|
General University Attendance Policy -- This policy states in part: "No person is allowed to attend a class unless officially enrolled on a credit or non-credit basis with the appropriate fees paid. Students who attend, participate and strive to complete course requirements without formal enrollment will not receive credit for their work. . . . It is the responsibility of the instructor to define the policy for attendance at the beginning of the course." ______________________ Code of Teaching Responsibility and Attendance -- The MSU Code of Teaching Responsibility requires an instructor to include in the course syllabus any course attendance policy that differs from the MSU attendance policy--especially if that policy affects student grades. This would necessarily include the instructor's policy on excused absences and make-up assignments. ______________________ Dean's Drop for Non-Attendance -- Some schools/departments indicate in the Schedule of Courses that they may drop students who do not attend classes by the fourth class period (including lectures and labs) or the fifth day of the semester, which ever occurs first. This is called a "Dean's Drop." It applies to courses in which demand is high but space is limited. Dropping students who fail to show up for classes at the beginning of the semester allows other students to enroll. But this process doesn't always go as students plan. Some students expect their instructors will drop them when they fail to show up during the prescribed period. Instead, they end up flunking. Why? Because instructors are not required to initiate a Dean's Drop for absent students if such action is not necessary. To avoid such a calamity, students should check their enrollment status on Stu-Info before the fourth Thursday of fall semester or fourth Friday of the spring semester--the deadlines for dropping a course and receiving a 100 percent refund. If a course you've never attended appears on your list of courses, immediately drop the course. A refund will follow. Students who discover they're still enrolled in a class they've never attended after the drop-with-a-refund deadline should go immediately to the office of the assistant dean of their college (or to the Undergraduate University Division advising office if they are no-preference students) for assistance. Check here to review the "Drop for Non-Attendance" policy. ______________________ Final Exam Policy -- The university final exam policy allows instructors to impose severe consequences on students who miss a final exam without a "satisfactory explanation"; namely, a failing grade in the course. To avoid such dire action, the policy instructs students "unable to take a final examination because of illness or other reasons over which they have no control" to notify the associate dean of their college immediately. Students should be prepared to document their illness or the extenuating circumstances that caused them to miss the final exam. _______________________ Common Final Exams or Tests for Multi-Section Courses -- Instructors sometimes schedule common tests and/or final exams for multi-section courses, resulting in conflicts with some students' other courses. When this occurs, the university final exam policy states that the instructor of the multi-section course must provide alternative dates for make-up tests or exams. Scheduling a common test or final exam cannot take place without authorization from unit heads of multi-section courses. Instructors should alert their students to the date of common exams in their course syllabus. Bottom line: Instructors must follow the University attendance policy cited above, but they are not required to develop any other attendance policy for each course they teach. If they choose to do so, they must include the policy in their course syllabi. Observance of Religious Holiday Participation in Field Trips, Rehearsals and Performances Athletic Competitions Observance of Religious Holidays -- Each fall the Provost issues a memorandum that explains the university Policy on Religious Observance. The policy calls on faculty and staff "to be sensitive to the observance of [religious] holidays so that students who absent themselves from classes on these days are not seriously disadvantaged. . . It is the responsibility of those students who wish to be absent to make arrangements in advance with their instructors. (Read policy.) (Read Provost's and President's memoranda.) This memorandum also asks instructors to inform their students at the beginning of the semester if their attendance policy, including the dropping of a student's lowest grade, extends to students who miss class to observe a religious holiday. _______________________ Participation in Field Trips, Rehearsals and Performances -- The University Committee on Academic Policy recommends that instructors cooperate with students who are required to attend university-sanctioned field trips, rehearsals and performances that conflict with other courses. Instructors requiring these events must, in advance, provide their students who have resulting course conflicts with a letter that verifies the event and the conflict. Students then must present this letter to the instructors of the courses in conflict with the event. While the university encourages cooperation between faculty to avoid disadvantaging students, requests for both excused absences and permission for students to submit make-up work remain the prerogative of the instructors. Instructors should include the dates of required field trips, rehearsals and performances in their course syllabi to alert students of possible conflicts and thereby allow the students to plan their class schedules accordingly. _________________________ Participation in University-Approved Athletic Competitions -- Student-athletes are excused from classes to participate in university-approved events or games. Before missing classes, student-athletes must present their instructors with a letter signed by both the associate athletic director and the faculty representative to the Athletic Council. These letters confirm the dates and locations of the out-of-town events and, depending on the schedule, may be issued as frequently as once a week. An excused absence does not excuse a student-athlete from completing course work missed during their absences. Further, some instructors develop attendance policies that allow students to miss a given number of class sessions without penalty. These instructors may not permit student-athletes to exceed that number, even if game-related travel is the reason for the absence. In addition, instructors whose course syllabi indicate that students may drop their lowest grade on a particular assignment or test may not allow a student-athlete to make up course work missed during game-related travel. Instead, the instructor will apply the course make-up policy to the student-athlete's absence and drop the resulting failing grade on the assignment. (See "General Advice to Students" below.) Related Matters
Need assistance. Click here.Medical Excuses -- Olin Health Center
physicians will provide a student with a medical excuse only if the
student's illness warrants such action (see below). If a student
is examined by an Olin health-care provider during the time he/she is
ill, the provider will decide at that time if the student is too ill to
attend classes. If an excuse is warranted, the provider will
specify this on the patient-instruction sheet, which the student will
receive.
If the course syllabus includes a make-up option, the student would submit this form to his/her instructor in support of a request for an excused absence and an opportunity to make up course work missed during the student's illness. If the patient-instruction sheet does not include a recommendation for an excused absence, it would serve only to document that a student saw an Olin physician on a specific date. The form, then, would not support a request for an excused absence and should not be submitted to an instructor, for this reason. Many illnesses take several days to run their normal course and do not necessarily need to be evaluated or treated by a health-care provider -- nor do they require an extended absence from class. Generally, to qualify for an Olin patient-instruction sheet with a recommendation for an excused absence, the illness must be severe enough to warrant absence from classes. Students must see an Olin health-care provider when they are ill, not after they have missed a few classes, recovered, and have returned to class. Olin staff will not issue requests for medical excuses after the fact and without examining the student. Instructors may--or may not--honor an Olin physician's request, or any other physician's request, for an excused absence. This decision should be based on the instructor's attendance and make-up policies, as stated in the course syllabus. __________________________ Emergencies -- Students who face emergencies, such as a death in the family, serious illness of a family member, court appearances, hazardous weather that makes attendance impossible or other situations beyond their control that preclude class attendance should notify their instructors immedicatly. Academic advisers often assist students in notifying instructors of such emergencies. Even with advanced notice, whether a student will be allowed to make up course work missed because of an emergency will depend on the attendance policy state in the course syllabus. Different instructors may handle the identical situation differently. Instructors who allow students to complete course work missed when students are absent should clearly inform students when that course work is due. General Advice
Plan Ahead
Make-Up Work Dropping Lowest Grade Three Free Absences Plan Ahead -- If you know before a new semester begins that you will miss several classes because of prior commitments, check out your course Web sites to determine if the attendance policieis will adversely affect your grades. If so, consider the possibility of delaying enrollment. _______________________ Make-Up Work -- Before you ask your instructor for permission to make up course work, review the course syllabus for your instructor's policy, if any, on this important matter. Most instructors who allow make-up work, including tests, will require you to notify them before you are absent. (See "University Approved Absences" above.) _______________________ Dropping Lowest Grade -- And while you're checking out the course make-up policy, find out if your instructor simply allows students to drop their lowest grade on various assignments. This means that if you are sick and miss a quiz, you will not be allowed to make up the missed quiz but instead will be allowed to drop the resulting failing grade. Don't assume final can be dropped. _______________________ Three Free Absences -- Some instructors deduct points at the end of the semester for each absence after an announced allotted number. If you are permitted, say, three absences without penalty, the total number of points you earn in the course will be lowered by x factor thereafter. Some instructors deduct points from the "class participation" portion of the grade for absences that exceed the allotted number. |
 |
 |
 |