Policies on psychiatric leave were developed on college campuses to deal humanely with students who need to leave campus in order to seek more intensive mental health care. These policies were developed with benevolent intent, but the impact of the policies may be overly restrictive of students' rights to return to campus. In tracing the evolution of a psychiatric leave to return to campus. In tracing the evolution of a psychiatric leave and return policy on a large, state university campus, we see the development of a policy that is respectful of students' civil rights and consistent with our current knowledge about the relationship between academic success and past history of psychiatric care.