Newly Admitted Students

Newly admitted students are not typically eligible for academic leave. Any new student who wishes to withdraw from their first term must typically re-apply to the university.

Note: If this is your first term at CSUCI and you have a documented hardship on why you cannot attend your first term (e.g. military orders, medical, or other circumstance beyond the student's control), you may request for either a first-term academic leave or that your application be rolled over to the next semester.  If you are dropping classes after the start of the term, please request a first-term academic leave with the Registrar's Office.  If you have not yet enrolled, please submit a written request to the Director of Admissions and Recruitment no later than the published deadlines listed at the bottom of this page. You may read the policy on Application Roll-Over.

Please follow up with admissions@csuci.edu directly if you have questions and follow the withdrawal procedures.

Continuing Students

Two Semester Leave of Absence (Informal Leave)

Continuing students, regardless of academic standing, may take a two semester leave of absence from CSUCI and do not need to take any action prior to registration. This is considered informal leave. After three consecutive semesters of non-enrollment (excluding Winter and Summer sessions), a student will no longer be considered a student at CSUCI and will have to go through the Re-entry Process should they wish to return.

Formal Request for Academic Leave (Beyond Two Semesters)

Continuing students, regardless of academic standing, may apply for leave for up to four consecutive semesters. Only Fall and Spring semesters are counted for the purposes of identifying how long a student has been on leave. While a student may apply for multiple leaves, no student will be permitted more than six total semesters of leave from CSUCI (Policy SP18-04).

Please Note: If you do not enroll for the term in which you indicated you would return, you will be discontinued as an active Channel Islands student.

Procedure for Requesting Academic Leave

Complete the Request for Academic Leave form by the published deadline. This form can be found in the Forms Library.

If enrolled in the semester for which you are requesting to begin leave, you must drop all of your courses; otherwise the form will not be processed.

Processing time frame: Typically processed 2 weeks after grades have been posted for the term. You will receive a response to your dolphin e-mail once it has been received and a final e-mail once processed at the end of term.

Deadlines for submission:

Spring 2024: Friday, February 16, 2024

Military Leave Policy 

Short term or long term leave may be something you encounter during your time at CI. 

Federal law requires that campuses establish and maintain a policy to accommodate students called to serve on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. The Military Leave Policy outlines CSU campus responsibilities and student rights established by state and federal law.

CSU campuses shall maintain a policy that ensures that students who are members of the Armed Forces are:

  • accommodated if they are temporarily unavailable to attend classes due to military service, or
  • are promptly readmitted to the institution if they must suspend their enrollment due to military service.

Policy language can be found here: https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/10186624/latest/

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