Military and Alternative Service

When Fisk students must interrupt their studies in order to serve a military obligation (or alternative service as may be provided for under applicable federal law), it is the policy of the University to be as accommodating as sound academic and fiscal practices permit, so that these students may make up work missed and minimize any disruption in their educational plans. When students submit documentation that a military (or alternative service) obligation is the basis on which a withdrawal or absence is requested, the student may opt to receive "I" grades in any courses for which the student may be enrolled even if normal requirements for the "I" grade are not satisfied.

Students receiving "I" grades may then complete their work in the affected courses at any time up until the end of the next semester in which they are regularly enrolled and may seek extensions of this deadline through the Provost, if needed. Or, at their option, students with documentation of a military (or alternative service) call-up, may choose instead to take "WD" (withdrawn) grades in any or all courses, even if the normal deadlines for "WD" grades have already passed at the time of the student's withdrawal.

The University also seeks to be as accommodating as possible in administering the financial accounts of students called for military or alternative service. When the student opts to withdraw from courses in progress in order to respond to a military (or alternative service) call-up, the University's policy whenever possible is to credit the student's account with the full amount of tuition and other fees1 paid in connection with registration for those courses, regardless of the time of the semester in which the call-up occurs. Less generous treatments of student accounts, however, may be necessary in some instances to comply with regulations imposed by commercial lenders, federal and state agencies, or other financial aid sources.