Academic Considerations
Coursework:
- A medical leave of absence provides time for students to focus on treatment and support for a health concern. Thus, students on medical leave are not permitted to be on the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ campus or enroll in courses offered by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College. Additionally, students may not participate in co-curricular activities at the College while on MLOA.
Taking courses elsewhere:
- Students on medical leave of absence may not transfer credits back to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ except by prior approval from the department, the Office of the Registrar, and the Office of Dean of Students. Requests for credit approval must be made and approved, in writing, to the Office of Dean of Students prior to the student’s leave beginning.
Transcript:
- A student's medical leave status will not appear on their transcript.
- If a student withdraws any time after the second week of classes, a withdrawal (W) grade notation will be recorded for all courses in that semester. The grade of (W) does not affect GPA but does appear on an official transcript.
Financial Considerations
Tuition:
- Students who leave the College during the first five weeks of classes are eligible for a refund of a percentage of tuition in accordance with the schedule set by the Bursar.
- There is no reimbursement after the fifth week unless someone has purchased an optional . Students with questions should contact the Bursar.
Financial Aid:
- Students on financial aid should discuss the effect of a leave on their financial aid award or loans prior to going on Medical Leave. Contact the Office of Student Aid to make an appointment.
- Guided by the federal Satisfactory Academic Progress regulations, students are expected to make normal progress toward the degree, defined as passing the equivalent of four full-credit courses each semester. All courses, whether or not they are successfully completed, count in calculating a student’s academic progress for aid eligibility purposes; this includes individual courses for which a student received a W and medical leaves, which generally result in an entire term’s courses being recorded with a W.
Health Insurance:
- The student health insurance provided by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ College is in effect from August 15 through August 14 of the following year (12 months).
- Students who are enrolled on the insurance plan offered through the College, and have met the eligibility requirement prior to their leave, will continue to be covered under the plan for the remainder of the coverage period. If the medical leave continues into the following academic year, students who were enrolled on the plan offered through the College the prior academic year, are eligible to elect coverage for the upcoming plan year (8/15 through 8/14 the following year). Students will be contacted by Health Services if they are eligible for the coverage and provided an enrollment form to complete the process.
- While on MLOA, students are not able to receive on-campus services, including Health Services and Counseling and Mental Health Services.
Please contact the Student Health Insurance Coordinator at healthservices@bowdoin.edu with questions regarding your student insurance coverage. If you use a private insurance carrier, please check with your private insurance carrier regarding health coverage during your leave of absence.
On-Campus Housing
- Students going on MLOA are asked to move out of any on-campus residence (if applicable) within 48 hours of requesting the leave. Students who need additional time must request this through the Office of Residential Life.
- Please note that ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ does not provide on-site storage.
- While on medical leave, students are not eligible to participate in the housing lottery.
- The Office of Residential Life will make an effort to accommodate students returning from MLOA, but cannot guarantee that an on-campus housing space will be available in the case of extraordinarily high demand.
Visa Considerations for International Students
- Taking a leave of absence can have significant visa-related implications. International Students must contact their Dean concerning their visa status.