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To take a medical leave of absence, students must complete the Medical Leave of Absence request form in IRIS (found under "Request Time Away") and follow the instructions found here. Students are expected to complete the process within five business days of initiating a leave of absence or their leave request will be canceled.

Your medical leave request will be canceled, and you will remain enrolled. If you still intend to take a medical leave of absence, you must contact the Student Life Office to re-initiate your request with a new effective date. A changed effective date may affect your tuition refund or owe.

If a student needs to initiate a medical leave during the semester, they can do so at any time up to the last day of classes. Please see the academic calendar for this date.

If you are a recipient of financial aid, please note that if you remain enrolled for more than 60% of the semester, you may lose a full semester of financial aid. The 60% of the semester mark usually falls a few days before Week 10 of the semester. Students receiving financial aid are encouraged to consult Financial Aid (financial-aid@reed.edu) about how taking a medical leave after Week 10 will affect their financial aid.

A student may be on a medical leave of absence for a maximum of four consecutive semesters.

Students on medical leave must secure approval from the Dean of Students or designee to return. In order to endorse your return to Reed, you will need to submit a personal letter requesting to return from medical leave and the to the Student Life Office. 

Students on a medical leave of absence cannot register for the upcoming semester until they have been officially approved to return. Students can apply for on-campus housing and financial aid before being approved to return.

Please see Returning from a Medical Leave for more information.

Students who do not return from their medical leave after four semesters must apply for readmission through the Registrar’s Office in addition to applying to return from their medical leave.

Yes. Your registration for classes will be canceled and your instructors will be notified by the Registrar’s Office once your medical leave of absence is in effect. 

Generally, yes - however, there are restrictions. Students should consult with the Registrar's Office before registering for courses at another institution.

If you are a financial aid recipient, please check with the Office of Financial Aid to determine whether there are any financial aid implications for taking classes while on leave.

International students must contact International Student Services (ISS), to discuss their visa program status, departure to (and return from) their home country, and other considerations. Once you initiate your request to take a medical leave, contact ISS for a meeting.

You are encouraged to talk to your faculty adviser about how your medical leave may affect your timing for taking your department’s qual.

A senior who takes a medical leave of absence in the second semester of a two-semester thesis will receive a "W" for two units of thesis.

You are encouraged to talk to your thesis and faculty adviser about how your leave may affect your thesis and your options for completing it when you return. See Questions to Ask your Faculty Adviser about Taking a Leave.

A medical leave does not affect your eligibility for financial aid in the future; however, an unfinished semester may be counted as one semester of financial aid eligibility used. 

Lifetime loan aggregate limits, however, do apply and the amounts that you retain for an unfinished semester will be counted toward this aggregate limit. The Business Office determines how much, if any, of your current financial aid must be repaid to the financial aid programs and how much financial aid you are eligible to retain. This calculation is based on your medical leave initiation date.

Please be certain to discuss with the Financial Aid Office and Business Office any money you may owe (that is, aid to be repaid) as a result of taking a medical leave of absence.

To access your insurance, there are two  that must be completed. You can also obtain these forms from the HCC or the Business Office.

Dewar may return 70% of your insured term tuition and fees. Please contact Dewar at trp@dewarinsurance.com or 617-774-1555.

You will need to complete an online exit interview for your Direct Student Loan. You will not have access to SOLAR or your transcripts until you complete your exit interview.

The six-month grace period for your Federal Direct Loan begins after your last day of attendance at Reed. During this grace period, interest accrues but no payments are due. Repayment on your Direct Student loan begins after your six month grace period.

If you plan to be unavailable during your medical leave, please contact your Direct Student Loan servicer before you leave about when your loan payments will be due, and to make arrangements in advance for payment. If you do not know your servicer, the Financial Aid Office can assist you.

You will need to do an exit interview for your Perkins Loan through our loan service provider, University Accounting Services (UAS). Please be aware you will not have access to SOLAR or your transcripts until you complete your exit counseling.

Your initial nine-month grace period on your Perkins Loan will begin after the date of last attendance at the College. During this grace period no interest accrues and no payments are due. Repayment on the loan will begin nine-months after your last date of attendance.

You will need to complete the Reed Loan “Payout Loan Note” and “Truth in Lending” requirements regardless of your future plans. The Business Office will contact you via email with specific instructions after your medical leave of absence paperwork is completed. Please note that you will not have access to transcripts or to SOLAR until these requirements are completed.

Reed students on a medical leave of absence must apply for financial assistance on the same basis as continuing students, with the same forms, supporting documents, and deadlines.

Financial aid cannot be awarded until you have been formally readmitted from your medical leave; however, as long as your financial aid application is complete by the May 1 deadline, you will be considered for financial aid once you are approved to return. See Returning from a Medical Leave for more information.

No. Due to a limited number of campus mailboxes, students who are on a medical leave are unable to retain their campus mailbox. Mail will be sent to the forwarding address provided by the student on their LOA form. Students should also update their  with a forwarding address.

When students return from their medical leave, a new mailbox will be assigned to them by the Registrar's Office.

Yes. Your Reed email account will remain active during your leave. We encourage you to check your Reed email account while on your leave, as the college may continue to send you important information to help you plan your return, such as financial aid deadlines and registration instructions. 

Yes. Your card will automatically be disabled when you take a leave but you can keep your card. When you return, your access privileges will be restored upon registration. If you lose your card while on a leave, visit Community Safety in 28 West for a new Reed student ID card.

No. Students on a medical leave of absence do not have access to the on-campus health and counseling center staff or services. However, a student’s health insurance may cover services in the Portland area. The Health and Counseling Center can assist students in connecting to community health resources at the time the student takes their medical leave.

If you attended at least 30 days of a semester and did not waive the health insurance, you will continue to be covered by the student health insurance for that term.   

If you were covered by Reed health insurance in the fall and take a medical leave of absence the following spring semester, you have the option to purchase Reed health insurance coverage for spring if a medical provider certifies the necessity of the medical leave and you do so before the end of January.

Please see Health Insurance for more information. You may contact the Business Office if you have questions about your health insurance coverage.

No. Students on leave are not eligible for Academic Support services. Exceptions to this policy may apply to students who are eligible to return in the following semester and would like to meet with Academic Support staff to discuss strategies for success before returning to class.

Students on a medical leave of absence are welcome as visitors in the library but are not granted borrowing privileges.

Students on a medical leave of absence can continue to use the Center for Life Beyond Reed for career counseling, résumé and/or job search help. In addition, many valuable resources are on the Center for Life Beyond Reed web site, including job and internship postings and contact information for our alumni volunteers.

No. Students on a medical leave of absence are not eligible to use the Sports Center, take classes, compete on teams or participate in Reed Outing Club events.

No. Students on a medical leave of absence are not eligible to participate in student organizations, group events, or college-sponsored trips.

No. Students on a medical leave are not eligible for student employment. Your campus employer and the Student Payroll Specialist in the Business Office will be notified when you take a medical leave of absence.

If you are working on campus or through an off-campus Federal Work Study (FWS) Internship program, you must stop working on or before the date your medical leave begins and notify your supervisor that you will not be able to continue working. Please be certain to turn in your final timesheet to the Business Office before you depart.