Planned Educational Leave (Undergraduate)

Quick Links

• Undergraduate Request for Planned Educational Leave Form [PDF]
• Other Online Forms

Overview

A Planned Educational Leave is defined as a planned interruption or temporary cessation of a student's formal education in which the student voluntarily and temporarily ceases enrollment at CSUDH while pursuing other educationally-related activities to enrich his/her academic program or to clarify educational goals. The leave may be used for any number of educationally-related activities including travel, independent study, work study, or attendance at another institution. The intent of the program is to make it possible for a student to suspend academic work, leave the campus, and later resume studies with a minimum of procedural difficulty. Petitions are available at the Office of Admissions and Records.

Eligibility

Students must have an overall grade point average of 2.0; be in good academic standing; completed one semester of coursework at CSUDH, and must not have applied to graduate for the same term as the requested planned leave.  

Application Procedures

1. A registered student may file an Undergraduate Request for Planned Educational Leave Form [PDF]. The petition shall include an explanation of the student's reasons for seeking an educational leave and when he/she intends to resume academic work.
2. The request shall be initiated by the student and be reviewed by the Office of Admissions and Records. If the request is approved, the registrar shall take steps to ensure the student's re-entry and retention of registration priority, and make the appropriate entry in the student's academic record.
3. The request shall be approved only after contractual agreements (e.g., financial aid) have been satisfactorily terminated or renegotiated.
4. A registered student may file a petition for a Planned Educational Leave at any time; however, the leave will not commence until the beginning of the following semester.
5. Permission for a Planned Educational Leave must be requested and approved in advance of the term the leave is to begin; a leave will not be granted retroactively.
6. Students whose Planned Educational Leaves will take them out of California are advised to consult the Office of Admissions and Records regarding residency requirements.

Duration of Leave

The minimum leave shall be two full semesters; the maximum, two calendar years.

Availability of Services

A student on Planned Educational Leave shall be expected to devote his/her leave period to off-campus activities. The student shall be classified as "on leave" and shall not be considered a regularly enrolled student. Therefore, the student is not entitled to the campus services normally provided to enrolled students, except that the student may confer with his/her academic advisor and others regarding leave activity and plans for re-enrollment.

Resumption of Formal Education

A student shall be guaranteed reentry and retention of registration priority if all conditions of the approved leave have been met at the conclusion of his/her Planned Educational Leave. Every effort shall be made to facilitate and simplify the return. For purposes of election of graduation requirements, the approved leave shall not constitute an interruption of attendance provided the student registers in the same major. Students who fail to resume studies at the prearranged time shall forfeit the advantages of the Planned Educational Leave Program.