With the possibility of war in Iraq growing more imminent, students in the National Guard and Reserves are being called to active military duty.
Thirty-three Ball State students have been called to duty this academic year, 17 during the fall semester and 16 this semester, said David Fried, associate dean of students.
For those called to military duty, the university has a special policy.
If called during the first half of the semester, students will be withdrawn from the university and given a full refund of fees for the entire semester, according to university policy.
Students called after the first half of the semester have two options. They can withdraw and receive a full refund or request incompletes for their classes. If the requests are granted, the classes would be made up upon the soldiers' return to Ball State, according to the policy.
"It's a pretty generous policy," Fried said. "It's probably been a while since they've (the university) had to use it."
The policy was enacted in 1990 in response to the Gulf War.
Reserve and National Guard soldiers can be gone for up to one year, Fried said. Members of ROTC cannot be called to active duty, said a representative from the military science department.
Fried said he believes most students knew that the chances of going to war were very real when they signed up for the National Guard or Reserves.
"That's the chance they take," he said.
Students living in university housing, the policy states, will have their room and board charges prorated to the date their contract would be terminated. This means that students would only be charged for the time they have lived in university housing and refunded for the rest of their money.
Students who receive financial aid will be refunded according to the policies of the agencies that sponsor the financial aid, the policy stated.
Graduate students will be granted an extended time to complete their degree requirements equal to the time they served in duty. This time, however, cannot be longer than four years.
Graduate and doctoral assistants will be given the chance for fee adjustments for their term of employment, the policy said. Terms depend on when the person was employed and whether it was during the first or second half of a semester or a summer term.
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