Student Absence Policy
Approved by the Faculty Senate on February 5, 2013
University sponsored activities, including intercollegiate athletics, may cause a student to need to be excused from a class, lab, or studio obligation. In all such instances, it is the student's responsibility to request permission for the absence (preferably in writing) from the instructor and to discuss how the absence would affect her/his ability to meet the course requirements. A student should do this as soon in the semester as possible. While instructors should seek to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with course requirements, to make reasonable accommodation for a student involved in University sponsored activities, a student should recognize that not every course can accommodate excused absences, and neither absence nor notification of an absence, relieves her/him from meeting the course requirements.
Student Absence Notifications
When a student, family member, or faculty/staff member makes a request for a student’s temporary, short-term, or unknown length of time absence from the University due to emergency or other critical incident, Student Affairs will provide appropriate notification via email. Absences which warrant such responses may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Medical emergencies
- Mental health crises
- Personal crises
The absence notification is intended to provide information to instructors to anticipate the absence and when to expect a student to return. It is not a request or mandate to excuse an absence. This decision belongs to the instructor. The absence notification is a written reminder that students should work directly with their instructors to determine how to complete any missed coursework.
Absence notification requests should NOT be submitted for travel issues, weather-related delays, jobs/internships, court appearances.
When Students Affairs receives a request for an absence notification:
- A Student Affairs staff member will collect specific information, including the anticipated return date.
- An email will be sent to all instructors listed for that student, copying the student on the email.
Student Responsibilities
When requesting assistance with making appropriate absence notifications, please be prepared to provide documentation for the reason of the absence. When possible, instructors should be notified of the absence prior to missing class.
Absences shorter than three days can be addressed directly with the instructor per their established attendance policy. If circumstances arise that make this challenging, contact Student Affairs for assistance. If granted extensions/make-ups/incompletes, it is the responsibility of the student to complete the work in the agreed upon timeframe.
Please note: Absences do not need to be managed by Student Affairs; students can address absences directly to individual instructors per their attendance policy. If you need assistance navigating this process, contact Student Affairs.