Student Handbook

For students in the Professional Program: •

If the requested leave is during the first three years of study, the student will normally be required to take leave for an entire year unless an alternative plan is approved by the dean. • Leave during the fourth year may be granted for one or more quarters. The student will be required to make up the quarter(s) during the next academic year. Make-ups will be overseen by the Department of Clinical Education, and specifically by the fourth year IOR or director of externships depending upon whether external rotations were missed. The dean will give final approval for the leave and will contact the registrar once the plan has been finalized. The student is required to get a Leave of Absence form from the Office of Student Affairs and get all necessary signatures from the Office of the Registrar, Office of Financial Aid, and Office of the Bursar. For graduate students: Petitions for leave of absence from graduate students must include a detailed plan approved by the associate dean for graduate studies and research. Involuntary leaves of absence may be imposed by the College in accordance with the Involuntary Leave of Absence policy issued by the SUNY Board of Trustees, accessible at this link: https://www.sunyopt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Involuntary-Leave-of-Absence-July 2024.pdf. The College will not impose an involuntary leave of absence lightly, and will only do so when current medical knowledge and the best available objective evidence indicates that there is a significant risk to the student’s health or safety, or the health or safety of others in the College community, or where the student’s behavior severely disrupts the College environment, and no reasonable accommodation can adequately reduce that risk or disruption. Exemption from Course Requirements The requirements for exemption are at the discretion of the IOR. The basis of the determination is typically either (a) evidence of prior satisfactory completion of equivalent coursework or (b) the passing of a prerequisite examination. Upon the granting of an exemption, the instructor should forward a written statement to the Registrar indicating the basis of the exemption. Such students will receive the letter "X" on the transcript in place of a grade for the course. Involuntary Leave of Absence

Auditing Courses

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