Definition

For purposes of this policy, a “military re-enrollment” is a Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) approved re-enrollment after a military service leave.

Student Responsibilities

A student who has taken military service leave from KGI or has had studies interrupted because of active duty or active service in a branch of the United States Armed Forces and wishes to re-enroll must submit an application for re-instatement to the Division of Student Affairs and to the Office of Academic Affairs. To qualify for military re-enrollment, a student must provide notice to KGI of the intention to re-enroll within three years of the time he or she is discharged from military service or is placed on inactive duty. Notice should be provided in writing to the Division of Student Affairs and/or VP of Academic Affairs
in accordance with the program’s re-enrollment leave of absence process and should include documentation (including an official certificate of release or discharge, a copy of duty orders, or other appropriate documentation) to verify the student’s withdrawal was related to service in the Armed Forces and that the student is able to resume studies.1 Military re-enrollment guarantees a student who meets these requirements access to the same course of study they were in at the time of withdrawal without incurring a re-enrollment fee, unless a student receives a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge or has been sentenced in a court-martial.2 Any student who, because of military necessity, did not give written or oral notice of service to KGI prior to withdrawal, may, at the time the student seeks readmission, submit documentation that the student served in a branch of the U.S. Armed Services that necessitated the student’s absence from KGI.

KGI’s Procedures

A student who meets the notice requirements set forth herein will be granted military re-enrollment in the semester following the notice of intent to return, or, if the student chooses, at the beginning of the next full academic year. Upon returning to KGI, the student will resume his or her course of study without repeating completed coursework and will have the same enrollment status and academic standing as before the military service leave. If the student is readmitted to the same program, during the first academic year in which the student returns, the student will be assessed the same tuition and fee charges that the student was or would have been assessed during the academic year in which the student left the institution.3 However, for the first academic year in which the student returns, KGI may assess an amount up to the amount of tuition and fee charges that other students in the program are currently assessed for that academic year if the student’s veterans’ education benefits4 or other service member education benefits will pay the amount in excess of the tuition and fee charges assessed for the academic year in which the student left the institution.

If, in the judgment of KGI, a student is not academically prepared to resume a course of study in which he or she was previously enrolled, or is unprepared to complete a program, KGI will determine whether reasonable means are available to help the student become prepared. KGI may deny the student re-enrollment if it determines that reasonable efforts are not available, or that such efforts have failed to prepare the student to resume the course of study or complete the program. A student who has been away from KGI on military service for more than five years (including all previous absences for military service obligations after initial enrollment but including only time the student spends actually performing service in the Armed Forces) will not be guaranteed military reenrollment, but may petition his or her dean for consideration of military re-enrollment.5 A student who chooses at the conclusion of military service to enroll in a different course of study than the one the student was in at the time of military withdrawal must complete the regular admission and enrollment process for that course of study.

Notes

  1. KGI shall determine the adequacy of documentation with reference to 34. C.F.R. Sec. 668.18(g).
  2. The appropriate point in a course or program for a student to resume studies, the timing of re-enrollment, and the determination of the “same course of study” will be determined by KGI, taking into account the unique characteristics and requirements of that course or program and the modes in which it is offered (e.g., non-degree vs. degree, evening vs. day program, special program vs. standard program). If the program in which the student was enrolled has been discontinued or is no longer offered, KGI will enroll the student in the program that it determines to be most similar to that program or in a different program for which the student is qualified. If the student is admitted to a different program, and for subsequent academic years for a student admitted to the same program, KGI shall assess tuition and fee charges that are no greater than other students in the program are assessed for that academic year.
  3. The appropriate tuition and fee amounts will be reflected on the bill that the student receives.
  4. As defined in section 480(c) of the HEA.
  5. This cumulative leave of absence restriction shall be interpreted and applied with reference to 34 C.F.R. Sec. 668.18(c) and (e), which set forth rules for calculating cumulative absence due to military service.