VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL/VOLUNTARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE PROCESS

A student who wishes to take a voluntary leave of absence or withdraw from Suffolk University Law School must submit a completed Withdrawal/Voluntary Leave of Absence Request to the Registrar’s Office.  The Registrar’s Office will process the paperwork related to the withdrawal or voluntary leave of absence, including obtaining the approval of the Associate Dean/Registrar, Dean of Students or an Associate Dean in accordance with the Rule and Regulations.

Voluntary Leave of Absence:

If a student is currently unable to continue the study of law, an associate dean may grant the student a leave of absence for up to one academic year.  A student who wishes to take a voluntary leave of absence must submit the Withdrawal/Voluntary Leave of Absence Form to the Registrar’s Office.  No student may take a voluntary leave of absence after the examination period begins or while consideration of his or her academic standing is pending. A student granted a leave of absence is entitled to return to the Law School at the end of the term of the leave without reapplying for admission. A leave of absence will be granted to a first year student only under extraordinary circumstances. A leave of absence is considered a withdrawal for financial aid purposes and may result in the student owing money to the Law School and in the student’s federal loan entering repayment.

Students on a voluntary leave of absence will not have locker access during the leave of absence.  All locker contents must be removed within 10 calendar days of approval of the Voluntary Leave of Absence, or they will be considered abandoned property and confiscated by the Law School.

Students on a leave of absence will continue to have access to: 

• Student ID Card, Email, Westlaw and Lexis, Blackboard, Campus Cruiser, Library

Voluntary Withdrawal:

A student who wishes to withdraw from the Law School must submit the Withdrawal/Voluntary Leave of Absence Form to the Registrar’s Office.  Withdrawal from the Law School must be approved by an associate dean.  No student may withdraw after the examination period begins, while consideration of his or her academic standing is pending, or while disciplinary action is pending against him or her (see information for Financial Aid Recipients below)

Access to the following services will be deactivated within 10 calendar days of approval of withdrawal:

• Student ID Card, Email, Westlaw and Lexis, Blackboard, Campus Cruiser, Library
• Locker; Prior to removal of contents please contact a member of the Registrar’s staff for assistance. Contents not removed within 10 calendar days of approval of withdrawal will be considered abandoned property and will be confiscated by the Law School.

Information for Financial Aid Recipients:

The Office of Financial Aid is required to recalculate federal student aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a semester. In some cases, federal loans already disbursed to the student may need to be returned to the lender. This may result in the student owing money to Suffolk University.

Students with federal student loans are required by the federal government to complete exit counseling upon their departure from Suffolk University Law School. Exit counseling information is available on the Office of Financial Aid’s website at http://www.law.suffolk.edu/offices/finaid/counseling.cfm.  Federal loans will enter their grace or repayment periods as of the effective date of withdrawal.

Note that a voluntary leave of absence is treated as a withdrawal for federal student aid purposes.  This means that federal loans will enter their grace or repayment periods during the voluntary leave of absence.  In addition, a student must complete exit counseling when taking a voluntary leave of absence. To receive financial aid in future semesters, students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress.  Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 and must have earned at least 67% of cumulative attempted credits at each point satisfactory academic progress is measured.  Please see the Office of Financial Aid for further information.