In a pitch to the University’s Board of Regents on Thursday afternoon, Rackham Dean Janet Weiss gave an overview of ongoing efforts to institute a highly contentious continuous enrollment policy for the University’s Ph.D. students.

The proposed continuous enrollment policy — initially rolled out through preliminary discussions nearly two years ago — would require all Ph.D. students to enroll and pay tuition each semester from matriculation to graduation, unless on an approved leave of absence. The policy is expected to take effect next fall for all Ph.D. students, pending approval of a tuition reduction by the Board of Regents, which would be part of a revamped tuition pay structure for Ph.D. students.

One concern with the proposal expressed previously by students, faculty and individual regents is that the policy would limit the time graduate students could spend on personal leaves of absence to one semester. In an interview Thursday morning, Weiss told the Daily of revised plans to more broadly approve leaves of absence in more situations than originally proposed, though some reasons would continue to not be approved.

The changes quelled concerns previously brought forth by some regents. Regent Julia Darlow (D–Ann Arbor) questioned the policy when it was presented to the regents at their April meeting. At the time, Darlow voiced concerns about whether a student could take multiple maternity leaves before completing their degree.

At the April meeting, Regent Larry Deitch (D–Bingham Farms) told Weiss and Provost Teresa Sullivan he thought the proposal may be unfair and would not affect all students proportionately.

“I remain concerned about those graduate students who have to go off campus to further their research because of the nature of their work,” Deitch said in April.

Deitch also said, “This may be particularly disadvantageous to women.”

However, after Weiss’s presentation to the regents on Thursday, Darlow said she no longer carried the same concerns she expressed in April because she felt appropriate accommodations had been made.

Deitch could not be reached for comment after leaving shortly after Thursday’s meeting ended.

Though Darlow was reassured by Weiss’s presentation, Prof. Gina Poe said she still has some concerns with regards to the leave of absence policy, even with the updates.

Poe, who serves on the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, vocalized concerns when Weiss spoke to SACUA last winter and reiterated many of her concerns in an interview on Thursday afternoon.

Poe said she fears that giving a central administrative board the authority to determine when a student can take a leave of absence could result in decisions that are not in the best interest of the student.

“The problem is that these boards don’t know the students and their life situations and the reasons why the students might feel like this is the best decision for them and their community,” Poe said. “It puts them in an ivory tower in these very personal, very difficult and sometimes complicated decisions of whether someone should take leave from their studies.”

At Thursday's regents meeting, Weiss outlined efforts underway to create a dispute resolution to handle situations in which students aren’t satisfied with a decision made by Rackham officials — including decisions whether to grant a leave of absence. Weiss said the appeals process would include a board composed of equal numbers of Ph.D. students and Rackham officials who would hear disputes and make a final ruling.

Poe added that despite the revision in the leave of absence policy, it still doesn’t provide for all students’ needs like if a student wanted to take a leave of absence to care for a dying friend.