(1) A student at a public university listed in ORS § 352.002 who is a member of the military, a member of the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or a member of the Public Health Service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services detailed by proper authority for duty with the Army or Navy of the United States and who is ordered to federal or state active duty for more than 30 consecutive days has the following rights:

(a) With regard to a course in which the student is enrolled and for which the student has paid tuition and fees, the right to:

(A) Withdraw from the course, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section;

(B) Receive a grade of incomplete and, upon release from active duty, complete the course in accordance with the practice of the public university for completion of incomplete courses; or

(C) Continue and complete the course for full credit, subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section;

(b) The right to a credit described in ORS § 352.296 for all amounts paid for room, board, tuition and fees;

(c) If the student elects to withdraw from the public university, the right to be readmitted and reenrolled at the public university within one year after release from active duty without a requirement of redetermination of admission eligibility; and

(d) The right to continuation of scholarships and grants awarded to the student that were funded by the public university or the Higher Education Coordinating Commission before the student was ordered to active duty. The commission may adopt rules for the administration of scholarships and grants described in this paragraph that are funded by the commission.

(2) If the student elects to withdraw from a course under subsection (1)(a)(A) of this section, the public university may not:

(a) Give the student academic credit for the course from which the student withdraws;

(b) Give the student a failing grade or a grade of incomplete or make any other negative annotation on the student’s record; or

(c) Alter the student’s grade point average due to the student’s withdrawal from the course.

(3) A student who elects to continue and complete a course for full credit under subsection (1)(a)(C) of this section is subject to the following conditions:

(a) Course sessions the student misses due to active duty shall be counted as excused absences and may not adversely impact the student’s grade for the course or rank in the student’s class.

(b) The student may not be automatically excused from completing course assignments due during the period the student serves on active duty.

(c) A letter grade or a grade of pass may be awarded only if, in the opinion of the teacher of the course, the student completes sufficient work and demonstrates sufficient progress toward meeting course requirements to justify the grade.

(4) If a student at a public university listed in ORS § 352.002 who is a member of the military, a member of the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or a member of the Public Health Service of the United States Department of Health and Human Services detailed by proper authority for duty with the Army or Navy of the United States is ordered to federal or state active duty for 30 or fewer consecutive days and misses a course session, assignment, examination or other course work due to serving on active duty or receiving medical treatment for an injury sustained on active duty:

(a)(A) In accordance with a policy or practice of the public university for excused absences, the student may complete any missed course assignment, examination or other course work after the student has returned from active duty or medical treatment and has been provided a reasonable amount of time to complete the assignment or other course work or prepare for and take the examination; or

(B) The teacher may award a letter grade or grade of pass without requiring the student to complete the missed assignment, examination or other course work if the teacher determines that the student has completed sufficient work and demonstrated sufficient progress toward meeting course requirements to justify the student’s grade without completion of the missed assignment, examination or other course work;

(b) The student’s grade may not be adversely impacted solely due to the late completion of an assignment, examination or other course work if the assignment, examination or other course work is timely completed under the provisions of paragraph (a)(A) of this subsection; and

(c) Course sessions the student misses due to active duty or medical treatment shall be counted as excused absences and may not adversely impact the student’s grade for the course or rank in the student’s class.

(5) The Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the governing board of a public university listed in ORS § 352.002 shall adopt standards for the administration of this section.

(6) Nothing in this section prevents a public university from providing rights in addition to those provided in this section to students who are ordered to federal or state active duty.

(7) As used in this section, ‘member of the military’ means a person who is a member of:

(a) The Oregon National Guard or the National Guard of any other state or territory; or

(b) The reserves of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard of the United States. [Formerly 351.643; 2018 c.82 § 2]