Still, Lake cautioned that it can often be a mistake to send home mentally ill students, even dangerous ones, to avoid liability.

“A very, very small number of people who exhibit mental health issues represent danger to themselves or others,” Lake said. “A lot of people who are potentially dangerous are actually better off with [the University] than off at home.”

CHOOSING THEIR OWN FATE?

Administrators often draw a clear line between voluntary and involuntary leaves of absence. But in fact, some students say that some voluntary leaves of absence are less voluntary than they seem.

Ellison acknowledged that there are times when students feel that circumstances have snowballed to a point at which they have “very little choice” but to go on voluntary leave. Ellison said that oftentimes students feel that taking a voluntary leave of absence is a better way to go.

“Even though they look the same [on a student’s record], students do feel like a voluntary [leave of absence] is the better choice,” Ellison said.

Emily decided to take leave from school in part because she was concerned that she would eventually be required to leave by the administration.

“I wanted to [take time off] on my own terms,” she said.

The school and mental health professionals can also encourage students to take time off, legal experts confirmed.

Even though she was not forced to leave the school, Emily said that doctors in UHS strongly recommended that she withdraw, significantly influencing her decision.

In addition, a loophole in the Student Handbook raises questions about involuntary leaves at Harvard. An obscure exam policy shows that Ellison’s claim that Harvard has only forcibly sent one person home for mental health reasons between at least 2002–2013 underreports the number of students whose mental health status has contributed to a mandated leave of absence.

In fact, Ellison acknowledges, a student’s mental health situation plays a significant role in the Ad Board’s evaluation of whether to forcibly send a student home for academic reasons.

According to the Student Handbook, the Dean of the College may place a student on involuntary leave if he or she “has been granted make-up examinations, or extensions of time beyond the end of the term, in two or more courses.” According to Ellison, students in this situation face an Ad Board vote on whether or not they should be allowed to continue.

In cases in which these students are struggling because of their mental or physical health, the Ad Board, with consultation from UHS, will determine whether they think students can sufficiently take make-up examinations while also taking a full-course load the next semester. If the Ad Board decides that a student cannot manage this, the Board may say that the student should not be allowed to continue, though Ellison noted that this decision is “not a punishment.”

Typically, most students who miss two or more exams are permitted to return, including 26 of the 28 cases in the 2012–2013 academic year. But Kate, a College freshman who requested anonymity, had a different experience.