Service Center (802-847-1414) to have their passwords reset and their accounts re-enabled.
  14. Students returning from a leave of six months or longer must complete clinical skills training in the Clinical Simulation Laboratory prior to returning the clinical curriculum. 
  15. This policy does not prohibit students on leave from taking an exam to address an incomplete.
  16. Students on any type of leave of absence may not participate in non-remedial curricular or non-curricular activities where they would be representing the institution, the University, the Larner College of Medicine, or its students.

Applicability of the Policy

All Medical Students

Related Larner College of Medicine Policies

Related University of Vermont Policies

Not Applicable

Related Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Standard(s)

  • 12.1 Financial Aid/Debt Management Counseling/Student Educational Debt
  • 12.2 Tuition Refund Policy
  • 12.3 Personal Counseling/Well-Being Programs

History

  • 5/20/2014 Policy Adopted/Affirmed [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 7/21/2015 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 6/20/2017 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 9/18/2018 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/18/2018 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/20/2019 Policy Revised & Gender Neutral Language Edit [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 12/17/2019 Reformatted [Medical Curriculum Committee]
  • 8/24/2021 Policy Edit [Medical Curriculum Committee]

Policy Oversight

Associate/Assistant Dean for Students (Larner College of Medicine Registrar)

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