Attendance
Regular class attendance is expected by the University. The following regulations are in effect.
- A student is responsible for class attendance, although each instructor should establish his/her policy and inform the class.
- A student absent from class for five (5) consecutive days or less should, upon return, explain the absence to the instructor.
- A student absent from class for more than five (5) days, who has not been seen as a patient in the University Health Service for the evaluation of the illness, should submit verification of the absence from his/her physician to the Office of Student Affairs. Notification of a student's absence will be relayed to the appropriate professor only if a physician's verification is submitted at the time of the request for notification.
- Students are expected to notify instructors in advance for absences related to official University trips, conferences, intercollegiate athletic events, musical performances, and other events.
- The setting and enforcing of an attendance policy for a class is the prerogative of the instructor. Decisions as to whether to excuse an absence and whether and how to allow missed work to be made up solely at the discretion of the instructor, who makes those decisions based on considerations specific to the class in question. The policy that follows is a set of recommendations that may be used by instructors to make these and related decisions if they wish.
- Due to the fact that the university recognizes that educational experiences extend beyond the classroom and campus, faculty are encouraged to be flexible with students who are acting as official representatives of the university, or participating in university-sanctioned events or activities that require absence from class.
- A university sanctioned event or activity shall be one in which a student represents the university to external constituencies in academic, extra-curricular, or community engagement activities. These include but not limited to student government, intercollegiate athletic and debate contests, music/academic competitions, academic meetings, academic field trips, international travel experiences, and conferences.
- It is the responsibility of the student to give the professor adequate notice of the absence and discuss arrangements for making up the work.
- Official notice of a university-sanctioned event shall consist of an excused absence request letter from the sponsoring unit or program to the faculty whose class(es) will be missed, delivered by the student. The excused absence letter may request blanket approval for a series of events or approval of a single event.
- Faculty are encouraged to provide students who miss an examination or other measurement of academic progress because they are participating in university-sanctioned events or activities with opportunities to be evaluated at other times and by comparable alternative evaluation methods within a reasonable period of time prior to or after the absence.
- Students who seek excused absences to attend university-sanctioned events are expected to complete assignments on time, actively participate in other class sessions, and to make up work missed as agreed upon with the faculty member. Students are expected to attend regularly at all other times.
- Make-up work is the responsibility of the student.