[Bgsa] leave of absence change that benefits field researchers!!

[Sharon Coe]

Hi everyone,

Some good news to report that is hot-off-the-press (news was 
shared with me by Marlene Zuk and later Dan Ozer; see below).

Starting in Fall 2005, an additional criterion will be added 
to the Leave of Absence criteria that currently are in place 
for grad students. Up until now, we could not take a Leave 
of Absence for the purpose of research (only for other 
reasons, like illness or a few other things).

The new criterion approved today includes people doing 
research (I believe it will be limited to those researching 
off-campus for the entire quarter). What this means is those 
of us who leave for a whole quarter to do research in far-
away places will be able to apply for Leave of 
Absence and if approved, will not incur tuition fees, 
which currently are around $2700. Presently to avoid fees in 
these situations you would have to actually WITHDRAW from 
the University and REAPPLY. 

Students on fellowships will not be granted this Leave of 
Absence. There might be some other restrictions, which I 
assume will be outlined in the Grad Handbook next fall.

The key person we can thank for this change is Dan Ozer, a 
faculty in Psychology and Associate Dean of Grad Division. 
As far as I know, he proposed the change, recognizing that 
this was an increasing problem for grad students (students 
in Anthro Department also do a lot of off-campus research). 
Our own Marlene Zuk, who is also on Grad Council, voted in 
favor of the change as well. 

A major victory for those of us who have struggled with this 
issue...

Sharon
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Sharon Coe
PhD Candidate
Department of Biology
UC Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
coes01 at student.ucr.edu
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