TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction

Guide Overview

This Leave of Absence Guide is designed to provide students like you, who are considering or taking a leave of absence, with skills-building opportunities and health-promoting guidance and suggestions for how to spend your time away from school. This is your life, your leave, and we are here to support you organize and plan what you do during your leave at your own PACE. This guide is organized to help you understand the process for leaving and returning, navigate difficult conversations along the way, evaluate your readiness to return, and plan or a successful re-entry to school. You might work through this guide alone; you might also consider working through the guide with the support of friends, family, college personnel, or care providers. To underscore the import of taking a leave at your own PACE, we’ll use the acronym PACE as a tool to reinforce the four most valued and valuable steps to follow during the leave, namely building and maintaining connections with People, exercising your Academic skills, accessing Care and supports, and Engaging in meaningful activities that bring you joy, wellness, and hope. These four critical components to your personal wellness will help you experience a fulfilling and successful leave of absence as well as build readiness to return to college.