Dartmouth Updates Time-Away Policy

Earlier this term, in a message to the Dartmouth community, Provost David Kotz announced significant updates to Dartmouth’s leave of absence policies. The new framework, referred to as “Time Away for Medical Reasons,” aims to protect “the rights of all students … to take time away from their studies because of their health, including mental health.” The updated policies will be effectively identical for students at all levels, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students, and will apply whether a student is taking time off for physical or mental health reasons. According to the message, the impetus for the policy change was a recognition by the Administration that “physical, mental, and emotional health are precursors to [a student’s] ability to thrive].”

In general, the updated regulations aim to ensure a continuity of experience for students who take multiple terms away from campus. Students who receive need-based financial aid for their health insurance, which is administered by the College and Gallagher Student Health under the banner of the Dartmouth Student Health Group Plan, will continue to receive that aid for up to a year after their current policy lapses. Additionally, students taking time off will retain access to Dartmouth facilities like Baker-Berry Library, Alumni Gym, the dining facilities, and Collis. They will also continue to be able to access their Dartmouth email address, along with any subscriptions or services associated with their emails. Kotz specifically mentioned that students taking time off will continue to be provided with free teletherapy and mental health resources through Uwill for up to two years of leave. Finally, Kotz announced that the College has begun the search for a new “time away director,” who will serve as the single point of contact for students who are requesting time off, or who are preparing to return to College after an extended absence.

Kotz’s message stated that the updated policy was “one of many steps Dartmouth is taking to improve student health and well-being” in response to a multi-year review of the College’s mental health and well-being resources. The review, which included an external assessment by the JED Foundation, began two years ago, partly in response to a number of student suicides during the 2020 and 2021 academic years. The message on time away policy stated that Dartmouth will be announcing a strategic plan to improve student mental health some time in October, and that several elements of the plan, including the time away policy, the elimination of fees related to Good Samaritan calls, and a doubling of counseling staff over the past three years, have already been implemented. In addition to the time away director, the College remains in the process of hiring a Chief Health and Wellness Officer, who will report to the President and act as a key advisor on all matters related to student well-being.

Though most of Kotz’s message to the community focused on students who request to take time away themselves, a closer look at the College’s new time away policy, which has been published online in advance of its January 2024 implementation, reveals that the College retains the right to require students to take time away. The required time away policy can be exercised by the Administration, if a student has refused a voluntary offer to take time away, when both the relevant Dean and a medical assessor determine that “a level of care that exceeds what Dartmouth can appropriately provide” is needed. While the policy itself states that “requiring a student to take time away from Dartmouth for medical reasons is rare,” the College has in fact utilized this policy to require suicidal students to leave campus as recently as the spring of 2021. In the incident in question, the College imposed required time off on a student despite her insistence that a turbulent home life heavily contributed to her mental health struggles. The student later committed suicide at home. While this term’s announced reforms are meaningful, they do not constitute a complete replacement of prior policy.