ACADEMIC POLICY
39
Student’s Leave of Absence
A student may apply for a leave of absence from the College for a
specified period of time for purposes related to the educational program
of the College or for other reasons approved by the Provost. Students may
receive a leave of absence for medical reasons, including pregnancy, as
provided by Title IX of The Higher Education Act. If the student does not
return to the College after the specified period of the leave, the student
must apply for readmission.
Application for Degrees
Formal application for a degree should be filed with the Records
Office before the beginning of the term in which the candidate expects to
complete degree requirements. Failure to file such application may delay
graduation.
A graduation fee of $200 is charged each applicant for any degree. This
fee covers costs of the student’s diploma and academic regalia and is added
to the bill for the last term of residence. All financial obligations to the
College must be discharged prior to graduation.
Commencement
The College holds an annual commencement at the end of each spring
term. Students approved to graduate are strongly encouraged to participate.
Students who have not completed all graduation requirements by the end
of spring term may participate in commencement if they have two or fewer
units yet to complete, have three or fewer approved lecture and arts events
yet to complete, and have at least a 1.90 overall grade point average.
Students who participate in commencement but have not yet completed
graduation requirements will not receive a diploma at commencement, but
will be handed a diploma cover only. Their names will be printed in the
program. Therefore a student may participate in only one commencement
ceremony. If, after declaring to participate, the student, without informing
the Academic Records Office at least four days prior to the commencement
date, does not participate in the ceremony, that student is ineligible to
participate in any subsequent ceremony. The student’s actual diploma insert
will be mailed after the next May commencement following the completion
of requirements. The degree-conferred date on the student’s final transcript
will be the date at the end of the term of completion. All obligations and
college duties must be discharged prior to graduation in order to receive a
diploma.
