Planned Leave allows undergraduate students to take up to a three-semester leave from the University for regular fall or spring semesters. These can be consecutive or in three separate terms.
Students who do not intend to take classes and who are eligible for Planned Leave should complete the Planned Leave request by 11:59 pm MT on the Sunday before classes begin for the term they plan on being away. The recommended actions to be taken before opting for Planned Leave are outlined on the Requesting or Cancelling Planned Leave page and generally take a couple of days to complete.
Information and Requirements
Information and Requirements
Unlike “stopping-out,” Planned Leave allows students to maintain enrollment eligibility without having to pursue the readmission process. There are many reasons why a student might consider taking a Planned Leave including, but not limited to the following:
- Internship
- Research
- Study opportunities in the United States
- Military service
- Mission/Service
- Medical
- Family or financial reasons
- Physical inability to attend on campus classes
- Academic goal evaluation
- Career exploration or work
If you are considering taking Planned Leave, please review the resources available in full.
The deadline to request Planned Leave is 11:59 PM MST on the Sunday prior to the start of classes each term.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for Planned Leave, a student must be:
- An undergraduate degree-seeking student (whether enrolled in Resident Instruction (RI) or CSU Online (CE) courses), seeking a bachelor’s degree.
- In Good Academic Standing, Academic Watch, or Academic Dismissal Warning.
Additionally, students must meet the following general guidelines:
- Must have been enrolled as a degree-seeking student for at least one semester prior to requesting Planned Leave.
- Must have approval of designated departments in specialized cases (refer to Impacts for NCAA D1 Athletes and Impacts for International Students).
- Must meet all published deadlines and procedures for requesting Planned Leave (refer to Instructions for Requesting Planned Leave).
Students Who Are Not Eligible for Planned Leave
- Graduate Students
- Dismissed Students
- Students who missed the published deadline to request Planned Leave
- Students whose only enrollment at CSU has been as a non-degree student or who were not enrolled in the semester immediately prior to the desired Planned Leave term
- Students who have been admitted to but have not yet enrolled at CSU
- Students who already have exhausted their three semesters of Planned Leave
- Students who intend to stop-out for more than three semesters
- Students attending an international post-secondary institution or participating in any kind of “for-credit” study, internship, volunteer, research, or work experience outside of the U.S.
- *Students on Planned Leave can travel or work abroad when the opportunity is non-academic or for non-credit purposes.
If you are one of these demographics of students, please see the Alternative Options to Planned Leave below.
Semester Withdrawals and Planned Leave Eligibility
Students can be eligible for Planned Leave even if they have taken a Semester Withdrawal during the semester immediately prior to the Planned Leave semester.
Students who have done a Semester Withdrawal can request Planned Leave either BEFORE or AFTER completing the Semester Withdrawal process. In these situations, the official transcript will reflect a semester of Semester Withdrawal followed by a semester of Planned Leave.
Completing a Semester Withdrawal before Census (the add/drop deadline of the semester) does NOT allow for Planned Leave the following semester. Instead, the Semester Withdrawal will reflect as no enrollment history for the term (as if the students did not enroll at all, even if they had enrolled and subsequently were withdrawn with 100% refund).
Alternative Options to Planned Leave
- Graduate students should refer to the Continuous Registration information link for more information.
- Dismissed students should work with their Department Advisor/Academic Support Coordinator or the Collaborative for Student Achievement to discuss strategies for academic success and contact Admissions to establish a plan for meeting the requirements to return.
- Students who missed the published deadline to request Planned Leave should contact Admissions for information regarding the Intent to Return.
- Students whose only enrollment at CSU has been as a non-degree student or who were not enrolled in the semester immediately prior to the requested Planned Leave term should contact Admissions for information about returning to CSU.
- Students who want to continue taking classes remotely should contact CSU Online to discuss options for continuing on the path toward graduation.
- Students who have been admitted to but have not yet enrolled at CSU should contact Admissions to inquire about deferring admission for one semester or one year.
- Students who have already exhausted their three semesters of Planned Leave in prior terms should contact Admissions for more information.
- Students who intend to take more than three semesters away (Planned Leave) should contact Admissions for more information.
- Students whose extended absence will be due to military service should contact Adult Learner and Veteran’s Services Office and (if receiving benefits) the Veteran’s Educational Benefits Office.
- Students attending an international, post-secondary institution or participating in any kind of “for-credit” study, internship, volunteer, research or work experience outside of the U.S. fall under the Study Abroad parameter and should contact the Education Abroad Office to make sure the appropriate steps have been taken to work in coordination with CSU.
Other Considerations
Campus Employment
Undergraduate students on Planned Leave are ineligible for work study employment due to the following employment requirements:
- To maintain eligibility for work-study, an undergraduate work-study student employee must be enrolled for at least six credits a term. The student must be registered by the census date for each term. Census dates can be found on the University Academic Calendar.
- To maintain eligibility for student hourly employment, an undergraduate student must be enrolled as a regular certificate/degree-seeking student at CSU, carrying at least one credit per term during the academic year, or be approved for Planned Leave for the semester. The student must be registered for the classes by the census date for each term or Undergraduate Planned Leave by the Thursday before classes begin.
For questions regarding impacts of Planned Leave on campus employment, refer to the Career Center.
Graduation
Students on Planned Leave should update their intended graduation term through Registration Ready when they return from Planned Leave. They retain all graduation requirements tied to their majors, minors, and concentrations.
Students who have “stopped out” also must update their intended graduation term in Registration Ready when they return, but they may be held to new major, minor or concentration requirements upon return. The academic department can choose how to accommodate gaps in enrollment into graduation requirements (i.e. whether to “grandfather” requirements to aid a student’s degree completion).
International Students (F1, J1 Visa Types)
Due to federal visa requirements, international students MUST discuss their options for Planned Leave with the International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) to determine the impact of the Planned Leave on their immigration status.
All international students must be enrolled in a full course of study while in the United States.
NCAA D1 Athletes
Students participating in NCAA Division 1 sports must have the approval of the Compliance Office before taking Planned Leave.
Students participating in any of CSU’s competitive, intercollegiate (intramural) sport club programs are eligible for Planned Leave according to the general requirements and do not need the permission of the Department of Athletics.
Health Insurance
Students on Planned Leave are not eligible to access services at the CSU Health Network.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
Planned Leave and Federal Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid should contact The Hub about current and future term eligibility when considering taking Planned Leave. Students considering Planned Leave are encouraged to discuss the following impacts:
- Students are not eligible for any financial aid disbursements during their semester(s) on Planned Leave.
- Generally, Planned Leave is approved before any financial aid is disbursed. However, if Planned Leave is approved after August 1 for the fall semester or January 1 for the spring semester, any disbursed financial aid for the semester will be pulled back. If the student had received a refund based on the financial aid disbursement, they subsequently would owe the University those funds. Students who have received financial aid are encouraged to contact The Hub before taking Planned Leave.
- Students on Planned Leave are reported to lenders and loan service agencies as “non-attending” and should contact their lenders for information regarding possible repayment requirements.
- Students with institutional scholarships or Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) awards will not meet their renewal criteria if they take Planned Leave.
Planned Leave and Scholarships including WUE
Students who have an institutional scholarship or WUE status who need a decision about their scholarship and if it can be appealed (for not meeting the annual scholarship renewal criteria of continuous enrollment and 24 completed regular on-campus credits) prior to applying for Planned Leave, may submit a proactive scholarship appeal to the Office of Financial Aid.
The appeal MUST include their reason for taking a semester off for Planned Leave (any supporting documentation for their reason should also be included). Please be advised there is no guarantee the proactive scholarship appeal will be approved (i.e., scholarships and/or WUE status are not guaranteed upon return from Planned Leave).
Students taking Planned Leave, regardless of the status of their scholarship or WUE award, do not need to proactively appeal and will be notified in June (at the end of the academic year they took Planned Leave) they did not meet the renewal criteria. The appeals process will be included in that letter.
Students must currently be meeting their scholarship or WUE GPA requirements to proactively appeal. Proactive appeal deadlines are August 1 for fall semester and January 1 for spring semester; however, students should submit appeals a minimum of two weeks prior to the deadline if they would like a decision before the Planned Leave deadline. Students may email, drop-in, or use the secure document upload to submit a scholarship appeal. Students who do not meet the proactive appeals requirement or who will not be on Planned Leave should contact The Hub for an additional appeal process.
The Native American Legacy Award (NALA) does not have any renewal criteria; as long as the student has remained a Non-Resident, they will still qualify for NALA.
For questions regarding impacts of Planned Leave on financial aid and scholarships, please contact The Hub.
Student Services
Academic Records and Registration
Approved Planned Leave appears on the official CSU transcript and verifies the University granted a leave for one, two, or three semesters. Any additional time away from CSU beyond Planned Leave is reflected as a gap in enrollment.
Students on Planned Leave retain their current major(s), minor(s), and concentrations and are allowed to register during the registration period appropriate to their major/class level. Although students are not permitted to change their major while on Planned Leave, they can change their major upon their return by following the process outlined in the Returning from Planned Leave section below.
Students who have “stopped out” without taking Planned Leave lose their 2nd major(s), minor(s), and concentration(s) and register with other newly-admitted students, after all continuing students have registered.
During their absence, students on Planned Leave continue to have access to their CSU email account and receive ongoing communication from the University.
Students on Planned Leave may enroll at another U.S. post-secondary institution during their Planned Leave. Upon return to CSU, students must submit an official transcript to the Office of the Registrar for their academic work completed at any other two-year or four-year institution in order to have the work evaluated for credit. The transfer evaluation may take up to 30 business days and can impact a student’s major eligibility and/or class level.
Advising and Communication
During their absence, students on Planned Leave continue to have access to their CSU email account and other forms of communication and receive ongoing communication from their academic advisors and from the University. This communication may include advising announcements pertaining to registration, changes to curriculum, and special events.
Students who have “stopped out” without taking Planned Leave lose their CSU email access after one year and generally are not contacted by their academic advisors and the University.
Residency
Students who have changed their tuition classification (residency status) through the petitioning process will have to re-petition for in-state tuition classification upon return or will be classified as a non-resident for tuition purposes.
All students on an approved Planned Leave may be required to complete a Residency Petition upon return to CSU.
For questions regarding impacts of Planned Leave on residency, please contact us here at The Hub.
Veteran Benefits
Yellow Ribbon is based on Veterans Benefits eligibility; students considering Planned Leave should be in contact with the Veterans Educational Benefits Office to discuss the potential impact of Planned Leave.
Honorably discharged veterans being assessed in-state tuition through the GI Promise bill may be advised to submit a new GI Promise or do a Residency Petition depending upon the timing of their Planned Leave.
Returning from Planned Leave
Students returning from planned leave should complete the following steps before registering to ensure a smooth transition back to CSU:
- Meet with their Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor to ensure their graduation plan is up-to-date and to select appropriate courses for next semester.
- Contact The Hub to verify aid eligibility. (It is best to do this prior to registering.)
- Complete Registration Ready and register for classes during the priority registration period.
- Submit Official Transcripts to CSU if you attended another college or university while taking Planned Leave in order to have coursework evaluated. Students who are returning from Planned Leave taken for medical or mental health reasons or in response to a personal crisis are encouraged to contact Student Case Management at 970-491-8051 to access helpful support for their return.
There is no penalty to students who do not return to CSU as expressed within their Planned Leave request; however, they will no longer be registered for Planned Leave after the scheduled absence if they do not extend their Planned Leave, if applicable, in RAMweb.
Students on Planned Leave who wish to return after more than three semesters away must complete the Office of Admissions’ Returning Student process. The official CSU transcript for such students will reflect University-sanctioned Planned Leave for one, two, or three semesters and then a gap in enrollment for any subsequent terms away from CSU.
At the time of return, a student must be otherwise eligible to register (i.e., have no enrollment restrictions such as an account delinquency, disciplinary hold, or academic disqualification). Additionally, referrals may be made for specialized populations including NCAA D1 Athletes and International Students.
