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Active Military

Loyola University New Orleans wishes to provide as much assistance as possible to students who are called to active duty in the United States armed services. To this end, these guidelines shall be followed with appropriate consideration, approved by the president of the University, as required under special individual circumstances.

Loyola University New Orleans recognizes that no policy can anticipate every situation or circumstance that may arise when students or employees are called to active duty on short notice. The University commits itself to responding to individual situations with sensitivity and in the spirit of justice and charity.

Policy Guidelines for Current Students

  1. These policy guidelines shall apply when a currently enrolled student is called to active duty in the armed forces of the United States. No involvement in hostilities or period of overseas duty is required for these policy guidelines to apply.
  2. These policy guidelines shall remain in effect for the individual student called to active duty, even if subsequently the University should have reason to change or alter the guidelines.
  3. If called to active duty, a student should provide a copy of his or her service orders to the Office of Student Records. At that time, the student should inform the Office of Student Records in writing which of the following two options he or she chooses:

     

    1. The student may elect to withdraw from the University and to be placed on a leave of absence for the period of one year, which can be extended. In this case, he or she may chose (1) to receive a full credit for tuition, fees, residence hall and meal plan fees paid to the University to the date of the withdrawal, which credit will be applied against expenses when the student reenrolls following military service; or (2) to request a prorated refund of tuition, fees, residence hall and meal plan fees paid to the University. This prorated refund will be based on the number of weeks that have elapsed in the semester before the student gives notice of the decision to withdraw; once determined in the individual student's case, the prorated refund rate will be applied equally to any tuition, fees, residence hall and meal plan fees paid to the University. The student's right to reenroll in the future and register for courses is maintained unaffected.
    2. If more than half of the semester has elapsed at the time the student is called to active duty, the student may choose to take an incomplete grade (I) in his or her courses. These incomplete grades will be maintained as the permanent record for a maximum of one year, which can be extended by written request. Once reenrolled, the student returning from active duty should ordinarily resolve any incomplete grades within the first six weeks of reenrollment. If a course in which a student returning from active duty has an incomplete grade is no longer offered or if the faculty member is no longer with the University, the returning student will receive a full tuition credit for a replacement course.
    3. Please note that if the student is called to active duty in her or his last semester prior to graduation, the student should contact the appropriate Dean's Office to make arrangements for completion of graduation requirements.
    4. The Office of Student Records will notify the appropriate Dean's Office of the student's decision to withdraw from the University and record withdrawal (W) grades and the date of withdrawal on the permanent record. Students who chose to take incomplete grades (I) will need to bring incomplete grade slips, signed by the appropriate professor, to the Office of Student Records. In this case, the Office of Student Records will record incomplete grades (I) on the permanent record.
    5. Loyola graduation requirements for students called to active duty will be "grand fathered" in that whatever graduation requirements the student faced when leaving for active duty will be the same upon his or her return. (This stipulation is not applicable for state certification requirements or other accrediting association's requirements.)
    6. While the University will make every effort to accommodate students returning from active duty, placement in the undergraduate honors program or as a member of the Law Review or the Moot Court in the School of Law cannot be guaranteed.
    7. A student called to active duty may designate a person with power of attorney to take care of any matters left unfinished at Loyola. This designation should be provided in writing to the Office of Student Records before the student's departure.
    8. In the case of law students who are called to active duty, waivers will be granted as necessary to the American Bar Association standard that states students should graduate within five years of commencing School of Law studies.
    9. University scholarship awards based on merit will be preserved for students holding such awards when called to active duty. These University scholarship awards may be reclaimed by students returning from active duty for a period of two years after their release from active duty. (Please note that any federal grant or loan awards, which the student may have received, will be governed by the applicable policies established by the Department of Education.) The University reserves the right to require students to exercise any available eligibility for need-based federal assistance as a condition of retaining merit-based scholarships.

    Policy Guidelines for Employees with dependents on tuition remission or FACHEX arrangements

    1. If a full-time Loyola University New Orleans employee with dependents on tuition remission or participating in a FACHEX exchange is called to active duty in the United States armed services, those dependants will continue to receive tuition remission or FACHEX participation through the completion of their current degree program or until age 23.
    2. The employee should inform the University's Office of Human Resources within six months of being released from active duty of his or her intention to return to employment at the University. Tuition remission or participation in FACHEX will not be continued for a dependent when the employee leaving active duty decides not to return to the University for employment.
    3. If it should happen that a University employee with a dependent on tuition remission or participating in FACHEX dies while in active duty in the armed services, the University will honor the tuition remission or FACHEX participation through the completion of the dependent's current degree program.
    4. Full-time Loyola University New Orleans employees should consult the Handbook under "Military Leave" to determine their own status in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).