Taking a leave of absence from NSU nursing

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Nova Preceptor placement team

NSU grants a leave of absence (LOA) of up to 180 days in any 12-month period, requested at least 14 days before the term starts, and only after you have finished one full semester. Lockstep nursing programs also use an administrative break in enrollment, during which financial aid stops. Either way the clock keeps running toward your time limit, and your clinical plan has to be rebuilt around the term you return.

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180 daysthe most LOA time NSU approves within a 12-month period

14 daysbefore the semester or term begins: the latest point to submit an LOA request

The leave of absence rules

NSU's LOA comes with four conditions, drawn from the Nursing Student Handbook and the registrar's leave policy:

Timing. “An LOA request must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the beginning of the semester/term for the leave.”
Length. “An approved LOA may be granted for up to 180 days within a 12-month period.”
Eligibility. “A student is not eligible to take an LOA if the student has not completed at least one full semester at NSU.”
Reasons. The registrar's policy, effective May 1, 2022, rules some reasons out: a request “due to poor academic performance, financial issues, or to delay the return of unearned Title IV funds is not considered an extenuating circumstance.”

NSU's public pages do not name the request form itself. Ask your program director how to submit, and do it by SharkMail so the date is on record. The 14-day line is easy to miss when a semester opens in early January or mid-August, so count back from the first day of the term, not the first day of your clinical.

The administrative break in enrollment

Lockstep, cohort-based programs have a second route. NSU calls it an administrative break in enrollment, and the college issued a policy change on it on December 19, 2024. A break can be the student's choice or imposed by the dean, and it has a financial edge: “A student will not be able to obtain financial aid during an administrative break in enrollment.”

The break also settles what happens to a course you are in when it begins. The dividing line is the halfway mark:

Courses in progress when an administrative break begins (Nursing Student Handbook 2025-2026)
Where you are in the course	What NSU records	What it means
Missed 50 percent or more, while passing	W (withdrawal)	The course is repeated in full when you return
Missed less than 50 percent	Incomplete contract	You finish the remaining work under the contract

Two questions are worth asking before you choose a break: whether that W counts toward the two withdrawals the program allows, and which semester and plan you will re-enter. The withdrawals and incompletes page explains the limit and the incomplete rules.

Check-ins while you are away

A leave is not a silent period. Students on leave “must communicate every two months with the program director,” and the handbook warns that “failure to report may result in the student being referred to the CSP for disciplinary action.” Set a recurring reminder and send each update from SharkMail, which NSU requires for university business. The CSP and appeals page explains what a referral involves.

Two university-wide rules sit behind a long absence. NSU treats a student who does not complete a course and earn credit for three consecutive semesters, or four terms, as inactive and withdraws them from the university. ACON adds that a student who has not registered for coursework for more than one year must reapply for admission. A leave that runs past its approved length can collide with both.

Leave time still counts toward your time limit

The handbook is explicit: “All leave time is counted toward the graduation requirement of completing the program within 150 percent of the time for the program's curriculum.” The clock keeps running while you are away, so check your limit before you apply.

Time-to-completion limits published by NSU
Program	Limit	Note
BSN, entered fall 2023 or later	150 percent of program length or eight semesters	11 semesters for earlier entrants
MSN APRN	150 percent of program length or 11 semesters	The 2025-26 catalog words it as 3.66 years or 11 semesters
Postgraduate APRN certificate	Two years or six semesters	2026-27 graduate catalog
BSN to DNP	5.66 years or 17 semesters	2026-27 graduate catalog
DNP, post-master's	Five years, or 2.66 years or 8 semesters	The 2026-27 catalog states both; confirm which applies

A six-month leave in a six-semester full-time MSN plan uses much of the margin the 150 percent rule leaves, and a later repeat or withdrawal draws on the same margin. Ask your program director to set your revised plan against the limit before the leave begins.

Coming back: re-entry and your preceptors

Returning to a lockstep program means joining the sequence at a set point, often alongside a different cohort. Ask your program director, in writing and as soon as the leave is approved, which semester you will return in and which courses it holds.

Then work out the clinical side. Each NSU clinical course carries its own notice point, two semesters ahead, for students who bring their own preceptor and site, and a new return date slides every one of them. A preceptor who agreed to supervise you in the term you are now missing may not be available in the new one, so contact them early and give them the new dates. If your return term includes a clinical course less than two semesters away, speak to your clinical coordinator immediately; the two-semester deadline page shows how the notice date is worked out.

Finally, compliance. A yearly TB screen or flu vaccination can run out during a leave, and a site that finds a requirement unmet before the first day cancels the placement. Bring your record current before the return term; the CastleBranch page lists what it tracks.

A preceptor ready for the term you return

A leave is the right decision for many students, and it should not cost you the clinical placement you worked for. NSU students choose our placement desk to rebuild the preceptor plan around the new return date. We confirm or replace your preceptor for the new term, find one near home in the setting each course needs, and put together the preceptor's license and practice-site information for the coordinator's review, timed to the two-semester notice. Approval stays with your NSU coordinator, and the packet we prepare leaves them nothing to chase.

Send us three things through the request form: the term you expect to return, the clinical course numbers ahead of you, and your home ZIP code. We map each clinical's notice point against the new timeline and start on the earliest one first.

Questions NSU students ask

Can I take a leave of absence in my first semester at NSU?

Not an LOA. The handbook says a student is not eligible until at least one full semester at NSU is complete. Students in lockstep, cohort-based programs can ask their program director whether an administrative break in enrollment fits their situation instead, keeping in mind that no financial aid can be obtained during a break.

Does a leave of absence affect my financial aid?

An administrative break does: the handbook says you cannot obtain financial aid during one. For an LOA, the registrar's policy says a request made to delay the return of unearned Title IV funds is not an extenuating circumstance. Ask NSU's Office of Student Financial Assistance how your leave affects your aid before you submit anything.

What if I need more than 180 days away from NSU?

The handbook caps an approved LOA at 180 days within 12 months and does not describe an extension. Past that point, NSU's inactivity rule (no course completed for three consecutive semesters or four terms) and ACON's rule that students unregistered for over a year must reapply come into play. Raise it with your program director early.

Will my preceptor still be available after my leave?

That depends on the preceptor, not on NSU. Because NSU approves a preceptor and site one clinical course at a time, the return term is a fresh start: ask your preceptor about the new dates and notify your coordinator two semesters before the course where you can. Our placement desk can line up a replacement if needed.

Who do I check in with while I am on leave?

Your program director, every two months. The handbook warns that missing these reports can bring a CSP referral for disciplinary action. Keep each update short, state your expected return term, and send it from SharkMail so you have a record of every contact.

ProgressionWithdrawals and incompletesDropping, withdrawing and incompletes in NSU nursing: program director approval, the two-withdrawal limit, clinical withdrawals, refunds and the 50% rule.AppealsCSP hearings and CWAC appealsHow NSU nursing's Committee on Student Progress hearings and College-Wide Appeals Committee appeals work: triggers, who decides, the five-day window, grades.DeadlineThe two-semester preceptor deadlineHow to work out NSU's "two semesters prior" preceptor notice from the term your clinical starts: a term-by-term table, full-time vs flex, and what to send.ComplianceDISA CastleBranchHow NSU nursing students use DISA CastleBranch: immunization and physical exam records, the background check, weekly reminders and what a missing item costs.PlansFull-time vs flex plansNSU's MSN APRN runs 6 semesters full-time or 8 to 9 on flex. Where each plan's first clinical falls, and when each preceptor has to be named with NSU.CalendarSemesters and start termsNSU's fall, winter and summer semesters, the 8-week terms, 2026-27 dates, nursing start terms and deadlines, and how the calendar sets your preceptor notice.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.

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