Leave of Absence & Return

Leave of Absence (LOA)

General Rules & Regulations

Applicable regulation: article 13 §2, 1° EEC GUGC:
A leave of absence is an authorized interruption of the study trajectory for academic, family related, medical, financial or personal reasons, or for military service. It is taken in periods of max 1 year (1 or 2 semesters). However, in BA1 a leave of absence can only be taken for the entire academic year. Upon application an expected date of return must be set.

General Rules & Regulations

1. Interruption of the study trajectory
   A leave of absence is an interruption of the study trajectory for a definite period. After the leave of absence, the student returns in order to complete the study trajectory.
   If it is the intention of the student to leave GUGC and to not complete the study trajectory, the student should permanently withdraw and not take a leave of absence. As an exception, students can be allowed one period of leave of absence for preparing transfer or for job search.
2. Authorized interruption
   The student has to apply for leave of absence, and the leave of absence must be granted.
   Not re-enrolling at the end of the academic year without application for leave of absence will be considered as permanent withdrawal.
   It is the responsibility of the student to take the necessary actions for extension of the leave of absence (if applicable).
3. Planned interruption
   It is the student’s responsibility to plan her/his study trajectory and to fit in any leave of absence. Therefore a leave of absence should be planned ahead and taken for a period in the future.
   The student must inform GUGC timely, by applying before the start of the semester:
   − before September 15th, for a leave of absence starting at the beginning of the academic year (semester 1)
   − before March 15th, for a leave of absence starting in March semester (semester 2)
   Outside these periods a leave of absence will normally not be granted.
   However, in case of unforeseeable personal circumstances, an exceptional leave of absence may also be granted outside of the stipulated periods.
4. Eligibility for leave of absence
   Applicable regulation: article 13 §2, 3° EEC GUGC
   The student applying for leave of absence must be eligible for leave of absence.
   In the following cases the student is not eligible for applying for leave of absence:
   − The student is newly enrolled in Fall (The student must finish the very first academic year)
   − The student is refused to re-enrol at Ghent University because of insufficient study progress (article 18 EEC GUGC).
   − The student is refused to re-enrol at Ghent University because of fraud (article 11 EEC GUGC).
   − The student is refused to re-enrol at Ghent University because of not paying tuition fees (article 12 §5 EEC GUGC).
   
5. Allowed reasons
   A leave of absence can be taken for one of the following reasons:
   − Academic reasons (e.g., internship, academic stay abroad)
   − Family related reasons (e.g., pregnancy, child care)
   − Medical reasons (severe condition necessitating absence for a longer period)
   − Financial reasons
   − Personal reasons (exceptional personal circumstances, incl. transfer/job search)
   − Military service
   
   Students who do not want to complete their education at GUGC should permanently withdraw.
   However, they may apply for a leave of absence for personal reasons in order to allow them to prepare for transfer or job search, but only for 1 period (1 semester or 1 year, to be determined by the student, see 3.1 hereafter).
6. Exceptional leave of absence
   In case the student wants to apply for a leave of absence outside of the stipulated application periods, this is only possible for unforeseeable personal circumstances. The student must motivate the unforeseeable nature of the circumstances (e.g., sudden severe medical condition preventing the student from finishing the academic year or the semester).
   The application must be accompanied by the relevant documents of proof (e.g., confirmation of internship, medical attestation, military documents, written motivation).
   All exceptional leave of absence application shall be reviewed by the GUGC LOA committee, and the decision also will be made by the committee. The application can be rejected by the committee if the reason of LOA is not acceptable or supporting document is not
7. Duration of a leave of absence
   Applicable regulation: 13 §2, 1° EEC GUGC
   A leave of absence can be taken in periods of maximum 1 year (1 or 2 semesters). The period is determined by the student at the moment of application, taking into account the advice of the study counsellor and the possible moments of return (see 5.2 hereafter). Upon application an expected date of return must be set.
   
   Exceptions:
   − In BA1 a leave of absence can only be taken for the entire academic year, to avoid study progress problems upon return due to interruption of yearlong courses. It is not allowed to take a leave of absence starting in March semester.
   − For military leave of absence, the effective duration of the military service determines the period of the leave of absence, which can be more than 2 semesters.
   In BA3 it is the student’s responsibility to consider taking a leave of absence for a period of 1 semester, given the yearlong courses and the possible effect on application for BA4 Ghent semester.
   At the end of the period of leave of absence, the student either returns to complete the study trajectory, or the students applies for an extension of the leave of absence. In case the student doesn’t return nor applies for an extension, the student will be permanently withdrawn.
8. Total duration of leave of absence within the study trajectory
   Applicable regulation: article 13 §2, 2° EEC GUGC
   The total duration of leave of absence during the study trajectory is limited to a maximum of 6 semesters (military leave of absence period not included).
   
   Exceptions:
   − An extension can be granted in case of exceptional personal circumstances. These have to be substantiated in written.
   − The duration of military leave of absence is not included in the maximum duration of 6 semesters.
   

Application Period (Fall, Spring)

Fall semester: the start of the first semester until the 15th of September
Spring semester: the start of the second semester until 15th of March

*The detailed information and guideline for the procedure is shared via email in the 3rd week of August and February.

Return from Leave of Absence

General Rules & Regulations

Students taking LOA can apply for a return in the Fall semester when a new academic year starts.
If the leave of absence period begins within the semester, upon return, the student will restart classes from the beginning of that same semester in the education programme. The returning student is subject to the current programme version upon his/her return and the Curriculum Committee is authorized to take the necessary transitional measures for these student’s personalized learning tracks if applicable.
Students will pay the basic fixed fee and tuition fee applied in the year of return.
Upon return, the student will no longer be in a standard learning track. It is the responsibility of the student to take into account the rules concerning study progress monitoring (Art 18 §1, EEC) and the composition of the student’s curriculum (Art 22 §4, EEC). The rules under Art 18 §1 (study progress), EEC by all means prevail over the right to return from Leave of Absence.
Upon return, Bachelor 1 students must take up all the remaining courses of the first year of the standard learning track (cf. Art 22 §4, 1° 2° ,EEC). Exceptions will only be granted to students returning from Military Leave of Absence in the Spring semester who do not have binding conditions.
If the student doesn’t return after the granted period of leave of absence has lapsed, s/he will be automatically permanently withdrawn from the programme. Should the student wish to return at a later moment, s/he must apply for readmission.

General Rules & Regulations

Students taking LOA can apply for a return in the Fall semester when a new academic year starts.
If the leave of absence period begins within the semester, upon return, the student will restart classes from the beginning of that same semester in the education programme. The returning student is subject to the current programme version upon his/her return and the Curriculum Committee is authorized to take the necessary transitional measures for these student’s personalized learning tracks if applicable.
Students will pay the basic fixed fee and tuition fee applied to the year of return.
Upon return, the student will no longer be in a standard learning track. It is the responsibility of the student to take into account the rules concerning study progress monitoring (Art 18 §1, EEC) and the composition of the student’s curriculum (Art 22 §4, EEC). The rules under Art 18 §1 (study progress), EEC by all means prevail over the right to return from Leave of Absence.
Upon return, Bachelor 1 students must take up all the remaining courses of the first year of the standard learning track (cf. Art 22 §4, 1° 2° ,EEC). Exceptions will only be granted to students returning from Military Leave of Absence in the Spring semester who do not have binding conditions.
If the student doesn’t return after the granted period of leave of absence has lapsed, s/he will be automatically permanently withdrawn from the programme. Should the student wish to return at a later moment, s/he must apply for readmission.

Exceptions:
Only those who are returning from MLOA (military leave of absence) can apply for both the Spring and Fall semester.

Application Period (Fall)

• Fall semester: 1st of July till 15th of August (Return from GLOA, MLOA both available)
• Spring semester: 1st of January till 15th of February (Return from MLOA only)

*The detailed information and guideline for the procedure is shared via email in the 3rd week of June and December.