Administrators have proposed changes to University policy that would allow students who have taken a medical leave of absence to transfer credits for up to two courses from another institution.Under the current policy, students cannot receive course credit for classes completed at other institutions while on medical-related leave.

The proposed changes, which received preliminary approval by a single vote at a faculty meeting on April 6, permit students to take one course per semester for a maximum of two courses. The students' transcripts will not contain any notation referring to their medical leave status.

The faculty must give final approval to the proposal at its next meeting May 18.

"This is really intended to support students in a very positive way when they are going through very hard circumstances," said Michele Rosenthal, associate dean of undergraduate academic affairs.

Rosenthal said work on the revisions began about a year ago with Acting Associate Dean of Student Enrichment Services Kim Godsoe and University Registrar Mark Hewitt.

Godsoe said the current leave-of-absence policy makes some students feel as if they had to choose between working on their degree and attending to an ill family member.

"What we were trying to do is determine a way that students wouldn't have to be facing those kinds of choices," she said.

Godsoe said one of the University's concerns was how it could maintain the overall academic quality of a Brandeis education. She said the changes do this by making only a limited number of classes available for transfer.

The proposal also recommends the courses taken at other institutions will not count toward the University's residency requirement, which stipulates that, with exceptions for those participating in midyear or study abroad programs, students must complete at least seven semesters at Brandeis. The new policy would not allow students who have already taken medical leave to transfer credits retroactively.

The recommendations were based on the findings of a study administrators conducted last summer surveying six peer institutions, including Tufts, Wellesley and Brown. The results, outlined in the proposal, show the University's policy of barring credit transfers was "notably different" from that at the other schools.

The study shows all six schools require students on medical leave to take courses approved by administrators.

Since the spring 2005 semester, 17 students have requested a medical leave of absence, Hewitt said.

Although several have asked to transfer credit from other institutions over the years, Godsoe said the University does not have an exact number of those requests.