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Student Military Leave Policy

From time to time, students who are serving in the National Guard or Armed Forces Reserves may be called to active duty, and the guidelines as outlined in the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 will be followed:

Procedures

  1. A student called to active duty or service once enrolled at the College must provide copies of his/her orders. Once this paperwork is received, a withdrawal will be processed for the student.
  2. Title IV Student Aid.
    1. Recipients of student financial assistance under Title IV of the Act who are affected individuals will not be placed in a worse position financially in relation to that financial assistance because of their status as affected individuals;
    2. Administrative requirements placed on affected individuals who are recipients of student financial assistance are minimized, to the extent possible without impairing the integrity of the student financial assistance programs, to ease the burden on such students and avoid inadvertent, technical violations or defaults;
    3. The calculation of “annual adjusted family income” and “available income”, as used in the determination of need for student financial assistance under Title IV of the Act for any such affected individual (and the determination of such need for his or her spouse and dependents, if applicable), may be modified to mean the sums received in the first calendar year of the award year for which such determination is made, in order to reflect more accurately the financial condition of such affected individual and his or her family;
    4. The calculation under section 484B(b) (2) of the Act (20 U.S.C. 1091b(b)(2)) of the amount a student is required to return in the case of an affected individual may be modified so that no overpayment will be required to be returned or repaid if the institution has documented the student’s status as an affected individual in the student’s file and the amount of any overpayment discharged.
  3. Tuition Refunds or Credits.
    1. Mercy College will provide a full refund to students who are affected individuals for that portion of a period of instruction each student was unable to complete, or for which such individual did not receive academic credit, because he/she was called up for active duty or active service; and
    2. If affected individuals withdraw from a course of study as a result of such active duty or active service, Mercy College will make every effort to minimize deferral of enrollment or reapplication requirements and will provide as much flexibility as possible with administrative deadlines related to the application process.
  4. Repeating a Course.

    An affected individual enrolled in a nursing program of study who has been away from the College for more than one full academic year may be required to repeat any nursing courses he/she has taken. This may apply to courses in other professional programs as well.

Military Tuition Assistance Policy

In accordance with Change 3, DoDI 1322.25 (July 07, 2014) (Appendix to Enclosure 3, 4, f. (2) (d) (page 42)), Mercy College of Ohio will return any unearned tuition assistance (TA) funds on a proportional bases through at least the 60 percent portion of the period for which the funds were provided. TA funds are earned proportionally during an enrollment period, with unearned funds returned based upon when a student stops attending. Mercy College of Ohio will work with the affected Service member to identify solutions that will not result in a student debt for the returned portion. All TA funds not earned will be returned to the Military Service, not the Service member. Any unearned TA funds will be returned on a weekly basis.

PLEASE NOTE: An affected individual will need to comply with revisions in the admission criteria that may have occurred while he/she was on active duty or service.

ORC 3345.53 Military leave of absence for student on active duty (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3345.53)

As used in this section, "active duty" means full-time duty in the active military service of the United States, including full-time training duty, annual training duty, and active state duty for members of the National Guard.

  1. Each institution of higher education, as defined in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, shall grant a student a military leave of absence from the institution while the student is serving on active duty, and for one year after the conclusion of that service, if the student is a member of the United States National Guard or other reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, or a member of those armed forces in a retired status, and is called to active duty. The student shall not suffer an academic penalty as a result of the leave of absence.
  2. If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the state institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled shall do either of the following, as elected by the student:
    1. Credit tuition and fee charges toward a subsequent academic term in an amount that is one hundred per cent of what the student paid the institution for the academic term in which the student withdraws;
    2. Refund tuition and fees paid for the academic term, provided the student withdraws before the withdraw date established by the institution. The refund shall equal one hundred per cent of the tuition and fee charges the student paid the institution for the academic term. If the student withdraws after the withdraw date established by the institution, the student is ineligible for a refund of tuition and fee charges. For the purposes of this section, the "withdraw date" shall be the same as the date set by the institution for its general student population to withdraw from the institution or a course or class without academic penalty.
  3. If requested by a student granted a military leave of absence pursuant to division (A) of this section not later than one year after the student's release from active duty, the state institution of higher education shall restore the student to the educational status the student had attained prior to being called to active duty without loss of academic credits earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and other fees paid prior to the commencement of active duty, except as provided in division (B) of this section.
  4. If a state institution of higher education fails to comply with this section, the student may bring an action against the institution to enforce its provisions in the court of claims. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses if the student prevails in the action.

Effective Date: 05-18-2005