The Louisiana Board of Regents has a policy in place to ensure that students who take part in active military duty will be able to continue their studies with as little interruption as possible.
“It provides a procedure, in many different areas, that they can follow to make sure they can pick up where they left off,” said Regents Communications Director Kevin Hardy.
The policy states procedures for students to receive grades based on when military activation occurs.
If mobilization or activation occurs between the 15th class day and the last day to withdraw from classes with a grade of “W,” students would receive a grade of “W” in all classes in which they are officially enrolled.
According to the policy, students have more options if activation occurs later in the semester. Students can choose to take a “W” in all courses they are enrolled in, request to take an incomplete grade in some or all of their courses, receive a final grade based on work completed or request to take an early final exam to determine their final course grade.
The policy also pertains to any scholarships a student may be receiving while enrolled in school. If a student is mobilized or activated while holding a scholarship, they will receive the same or an equivalent scholarship when they return from duty.
Hardy said the policy was initially drafted in response to the number of students called for duty during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. Students are being reminded of the policy as the United States faces possible war with Iraq.
Hardy said students who may need to follow the procedure to leave school would do so in the same way they would normally withdraw from college.
Students said being reminded of such a policy did not change their feelings about the possibility of war.
Kelly St. Germain, a psychology senior, said she was already aware of the possibility of war because she knows people who have been sent overseas.
“It’s already close to home,” said Jeremy Boykins, a graphic design sophomore. “It’s a pretty bad situation already.”