Effective as of February 1, 2024.
Students who are eligible for, but do not wish to take a Leave of Absence under Section 1.4(B) of the Leave of Absence Policy may seek accommodation under the Childbirth and New Parents Accommodation Policy. This Accommodation Policy acknowledges the demands upon students delivering a child and new parents. Students in these situations are encouraged to work closely with their academic advisors. With enough advance notice, the Wharton MBA program’s flexible curriculum allows these students to draft a reasonable plan that addresses their specific needs while completing their degree without delaying their graduation timeline in most cases.
1. Students Delivering a Child
A. Students delivering a child can request up to two weeks of excused absences. This policy applies to expecting mothers, surrogates or gestational carriers, and to one parent of a newly adopted child or child conceived with the help of a surrogate or gestational carrier. These two weeks of excused absences must be requested around the time of the birth.
B. While absences are excused and academic deadlines are postponed for up to two weeks, students are responsible for meeting their academic obligations. Students should take a leave of absence if they need to be discharged from their academic obligations.
C. Students cannot accumulate more than two weeks of excused absences within one quarter without being expected to withdraw from their courses. As such, students who need more than two weeks to recover or need to take additional unrelated excused absences in the same quarter can take a quarter off (see Section 3, below) or request a Medical or Family Leave of Absence under Section 1.4(A) or (B) of the Leave of Absence policy, as appropriate.
2. New Parents
Parents of a newborn can request up to one week of excused absences during the semester the child was born or adopted. This accommodation applies to new parents not covered under the “Students Delivering a Child” accommodation, i.e., Section 1(A) above. Beyond the one week of excused absences, new parents wishing more time to care for their family can take a quarter off or request a Family Leave of Absence.
3. Taking a Quarter Off and Family Leave of Absence
The Wharton MBA program’s flexible curriculum allows new parents to take a quarter off while maintaining their full-time status by completing a minimum of three CUs over the semester. To do so takes careful planning and early engagement with the student’s academic advisor. Thus, students wishing to take advantage of this option are encouraged to engage with their academic advisor as soon as reasonably possible. New parents wishing for more than a quarter of leave should take a Family Leave of Absence (see Leave of Absence Policy, Section 1.4(B)).
Please contact your academic advisor or the MBA Program Office if you need to explore any of these new policy options.