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• 1 2019-02-20T02:35:33-05:00 Leave of Absence Policies 1 plain 2019-03-27T00:45:34-04:00

  1 in 20 Harvard students takes a leave of absence. 

  
  How does Harvard's Leave of Absence Policy support students during and returning from time off? 

  
  "Students who wish to interrupt their studies at any time before graduation must petition the Administrative Board for a leave of absence. To petition the Board, the student and the student's Resident Dean work together to determine what pertinent information to present to the Board with the petition, and then the Resident Dean brings the petition to the Board on the student’s behalf."

  
  
  Beyond this published statement, there is no additional information found online. When students leave, they are provided information regarding the conditions of their leave from their resident dean. In comparison, the following is the policy stated by Princeton University. There is a website dedicated to providing students information about a taking a leave of absence.
  
   
  
  
  A white paper report written by the Ruderman Foundation investigates the leave of absence policies for eight Ivy League schools and finds that "components of the policies are ambiguous at worst and discriminatory at best."
  
  

  The following are the key findings from the Ruderman White Paper that investigates the leave of absence policies at eight Ivy League schools.

  • Four of the Ivy League schools policies (including Harvard's) cites “community disruption” as reason to invoke an involuntary leave of absence. 
  • Four of the Ivy League schools state that students are prohibited from visiting campus while they are on leave. 
  • Four of the Ivy League schools do not state that students are entitled to reasonable accommodations that could mitigate the need for a leave. Students with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
  • Five of the Ivy League school policies include a minimum length of time for leave of absence.
    • "The trajectory of mental illness and treatment varies from one person to the next, and the student should be allowed to return whenever he or she is ready. If there is a minimum length for leaves of absence in general (including leaves not pertaining to mental health), the policy should include a statement noting that students with disabilities are entitled to modification of the time restriction— this modification is an example of a reasonable accommodation, under the Americans with Disabilities Act."

  
  A Crimson article published in 2017 highlights that "deciding to leave also means figuring out how to come back." 

  Harvard says that they want returning students' to be prepared to resume classes. How does this align with their stated policies? The salient issues that have been highlighted by students are:

  1.  The requirements of how a student must spend their time off. 
  2.  The communication detailing when students may return from their time off. 
  *This is not representative of the entire community, but is condensed from stories that many students have shared. Not all students feel comfortable fully sharing our experiences due to our vulnerable positions as current enrollees at this university.

  A stipulation of some students' time off from Harvard is that they are working for six months prior to returning to school. An issue that has been taken by psychologists and students is that working full time does not require an equivalent skill set to being a full-time student. One student quoted in the 2017 Crimson article stated that the “hardest part of re-entry has been the difference between college life and life in the working world.”

  
  
  
• 1 2019-03-27T00:27:42-04:00 Blueprint for Action 1 plain 2019-04-30T19:40:00-04:00

  Leave of Absence Policy Survey Results

  25 students were surveyed regarding their experiences with taking a leave of absence at Harvard.
  
  
  
  
  Most frequently used words in survey responses related to Harvard's work requirement. 
  
  

  44% of students said that taking a Leave of Absence impacted their House Life. Some specific responses were:

  "I became invisible"
  
  "I became non-existent post-leave of absence"
  
  "I saw it as a means to an end, somewhere to sleep, no longer as a community"

   

  To improve the experience of students taking a Leave of Absence, Harvard university should:

  (1) Develop a website dedicated to Leave of Absences, including Frequently Asked Questions section and links to additional student support systems. Harvard could use Princeton's Leave of Absence website as a template/model.
  
  
  
  (2) Further study existing Leave of Absence policies and the impacts of these policies, by directly surveying and interviewing students who have taken time off. 
  
  (3) Reexamine the work requirement policy, especially reasons for its implementation, since data shows it proves beneficial for some students, but detrimental to others.
  
  (4) In order to promote fairness in reintegration, develop a consistent University wide system for welcoming student back across all houses. Have Faculty Deans reach out to students returning to campus, to improve reintegration into House Life.