Lansing Community College
Procedure Details

Procedure Title: Leave of Absence for Pregnant/Parenting Students
Procedure #: AA.0030
Revision #: 001

Unit Responsible: Academic Affairs
Individual Responsible: Academic Deans or Designee

Effective Date: 09/27/2024
Initial Approval Date: 07/31/2024
Last Review/Update Date: 09/27/2024
Next Review Date: 09/01/2027

*Does this procedure support a Board Policy? Yes
If yes, identify: 4.120-Prohibited Sex or Gender Based Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct

Board policies can be found at: LCC Board of Trustees Policy Page

*Does this procedure support HLC criteria? Yes
If yes, identify: 2A

HLC Criteria can be found at: HLC Accreditation Criteria

*Does this procedure support a State or Federal Regulation? Yes
If yes, identify: Title IX

*Note: Standard Operating Procedures should be in furtherance of some LCC policy and/or accreditation criteria, even if the relationship is not direct. Assistance in determining this information can be obtained from the Academic Procedure Advisory Committee (APAC) and/or the Accreditation Liaison Officer.

Leave of Absence for Pregnant/Parenting Students, BP 4.120

1. Purpose

To protect students who must take a leave of absence for pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, false pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and/or recovery for as long as their health care provider states is medically necessary. 


2. Scope

Students who are affected by pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, false pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and/or recovery and who are seeking modifications related to their education, including leaves of absence, may seek assistance under this procedure. Parenting students, including adoptive and foster parents, stepparents, and legal guardians, who are seeking modifications related to their education may also seek assistance under this procedure. 


3. Prerequisites

Schools are required to provide pregnant students, and students with related conditions such as childbirth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, false pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and/or recovery, with at least the same special services as it provides to students with other temporary conditions.  For example, if a school provides homebound instruction or take-home assignments to students who miss school for illnesses, they must do the same for a student who misses school as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, false pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and/or recovery. 

Students with the aforementioned conditions may also be eligible for disability protections and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), depending upon their condition.


4. Responsibilities

  • Financial Aid – Responsible for advising students on financial aid regarding leave of absence.
  • Instructors/Academic Deans/Associate Deans/Directors – Responsible for coordinating with the Registrar and Title IX Coordinators for grades and implementation of reasonable modification or a leave of absence. 
  • Registrar’s Office – Responsible for grades.
  • Students – Responsible for requesting reasonable modification through the Title IX Coordinators, and completing and submitting necessary paperwork.
  • Title IX Coordinators and Center for Student Access – Responsible for providing students with reasonable modifications and accommodations for childbirth, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, false pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, and/or recovery.

 

5. Procedure

  1. To request a leave of absence, a student completes the Student Reasonable Modification Request form to seek a modification based on pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions or parental status. 
  2. The Title IX Coordinator meets with the student to provide them with information regarding their rights, resources, and a full explanation of the modification process and its requirements and offer to schedule a meeting with the instructor, student, and Title IX coordinator to discuss the leave of absence request.
  3. Title IX coordinator meets with the student, instructor of the course, and program director over the area to discuss reasonable modifications related to the leave of absence request.
  4. Student meets with a financial aid advisor to understand the impact to financial aid, scholarships, or grants prior to authorizing the leave of absence. 
    1. Students who are not able to return during the current semester will receive an incomplete (I) for the course and will be allowed to retake the course at no additional cost to the student and no academic penalty to the student. (See step 7 below). A student already admitted to a selective admissions program will be guaranteed a seat in their program as soon as a seat is available when the student is able to return.
  5. Programs that work with third-party sites may not be able to guarantee a seat in the next semester the course is offered due to availability.
    1. For programs that only offer courses once per academic year, the student will be placed into the course once it is offered again. This course might not be offered the next semester, depending on the semester they took leave of absence.
    2. The current course will not count as an attempt for a selective admissions program.
    3. There is no guarantee that clinicals can be made up at the same location or same point of the semester. Clinical sites are run by third parties and are not under any obligation to fulfill the terms of this leave of absence.
  6. Upon notification from the instructor, Registrar’s Office staff will notate an incomplete grade (I) on the student’s academic transcript with an agreed-upon deadline for coursework completion. Once the coursework is complete, the instructor will submit a grade change form to the Registrar’s Office to update the final course grade. If the student does not complete coursework by the pre-determined deadline, the course grade will revert to the grade at the time of leave. 
  7. Alternatively, students who are not able to return during the current semester and do not wish to retake the course may apply for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) at no cost to the student.
    1. The student is allowed only one attempt at PLA.
    2. This option does not apply to selective admission programs.

6. Reference



7. Definitions

Definitions for Student Modifications 

  • Medical Necessity: a health care provider’s determination of a student’s need for reasonable modifications related to pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.
  • Pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions: include (but are not limited to) pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, termination of pregnancy services, lactation, conditions arising in connection with pregnancy, and recovery from any of these conditions, in accordance with federal law. Throughout this procedure, the use of the phrase “pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions” encompasses all conditions within the non-exhaustive list above.
  • Title IX Reasonable Modification Memo: A document that enables students to communicate their pregnancy or pregnancy-related modifications to faculty. The Pregnancy Modification Memo is individualized and will not be generated until the student requests a modification, and engages in the individualized modification process.
  • Parental status: the status of a person who, with respect to another person who is under the age of 18 or who is 18 or older but is incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability, is: (1) a biological parent; (2) an adoptive parent; (3) a foster parent; (4) a stepparent; (5) a legal custodian or guardian; (6) someone who is acting in the role of a parent; or (7) actively seeking legal custody, guardianship, visitation, or adoption of such a person.
  • Reasonable modifications may include, but are not limited to:
    • Periodic Absences: LCC must excuse medically necessary absences for a student affected by pregnancy, childbirth or pregnancy-related conditions. Absences will not be counted as a missed class in which attendance is a measure of academic performance. The student will be permitted to complete any coursework (e.g., in-class participation points/assignments, quizzes, examinations) for missed class periods. Instructor course practices such as allowing a certain number of “unexcused absences” or dropping of quiz grades will not be applied to circumstances of medically necessary absences related to a student who is affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or pregnancy-related conditions.
    • Extensions: Instructors are required to create alternative due dates for assignments when a student cannot meet a course deadline due to a medically necessary absence.
    • Alternative Assignments: If a medically necessary absence for a student who is affected by pregnancy, childbirth or pregnancy-related conditions prevents a student from completing an in-class assignment, when possible, instructors are required to create an alternative assignment of equal value for the student to complete.
    • In-Class Setting: A student may request periodic breaks, alternative classroom seating (e.g., near the end of a row or exit), or larger desk space.
    • Non-classroom setting: Some college courses and programs may have out-of-class activities or requirements (e.g., practicums, externships, clinicals, etc.) where modification is necessary. Instructors and program leaders are required to implement reasonable modifications to such requirements or activities and are encouraged to be flexible and creative in their approach.  If students have been out more than 6 months, selective admissions programs may require a skills assessment and retraining on the skills they have already learned.  
    • Lactation: A student will be permitted to take breaks for lactation/milk expression. For in-class lactation breaks, students will be directed to the nearest private lactation space on campus. For programs or activities with off-campus locations, students should be provided with a private lactation space that is not a restroom. Students who require lactation breaks while attending class in a virtual format are permitted to turn their cameras off without penalty.
    • Virtual Learning: Requests for virtual learning will be assessed on a course-by-course basis. In certain circumstances, there may be situations where certain courses are approved for virtual learning rather than all courses during a given semester. 
      • Nursing is obligated to follow the MI State Board of Nursing standards in regards to maximum simulation hours that can be used to substitute certain clinical rotation hours. If the student has already completed the maximum simulation hours, it is recommended that the student take an incomplete in the course and come back to finish the clinical component when able.