Summary:
The Office for the Dean of Students now provides clearer guidance on the types of student emergency absences and notifications their office will handle on behalf of students. CNS is providing this messaging to help all CNS instructors be aware of updated university policies regarding student absences and notifications, along with providing guidance on course policies faculty can implement to help with student communication and faculty work load.
How should students report absences?
The Office of the Dean of Students will accept student absence notification requests only for emergency issues, including fire, crime victimization, death in the family, family safety, hospitalization, terminal illness, and life-threatening issues.
Full list of emergency categories
All other student absences and related notifications are not considered to be emergencies, including short-term illness, events, and interviews. Students are asked to communicate directly with their course instructors about non-emergency issues.
Full list of non-emergency categories
While the Office of the Dean of Students does provide coaching tips to students about how best to communicate with instructors about non-emergency absences, students and faculty should not expect the Office of the Dean of Students to approve absences related to non-emergency issues through the Class Absence Notification Request system.
Students with ongoing or chronic health issues will be referred to Disability and Access.
Syllabus Policy: Student Absences
If you teach a large course and frequently receive many requests from students about absences, then it may be beneficial to adopt course policies that clarify for all students the participation expectations, while allowing for some attendance flexibility.
For example, you could require attendance and allow a small number of absences without penalty (e.g. up to 3 missed classes over the course of the semester). Some students may interpret this policy to mean that some absences are “freebies” and that sick days are not counted. We suggest counteracting this tendency with a friendly, but firm, notice in the syllabus.
Here is a sample syllabus statement:
“Three class absences will be excused with no grade penalty (dropped). This flexibility will allow you to make decisions about when you can participate. You should use these days with discretion because any absences above three will start to impact your grade. Additional days will not be added. Please use these flexibility days for any reason, including illness, to help make your semester less stressful if you do occasionally need to miss class. If you communicate with the Office of the Dean of Students, they will notify your Professors about emergency issues and provide guidance for your communications about non-emergency issues.”