Two kinds of leaves of absence are available to students: personal leaves and emergency leaves. Students should see the Director of Academic Advising in the Office of Student Affairs to request these leaves.

A personal leave of absence enables a student to work, to travel, or to pursue interests not involving formal studies. Students are allowed up to two semesters of a leave of absence for personal reasons between the times they matriculate and graduate from Grinnell.

The application includes a written portion available at the Office of Student Affairs and an in-person interview with the Director of Academic Advising. Applications are normally due in the semester prior to the requested leave, but late requests will be considered through noon of the fifth day of classes during the leave semester. By noon on the fifth day, a student must be on campus and registered for courses, or he/she must have submitted the paperwork to the Academic Advising Office requesting a Personal Leave. All other students are automatically withdrawn from the College (See "Withdrawing from the College" below.).

For a student in good academic standing, no qualifications are necessary to obtain a personal leave. A student who is on academic probation or who has received an academic warning may be required by the Committee on Academic Standing to submit a statement of how he or she proposes to complete the degree program after returning from leave.

A student may request permission to count a maximum of 6 credits completed on leave toward satisfaction of Grinnell degree requirements. The student submits a "Transfer Course Approval Form" to the Registrar. Personal leave semesters do not count toward the residency requirement.

Students who have taken a personal leave apply to the Director of Academic Advising in the Office of Student Affairs to re-enroll at the College. Students who do not contact the Office of Student Affairs and who fail to re-enroll after their period of leave will be withdrawn from the College.

Any student needing to take time off from Grinnell due to circumstances such as illness, family emergency or military service may request an emergency leave of absence, normally not to exceed two semesters. Students should present their situations with documentation to the Director of Academic Advising in the Office of Student Affairs prior to registration for classes or anytime during the semester up to 5:00 p.m. of the last day of classes. If a student takes an emergency leave by the end of the third week of the semester, all courses enrolled in for the semester and not yet completed are deleted from the student's record. Students granted emergency leaves after the third week of the semester will have the W transcript notation assigned to all of their courses. Refunds for a semester in progress are granted according to the policy in the Grinnell College Catalog.

A student may request permission to count a maximum of 6 credits completed while on leave toward satisfaction of Grinnell degree requirements. The student submits a Transfer Course Approval Form to the Registrar. Semesters spent on leave do not count toward the residency requirement.

Students seeking to return from an emergency leave apply to the Director of Academic Advising in the Office of Student Affairs.