This is the standard Rider that they have for ALL medical leaves. There is no more to the story that I have posted. This is a big point of contention right now on the parents page because so many kids had to take leave mid semester last term because of either Covid or mono
The Harvard University Health Services “HUHS” Rider. My son finished his freshman year with a 3.97 and right as he got home had acute mono set in. He has not missed any school or had any issues. Add the mono fatigue to the lingering Covid symptoms and it was a very rough summer for him:
One aspect of the mission of Harvard College is to help students grow through difficult circumstances and ultimately earn their degrees. At times, medical circumstances arise that affect a student’s ability to participate in coursework and residential life, and when these become significant enough to lead to a student taking time away, the College believes it is important to ensure that these circumstances are addressed and ameliorated before the student returns. Given that each student is only allotted eight total terms at Harvard, the College feels it is important that the time spent on campus be as full, balanced, and productive as possible.
Because the College partners with students in ensuring that medical and personal circumstances are ameliorated during their time away, the College expects that when students who have left under significant medical and/or personal challenges request to return to the College, they will participate in certain conversations with Harvard University Health Services (HUHS). Subsequently the College (at a meeting of the Administrative Board) will evaluate whether the student has made sufficient and sustained progress and is ready to return. Formally, this is known as a “Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) rider,” and is a supplementary condition of an Administrative Board vote that is added to a student’s leave of absence or requirement to withdraw.
In order to ensure that a student is ready to return, the HUHS rider sets out specific expectations for students to meet before they may submit a petition to be considered for return to the College. For significant medical and personal challenges, one of the most important indicators of readiness to return to the demands of college life is a substantial period of stability and engagement in productive activity. Ultimately, these are the main factors that suggest to the Administrative Board that a student is ready to return, and it is important to attend to these early during time away from Harvard. It is often useful for students to have a conversation with their Resident Dean and/or HUHS about how to approach these expectations.
The means by which the College assesses sustained stability is documentation of participation and progress with appropriate health care providers for a period of ordinarily not less than six consecutive months (or more if recommended by those providers). It is the experience of the College that students who have demonstrated stability for this length of time with a health care professional have the best likelihood of a successful return to their studies and can make the most of their time at Harvard College.
In addition to engagement in treatment, successful and productive activity that requires maintenance of a full-time schedule while working with people (other than family members or clinicians), also for a period of ordinarily not less than six consecutive months, usually provides the best evidence for a readiness to return. Most often, students meet this expectation by obtaining a non-academic job in a non-family situation or, potentially, two part-time jobs or volunteer work, held simultaneously. (Please note that students who have been required to withdraw from the College have a more specific work requirement.) The College recognizes that there are legitimate circumstances in which comparable activities also may be able to provide HUHS with the information it needs to evaluate stability and readiness to return.
Checklist for Students Petitioning to Return to the College under a HUHS Rider
Once you and your clinicians have decided that you may be ready to return to the College, you will engage in conversations with the College and HUHS about your readiness to return. This process is outlined below, and involves a statement from you, documentation from health care providers regarding treatment and sustained stability, and documentation of productivity (most normally a significant period of paid or volunteer work, except in cases of a requirement to withdraw which has a more specific work requirement). Once you have completed an HUHS consultation and HUHS has reviewed all clinical documentation, HUHS provides a synopsis of your care and progress to the Administrative Board, and the Board considers that synopsis along with your statement and documentation of productivity and makes a decision about your readiness to return. In many cases, students who leave the College engage in a productive period of treatment and engagement while away and return with renewed energy and focus. In some cases, a petition is not approved given that the Board feels that further treatment and/or time away is necessary to address the challenges experienced by the student. The most common reasons for a decision to not allow a student to return to the College are: (1) there is insufficient evidence of a significant period of stability from a medical perspective, and/or (2) the student did not successfully engage in a sufficient period of productivity in a job or similar activity. Although it is sometimes difficult for a student to understand an Administrative Board decision that does not permit returning for a given term, these decisions in fact are meant to ensure that a returning student is in a strong position to take advantage of all the resources of Harvard College.
☐ Step One: INITIATING RETURN. To initiate a petition to return to the College, contact both your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students and HUHS to inform them that you would like to petition the Administrative Board to return to the College. The contact with HUHS must take place by calling Internal Medicine 617-496-5804. These contacts should be initiated no later than:
May 1 for fall semester return November 1 for spring semester return April 1 for Summer School enrollment
Once in contact with the appropriate HUHS department, you should schedule your readmission consultation appointment with HUHS so that it takes place during the appropriate time windows:
late June through early August for fall semester return November through December for spring semester return late April through May for Summer School enrollment
Please note: Students who initiate petitions or schedule readmission consultations after these dates will likely not have their petitions heard in time for the Board to consider their enrollment, and in such circumstances they will need to postpone their petition to a subsequent term.
This readmission consultation is expected to be an in-person conversation at HUHS. There are sometimes extenuating circumstances in which HUHS will consider doing a phone consultation
with you. If you believe there are financial or geographic barriers to arranging an in-person consultation, those must be discussed with HUHS well in advance of your scheduled appointment, and both HUHS and your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students must agree on the format of your readmission consultation.
☐ Step Two: PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION FOR IN-PERSON HUHS CONVERSATION. It is very important that you submit all necessary documentation to HUHS at least one week in advance of your scheduled readmission consultation. Please be aware that if HUHS does not receive all of the necessary documents by the deadline, your readmission consultation will likely be rescheduled to a later date. You should allow your clinicians and work/activity supervisor(s) ample time to prepare and submit their letters. We will expect you to submit:
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A PERSONAL STATEMENT, which should address the circumstances leading to your leave, your progress, and why you believe you are ready to return.
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A LETTER FROM YOUR SUPERVISOR(S) AT YOUR PLACE(S) OF EMPLOYMENT OR VOLUNTEER WORK attesting to your performance, timeliness and effectiveness in carrying out your job responsibilities and in interacting with your supervisors and co-workers. This should include official letterhead and contact information for the writer of the letter.
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THE NAMES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ON YOUR TREATMENT TEAM, ALONG WITH ANY AUTHORIZATIONS OR RELEASES that those providers may require to permit them to speak with the evaluating clinician at HUHS and to provide to HUHS any relevant medical records.
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A DETAILED LETTER FROM YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER(S) that includes information about your: (1) initial presentation; (2) current treatment, including current symptoms and/or status; (3) medication regimen; and (4) compliance with treatment. The letter should also evaluate your readiness to return as a full-time student at the College, and should include any recommendations for supports you may need upon such return.
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“AUTHORIZATIONS FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION” from HUHS that allow HUHS to communicate about you with: (1) your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students and the Administrative Board (this communication will be limited to your readiness to return, your compliance with treatment, and any appropriate conditions and recommendations for supports on your return); (2) any supervisors/employers (this communication will be limited to your job performance, including timeliness and effectiveness in carrying out job responsibilities and in interacting with superiors and co-workers); and (3) any treating clinicians (such as mental health clinicians and/or primary care physicians), and any other counselors or advisors. Forms are located at the following link:
https://huhs.harvard.edu/med-recs-immunizations/health-information-services- medical-records
These materials may be faxed to Dr. Stelios Maheras at 617-496-0530.
Materials can also be mailed to: Stelios Maheras, MD
Readmission Consultation
Harvard University Health Services 75 Mt. Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
☐ Step Three: PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION TO YOUR ALLSTON BURR RESIDENT DEAN/RESIDENT DEAN OF FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS. Before your readmission consultation at HUHS, the following materials should be sent to your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students (separately from those you sent to HUHS):
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Your finalized PERSONAL STATEMENT
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LETTER(S) FROM YOUR SUPERVISOR(S)
After your readmission consultation, HUHS will communicate in writing with your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students and ultimately with the Administrative Board to provide an assessment of your engagement and progress in treatment during your time away and whether or not you may be ready to resume your studies at Harvard. Please be aware that the Administrative Board will not receive any of the medical records that were provided by you or about you to HUHS.
The HUHS assessment will document your compliance with treatment recommendations, progress to date, and assessment of your readiness to return as a full-time student. It may also contain recommendations for continued care (which could be at HUHS or in the local community). In the case that ongoing care is recommended, the College may expect continued care as a condition of your readmission and ask you to sign a care contract around this expectation.
Once your petition has been considered by the Administrative Board, your Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students will communicate the outcome to you.
Please be aware that students who do not fully complete the three steps above ordinarily will not have their petition brought to the Administrative Board. In such circumstances, these students will need to postpone their request to return until a subsequent term.
☐ Step Four: ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION OFFICE. If you anticipate the need for academic or other accommodations on a temporary or long-term basis, please contact the
College’s Accessible Education Office (AEO) as far in advance as possible before you expect to return to Harvard. The Office can be contacted by telephone at 617-496-8707 (fax: 617-496- 1098; tty: 617-496-3720) or by e-mail at aeo@fas.harvard.edu. Additional information about AEO, the resources that it offers to eligible students, and guidelines for clinical documentation may be found at http://aeo.fas.harvard.edu.