Leave of Absence and Withdrawal

A Leave of Absence is an anticipated separation from the College of less than one year. A Voluntary Leave of Absence is initiated by the student. An Administrative Leave of Absence is initiated by the Dean of Students (or designee) and is given for medical, personal, or other issues as determined by the Dean of Students. Students who are granted an Administrative Leave of Absence must meet all specific conditions before being allowed to return to the College.

A Withdrawal is an anticipated separation from the College of more than one year, up to and including a permanent separation. A Voluntary Withdrawal is initiated by the student. An Administrative Withdrawal is initiated by the Dean of Students (or designee) or by the Registrar (or designee) and is given for reasons of non-attendance, poor scholarship, disciplinary conduct, or other issues as determined by the Dean of Students or the Committee on Academic Standing.

Students who are given an Administrative Withdrawal must apply for readmission (if eligible) and must meet all specific conditions before being allowed to return to the College.

To qualify for a Leave of Absence, students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0. Students who apply for a Leave of Absence with a cumulative GPA of below 2.0 will be Withdrawn from the College and must apply for readmission when they plan to return.

When a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal is given before the beginning of a semester, students are dropped from their courses, and no grades are recorded for that semester. When a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal is given once the semester has started, students are withdrawn from all courses and receive a grade of “W” in all courses in which they were enrolled. A Leave of Absence/Withdrawal form must be submitted online by the published withdrawal deadline date in order to receive a grade of “W.” Forms received after that date will be subject to the grades in progress at the time the form is submitted but W grades can be given up until the last day of the semester at the discretion of the Dean of Students and the Registrar.

International students on an F-1 visa must meet with a Designated School Official (DSO) and be advised on the effect a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal will have on their visa status. International students on an F1 visa who are given a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal are considered out of status and must return home within 15 days.

Students who do not attend the first days of classes for the semester will have their tuition and fees reversed on their student account and any payments towards tuition made for the term, will be refunded through the original payment method. Students who have attended the first days of classes for the semester and beyond, tuition and fees will be assessed based on the tuition refund policy. It is highly recommended to plan your LOA in advance and submit your LOA request prior to the start of the semester to ensure that you are not charged tuition and fees for the semester. View the academic calendar for semester start and end dates.

If you have been awarded an Otis Scholarship, you will be offered the same scholarship when you return as long as you maintained good academic standing at the time time of LOA Request. Undergraduates who started their enrollment at Otis College as a first year foundation student, will be offered their Otis Scholarship for up to 8 semesters. Started as a sophomore student, will be offered their Otis scholarship for up to 6 semesters. Started as a junior student, will be offered their Otis scholarship for up to 4 semesters. Graduate students will be offered their Otis Scholarship for up to 6 semesters.

If you have borrowed a federal subsidized or unsubsidized loan, completion of the Exit Counseling will be required. The grace period for loan repayment is 6 months after your last date of enrollment. If you enroll as a student at another institution during your leave of absence, you may request for your loan repayment to be deferred. Contact your loan servicer for loan deferment information.

Review the student handbook,  The Hoot, for further information and college policies.

For questions or concerns, please contact the One Stop at onestop@otis.edu.

Students on Leave of Absence have access to their Otis e-mail account and the MyOtis. Students on Leave will also continue to have access to the job board and career counseling services through Career Services. On a case by case basis, students who were accessing Student Counseling Services may continue to have access as determined by the Director of Student Counseling Services. Students on Leave do not have access to College facilities and services or computer, laboratory, equipment, library, or other privileges unless specifically stated above. Students who have withdrawn from the College do not have access to any College facilities, services, or privileges. Students on a Leave of Absence may resume their studies at the beginning of a semester within their approved year, but are strongly encouraged to seek academic and financial aid advisement to determine the best time to return to the College.

Students on a Leave of Absence must notify the Registration Office at least two months before the beginning of the term in which they plan to return and will be eligible for priority registration based on their class level. They must make sure all holds have been cleared and financial arrangements have been made by published deadlines for that semester.

Students on a Leave of Absence who do not return within one calendar year will be Withdrawn from the College. To resume their studies, such students must apply for readmission and will be readmitted based on the readmission policies in place at that time.

Students who have Withdrawn from the College and decide they would like to return, must apply for readmission. All specific conditions (if any) must be met before the student can return and readmission will be subject to the readmission policies in place at that time.

Step 1: Meet with Academic Advising
Schedule an appointment with Academic Advising to discuss your plans. Academic Advising will provide an academic plan and guidance on options while you are away, degree progress, and academic expectations when you return.

Step 2: Meet with Office of Financial Aid
Submitting your LOA request prior to the start of the semester: appointment with Office of Financial Aid  optional. Meet with Office of Financial Aid to discuss federal aid and loan repayment options.  

Submitting your LOA request after the start of the semester: Schedule an appointment with Office of Financial Aid to discuss your federal financial aid, loans, loan repayment options, and any balance that may be due on your account.

Step 3: Submit LOA Request  
Submit your LOA Request and indicate your intended return semester. Allow 10 business days for notification and approval notice. All notifications will be sent by email. LOA can be approved for a maximum of one academic year (two academic semesters).

Step 4: LOA Approval
Once your LOA has been approved, review reminders below regarding your access and student status during your LOA:

MyOtis and Otis Email: Your MyOtis and Otis email will remain active while you are on LOA. Your password and login will remain unchanged.
Exit Counseling for Federal Loan Borrowers: If you have borrowed a federal loan, complete the Exit Counseling. Detailed Instructions will be emailed to you.
Account Balance/Refund: information regarding your account balance or refund (if applicable) will be emailed to you.

Step 1:  Submit the Return from LOA Confirmation

Step 2:  Submit your FAFSA for your intended return semester. The latest aid year for FAFSA is available through Student Aid. Ensure that you renew your FAFSA annually every aid year. Ensure that your FAFSA application information will be delivered to Otis College: 001251

Step 3:  Review the Academic Advising Module in the Nest accesible from your MyOtis. Schedule an appointment with Academic Advising to discuss your degree progress or with your department Chair to discuss specific studio courses.

Step 4:  Register for classes during your priority registration times. Fall registration occurs in April and Spring registration occurs in November. See the Registration section of your MyOtis for class schedules, dates and times. Your Otis ID and login credentials to the MyOtis are active and remain the same.

Step 5: Tuition and fees will be charged to your account after you enroll and register for classes.  Review the Cost of Attendance. Payment deadlines: Fall - June 15, Spring - December 15. 

To return to the United States and resume your program, you will need to take steps to obtain a new I-20 for your re-entry to the U.S.
To request an I-20 for your return:

• You will need to submit the “Return from Leave of Absence”
• Once your form has been processed, you will receive an email with I-20 issuance information.
• To receive your I-20, you will need to submit the Readmit/Returning Student I-20 Request Form.

It is recommended that students begin this process somewhere between 3-5 months prior to return.

Calculating Leave of Absence Length: The 5-Month Rule
The process for returning from a leave of absence depends on whether your leave of absence is LESS or MORE than 5 months long. In general, SEVP calculates the length of your leave of absence with the following dates:

• Start date: Varies based on SEVP’s discretion (e.g. last date of enrollment, date of SEVIS termination)
• End date: Start of the next term the student will be enrolled in full-time

This calculation usually does include official school breaks (like winter break and summer break), although this can also vary based on SEVP’s discretion. Because of this, a student who takes an LOA during spring term almost always has an LOA greater than 5 months.

Returning after LESS than 5 Months
In cases where your LOA is less than 5 months in duration, OIS can attempt to reactivate your previous SEVIS record. This process requires a request to SEVP, which may or may not be approved based on several variables.
Consider the following for this process:

• Reactivation can only be attempted up to 60 days before the start of the term you are returning for. If you do not have a valid visa and will need to apply for a new one prior to your return, this timeline may be problematic
• Note: SEVP will ask for information about students’ last day of class attendance as part of the reactivation request. In cases where students declared an LOA mid-semester, SEVP will usually only consider students for reactivation if they properly declared the LOA prior to dropping classes/stopping attendance.
• If the reactivation is approved, you will retain the same SEVIS ID you had prior to termination
• If you met the 1-academic year requirement for CPT/OPT eligibility prior to termination, you will retain it upon reactivation of your previous SEVIS record

If the attempt to reactivate your record is unsuccessful, OR if you are not eligible for this process, OR if you need an I-20 more than 60 days prior to your return, you will need to follow the other process:

Returning after MORE than 5 months
In cases where your leave of absence was more than 5 months long OR reactivation is not an option for other reasons, you will be issued a new SEVIS immigration record and receive an Initial Attendance I-20.
Consider the following for this process:

• You will receive a new SEVIS ID and will be required to pay the SEVIS fee again
• The earliest you can re-enter the United States will be 30 days before the next start of term (your new I-20 program start date)

Re-Entering the United States
If you will still have a valid F-1 visa at the time of your re-entry to the United States, it is not required for you to get it renewed. Even if you have a new SEVIS ID, generally you are able to use the same F-1 visa to seek entry to the US. However, keep in mind, that as always, the port-of-entry officers have full discretion when admitting individuals to the US