Medical Student Handbook

Medical Student Education

Administrative Leave of Absence

Policy 590.20

Policy Statement

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 (LOA) 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 and/or demonstrates impaired judgement or behaviors that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the student, patients, or colleagues (faculty, staff, residents, and/or fellow students).
3. The student is not responsive to communication instructing them to process a voluntary leave of absence request in order to ensure compliance with full-time enrollment status expectations.

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.

Prior to placing a student on administrative leave, the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students will provide written notification to the student regarding the administrative LOA and the reasons via the student’s Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) email address. The student will be provided an opportunity to respond to that notification.

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 via the student’s LCOM email address as soon thereafter as practical and will provide the student with an opportunity to respond.

The student may appeal a decision for administrative leave to the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education. Such an appeal must be made no later than eight business days from the date the written notification of administrative leave was sent. The student must provide written notification of intent to appeal an administrative leave assignment within 24 hours of receipt of written notification of the leave.

Policy Elaboration

1. An administrative leave of absence is subject to the Medical Student Handbook Policy 560.00 - Satisfactory Academic Progress; students must complete their studies within six years. In accordance with Policy 310.00 - Support for Disabilities: Technical Standards and Provision of Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations, 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.
2. Students are subject to changes in their financial aid eligibility during a leave of absence. Students on an administrative LOA must meet with a member of Student Financial Services to ascertain how the leave will affect their financial aid status unless they have no scholarships, current or prior loans, or grants.
1. Title IV of the Higher Education Act stipulates that for Federal Student Aid purposes, a leave of absence, together with any additional leave 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. A Leave of absence that does not meet the Federal Title IV definition utilize grace periods and cancel deferments of student loans. Students on leave of absence are not eligible for financial aid.
3. This policy does not prohibit students on leave from taking an exam to address an incomplete.
4. 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 University, the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM), or the institution’s students.
5. Students are subject to certain requirements with respect to their liability and health insurance status during a leave of absence.
1. Students on leave of absence are not covered by the University of Vermont general liability policy.
2. Students on leave 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. Please refer to Medical Student Handbook Policy 840.00 – Disability Insurance.
3. Students on leave of absence are not eligible for health insurance under the UVM 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 leave of absence may continue to be covered by the Student Health Prepayment Plan, if 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.
6. 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 Teams application. 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.
7. Students on leave of absence will not be charged other fees.
8. Students on leave 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 UVM Campus Rec. Bus passes may be purchased from Green Mountain Transit (GMT) directly.

Returning from Leave

1. The LCOM Office of Medical Education may stipulate conditions to be met to return from a leave of absence.
2. 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 later than the student’s desired return date. Inability to schedule a return to the curriculum; therefore, may result in a delay in graduation.
3. 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.
4. Students returning from a leave of six months or longer must complete clinical skills training in the Clinical Simulation Laboratory prior to returning to clerkship rotations.
5. If students returning from a leave of absence during clinical rotations need to be refitted for their N-95 respirator, they will be responsible for associated mask-fitting charges assessed by the company contracted by LCOM for providing this service outside of established class-wide fitting opportunities.
6. Students who fail to return to active student status or fail to request an extension to their leave of absence by the approved expected return date will be:
1. Reviewed by the Advancement Committee to determine if dismissal is appropriate if such review was stipulated as a condition to the student’s return from the leave. The student will be informed about the date of the Committee’s review and of the outcomes of such review by the Committee support staff in accordance with Policy 565.10- Advancement Committee Procedure and Review of Academic Performance.
2. Reviewed by the Fitness Committee to determine if dismissal is appropriate due to professionalism concerns (e.g., unresponsiveness, accountability). The student will be informed about the date of the Committee’s review and of the outcomes of such review by the Committee support staff in accordance with Policy 690.10- Fitness Committee Procedure and Review of Professional Performance.

Applicability of the Policy

All Medical Students

Related Larner College of Medicine Policies

• 310.00 Support for Disabilities: Technical Standards and Provision of Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations
• 560.00 Satisfactory Academic Progress
• 565.10- Advancement Committee Procedure and Review of Academic Performance.
• 590.10 Medical, Family and Personal Leave of Absence
• 593.00 Withdrawing from the Larner College of Medicine
• 690.10 Fitness Committee Procedure and Review of Professional Performance

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]
• 9/18/2023 Policy Revised [Medical Curriculum Committee]
• 12/19/2023 Policy Edit [Medical Curriculum Committee]

Policy Oversight

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

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