Class Attendance and Excused Absence

Class Attendance and Excused Absence

Students shall not be penalized for an excused absence.

The academy requires student participation in the learning process, measurement of student progress, and the fulfillment of basic course requirements. Faculty members will provide students in their classes with clear syllabi, including attendance requirements and dates for required measurements or field experiences. Except where prior notification is required (major religious holidays and University sponsored trips), students missing any graded work due to an excused absence bear the responsibility of informing the instructor about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence, and of making up the missed work. The instructor shall give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or exams missed due to an excused absence, and shall do so, if feasible, during the semester in which the absence occurred.

The instructor shall provide the student with an opportunity to make up the graded work (e.g., quiz, exam, homework, etc.). The make up work may take a form other than the work accomplished during the missed time period but must provide equal opportunity to demonstrate mastery of course content and be counted equally in final grade calculations.

• Students, as required by the course syllabus, should submit documentation from an official entity (e.g. health care provider) to their course instructors to excuse their absence(s).
• If the reason for the absence involves a religious observance or a University sponsored trip, the student must inform the instructor prior to the trip when possible.
• Students missing any graded work due to an excused absence bear the responsibility of informing their Instructor about their excused absence as soon as possible, and must do so within one week following the period of the excused absence.
• Students are responsible for material covered or work assigned in any class for which they have been provided an excused absence.
• Some experiential learning that involves third party sites or partners (ex: clinical experiences) may not be feasible to make up during the same semester. In these cases, a student should be awarded an Incomplete (I) grade and allowed to complete the required experiential component during the following semester.

Excused Absences Requiring Prior Notification

University Sponsored Activities

For students acting as official representatives of the university or participating in university- sanctioned events or activities. These include but are not limited to student government congresses, intercollegiate athletic and debate contests, music competitions, academic meetings, and conferences. The deans, the student government association, or faculty sponsors of recognized student organizations may petition the provost to designate other specific events as university sanctioned.

When feasible, the student must notify the Instructor of Record prior to the occurrence of such absences, but in no case shall such notification occur more than one week after the absence. Instructors of Record may request formal notification from appropriate university personnel to document the student's participation in such activities.

Major Religious Holidays

Students who observe work-restricted religious holy days must be allowed to do so without jeopardizing their academic standing in any course. Faculty are obliged to accommodate students’ request(s) for adjustments in course work on the grounds of religious observance, provided that the student(s) make such request(s) in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to anticipated absence. See the University Policy on Work-Restricted Religious Holy Days. A calendar of work-restricted religious holy days is published each year by the Office of Institutional Equity.

Excused Absences with Post-absence Notification

Illness

Illness of the student or serious illness of a member of the student's household (permanent or campus) or immediate family shall be considered an excused absence. The Instructor of Record shall have the right to request appropriate verification if so noted in the syllabus. The term “illness” includes mental as well as physical illness. The standard of verification for illness that an instructor requires shall be equally stringent for physical and mental illness. For example, if a note from University Health Services that the student sought care from a health provider is considered to be acceptable verification, then a note from the Counseling Center that student has sought care shall likewise be considered to be acceptable verification.

Death in Family

The death of a member of the student's household (permanent or campus) or immediate family. The Instructor of Record shall have the right to request appropriate verification if so noted in the syllabus. For the purpose of this rule, immediate family is defined as spouse or child or parent (guardian) or sibling (all of the previous include steps, halves and in-laws of the same relationship); and grandchild or grandparent.

Excused Absences for Other Long-term Commitments:

Pregnancy, Childbirth, or Related Conditions

The benefits and services provided to students affected by pregnancy shall be no less than those provided to UofL students with temporary medical conditions. Pregnancy in and of itself is not considered a disability; however, some conditions arising from pregnancy (e.g. hypertensive preeclampsia, gestational diabetes) may constitute disabilities that necessitate reasonable academic, and/or extracurricular accommodations. Students with pregnancy-related disabilities, like any other student with a disability, are entitled to academic adjustments or auxiliary aids and services in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and may seek assistance from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in that regard.

Students with new parenting responsibilities who wish to remain engaged in their coursework while adjusting their academic responsibilities may request reasonable academic modifications appropriate to their circumstances through an interactive process initiated by the student with the Dean of Students (DOS) office (SAC-W301, (502) 852-5787, advocate@louisville.edu).

See the Student Pregnancy Accommodation Policy in the UofL Policy and Procedures Database.