Pausing Your Studies With a Leave of Absence

When circumstances create a situation where your studies are compromised, we encourage you to take a pause with a leave of absence and plan your return for a time when you can better focus on being a successful learner.

To pause your studies, contact your advisor who will help you to complete a leave of absence (LOA) request. There will be some occasions when we will require documentation in support of your request. Pausing in the middle of a term can impact your funding and/or loan deferment. You should speak with the Student Finance Office prior to submitting the LOA request.

You may request up to two LOAs per calendar year, and each pause in studies may be between four weeks and two terms long. Your return date will also depend on course availability. For a pause of less than four weeks, discuss with your faculty options to make up the missed coursework.

If you pause your studies during a term, you will receive a “W” grade for each attended course, unless the start of the pause is in the final two weeks of the term in which case each traditional course will receive a temporary “IP” grade until it is finalized at the end of the term as defined under Administrative Withdrawal From a Course. Module courses successfully completed before you pause your studies will be recorded as such on the transcript.

If you are an active-duty servicemember, in the National Guard or Reserves, or are a military family member, you may take a military leave of absence at any point in your current enrollment for a period of up to 12 months. You may also have the option to renew this status one time for up to a total of 24 months; however, if you exercise this option, you will return to the version of the degree program in effect at the time of your return.

If you do not return to class by the scheduled date and later choose to return to the University, you will need to return to the current version of the program. You are not eligible for financial aid during a pause. Please note that your lender entitles you to a 6-month grace period before entering repayment on your student loans. If you have already exhausted your student loan grace period, you will enter loan repayment immediately.

Requesting to Officially Withdraw From the University

Circumstances sometimes require that you withdraw from the University. If your situation warrants withdrawal, please follow the steps below:

1. Meet with a Student Advisor via telephone, mail, or electronic notification to discuss your decision to withdraw. We will seek to make reasonable efforts to assist you in continuing your education.
2. Once you have officially notified the above indicated designee of your intent to withdraw, you should contact the Student Finance Office only if you intend to withdraw from in-progress courses. The Student Finance Office can answer questions regarding financial obligations to the University and student loan repayment responsibilities. All students should refer to the Tuition Refund Chart for information on how institutional refunds are calculated. Students utilizing Federal Financial Aid, such as Federal Student Loans or Federal Pell Grant, should also refer to the Return of Title IV Financial Aid section of the Purdue Global Financial Aid Information Guide for specific calculation information.
3. If you are using Veterans education benefits and withdraw from the University, a notice of termination of enrollment will be sent to Veterans Affairs.
4. A request to withdraw from the University while courses are in progress will result in a “W” grade for each attended course, unless the request is made during the final two weeks of a term in which case each traditional course will receive a temporary "IP" grade until it is finalized at the end of the term as defined under Administrative Withdrawal From a Course.
5. If you withdraw from the University and wish to return, you must apply for readmission and may not return sooner than the beginning of the next grading period/term. If you withdraw from and reenter a nursing or health science program, you may be required to demonstrate competency in clinical skills prior to beginning a clinical or externship.

Administrative Withdrawal From the University

If you are enrolled in a non-ExcelTrack program, you will be administratively withdrawn from your program if you have not logged attendance in any classes by the end of the twelfth day of the term. In an ExcelTrack program, if you do not log attendance in the first three weeks of a term, you will be administratively withdrawn. 

If you receive withdrawal grades for all courses in a term, you will be administratively withdrawn from your program at the end of that term.

If you take only module courses in a term, you will be administratively withdrawn from your program if you do not earn at least one passing grade in the term.

If you are enrolled in a program on the independent model, you are not subject to these administrative withdrawals.