Students are responsible for knowing the following:
Class Absence Due to Illness or Extenuating Circumstances
Students are responsible for notifying their professors and a Student Success Advisor in the Dean of Students Office or Disability Services of their absence due to an extenuating circumstance or illness prior to the missed class.
Students who allegedly abuse this policy by falsely claiming to be ill or have an extenuating circumstance will be documented and will participate in the student conduct process.
Missed Classes and Assignments
Instructors will address class absences on a case-by-case basis. Professors have final approval on excusing an absence or allowing students to make up missed work within a given time frame. Students who miss class for any reason will be responsible for contacting the instructor and confirming arrangements to make up missed assignments, if granted by the instructor.
Illnesses Treated at the Emmons Wellness Center
The Emmons Wellness Center does not provide medical notes to excuse students for missed classes due to illness. The Health Center strongly encourages students to maintain contact with their professors throughout the semester and communicate with them directly when ill or at the onset of illness.
All medical and mental health services provided at the Health Center are private and confidential. The Health Center cannot legally provide medical or mental health information to anyone (parents or professors) without the student's written consent.
Extended Absences
Students who miss a substantial number of class meetings may wish to consider dropping or withdrawing from the course. They should discuss their options with their professor, and they are encouraged to consult with their medical provider on how the added stress of making up assignments will impact their recovery.
Severe Illness, Personal Crisis, or Extenuating Circumstances
Faculty have the authority, right, and responsibility to set their attendance, deadline and academic flexibility policies for their respective courses. Students should consult their individual faculty members’ course syllabi to be aware of and understand these policies. However, in the event of an acute crisis or personal, medical, or mental health emergency , students and faculty may consult a Student Success Advisor in the Dean of Students office or Disability Services for support regarding possible academic flexibility. Student Success Advisors are available to meet with students to discuss their situation, assess the request for flexibility, and if appropriate, recommend flexibility to faculty via a “Notification Regarding Academic Flexibility” email. Academic flexibility requests from the Dean of Students Office are intended to be short-term requests (usually 3-5 days) .
While there may be unique circumstances where flexibility extends slightly beyond this time-frame, those circumstances are rare and will be noted by a Student Success Advisor. If a student’s issue will necessitate more than short-term flexibility to resolve, a more appropriate alternative may be for the student to drop or withdraw from the course and/or the entire semester. Additionally, the Student Success Advisor may request flexibility for a student and be unaware that faculty have already extended significant flexibility thereby making the Student Success Advisor’s request unreasonable or inappropriate. In those cases, please reach back out to the Student Success Advisor to make us aware and we can reconnect with the student to let them know that flexibility will not be granted and a better alternative may be to drop or withdraw from the course. Requests for retroactive academic flexibility are typically not granted. To note—a recommendation from the Dean of Students office, or Disability Services office—is only a recommendation to faculty, who ultimately have the right to determine if flexibility is appropriate in their respective course.
Students Who are Pregnant or Who are Parents
Students who are pregnant and need to miss class due to medical appointments or related conditions are encouraged to disclose this information to the Dean of Students Office. The Office may request that students who miss class for an extended period of time submit a doctor's note documenting the number of days the student is advised to miss. Students who have children who are ill and need to miss class to take care of them are encouraged to provide a doctor's note to the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will work to support these students so that they may complete their academic requirements.
For concerns of gender or sex discrimination or harassment (including discrimination or harassment on the basis of pregnancy or related conditions), please refer to the Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy or contact: