During an academic year, which includes the summer, enrolled graduate students may be absent from normal student assistantship responsibilities for reasons of illness or illness-related care for an annual total allowance of 10 working days (i.e., 40 hours for a 0.5 full-time equivalent position), whether taken consecutively or intermittently. Graduate students should inform their relevant faculty mentors who supervise their – research, professional, and/or teaching obligations regarding any such absence as soon as possible. Graduate students receiving University of Missouri financial support for assistantships and/or fellowships will continue to receive support during that period. Students who must be absent due to illness or illness-related care for more than ten workdays in succession can request a leave of absence from their department/program and the Graduate School (approval is only required from the Graduate School for doctoral candidates) or apply for an extension of Sick Leave from the Dean of the Graduate School. If a graduate student is funded by an external fellowship or grant (e.g., NIH, NSF), the funding agencies policies for sick leave must be followed instead. This policy does not supersede others related to the student’s course attendance or academic progress.