Leave of Absence Semester
Students have the option to take a leave of absence for child-rearing purposes—similar to parental leave—for a maximum of three years. A leave of absence allows you to pause your studies while remaining enrolled. Compared to disenrollment, the advantages include retaining your study place, continuing under the examination regulations with which you started, and maintaining your student status.
The academic advising officeis happy to assist you with planning your leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence directly through the portal until the beginning of the lecture period for the respective semester. Leave is granted for one semester at a time and must be reapplied for each semester.
Further information on leave of absence
Important Notes for International Students with a Residence Permit for Study Purposes:
Before applying for a leave of absence, please contact the immigration office, as taking a leave of absence may result in the loss of your residence permit and, consequently, lead to disenrollment.
Parental Leave During Studies
You have the option to apply for parental leave at Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, allowing you to study more individually and flexibly during this time.
Taking parental leave means you can continue your studies, but the calculation of deadlines for completing coursework and examinations is suspended during this period.
Requirements:
The suspension of deadlines requires that the parental leave (including the maternity protection period, if applicable) lasts at least 4 months.
Entitlement:
- Each parent is entitled to 3 years of parental leave, equivalent to 6 semesters.
- Single parents can claim double the parental leave, up to 6 years (12 semesters).
Key Considerations:
- Part of the parental leave must be taken before the child’s 3rd birthday.
- Unused parental leave can be taken for up to 24 months between the child’s 3rd and 8th birthdays.
Students with children over three years old who have not yet applied for parental leave may still submit an application. These cases will be reviewed individually.
Please submit your parental leave application to the Diversity Management Office via email at familienservice(at)hs-kl(dot)de. You can download the application form from the blue-highlighted field on the right. The application must be submitted at least four weeks before the start of the parental leave.
The following documents must be attached to the application:
- Maternity record (Mutterpass) or the child’s birth certificate.
- If applying with the maternity record, the birth certificate must be submitted later.
Once the application is approved, it will be forwarded to the examination office responsible for you to ensure that examination-related rights during parental leave are implemented.
During parental leave, you can continue your studies and register or deregister for exams as usual. However, there is no obligation to participate in exams during parental leave. This applies to upcoming resits as well as to exams with registration deadlines set by the examination regulations for the first attempt.
To suspend the obligation to resit or adhere to registration deadlines, the parental leave (including the maternity protection period, if applicable) must last at least 4 months.
Please note that due to the portal's organizational structure, service registrations will still be processed, but you are not required to take part in exams during parental leave.
If you do not wish or are unable to participate in exams (service registration or voluntary registration), you can deregister without providing reasons up to one day before the exam by submitting a written request to the responsible examination office. After this deadline, withdrawal from an exam is only possible with a medical certificate submitted within three working days after the exam or by providing valid reasons to the examination office.
Please be aware that your academic semesters will continue to be counted during parental leave.
Parental leave does not affect the deadlines for term papers, final theses, or similar types of assessments. Extensions can only be granted by the respective examination committee with a valid justification or appropriate documentation.
If you are employed and have taken parental leave from your job, you can study, attend training or further education, or pursue an unpaid qualification during your parental leave. This is possible even if these activities exceed 32 hours per week.