5  Absences and Makeup Policies

Excused Absences

University policy recognizes that there are a variety of legitimate circumstances in which students will miss coursework, and that accommodations for makeup work will be made. These situations generally fall into several categories:

  • illness, physical or mental, of the student or a student’s dependent;
  • medical conditions related to pregnancy;
  • participation in intercollegiate athletic events;
  • subpoenas;
  • jury duty;
  • military service;
  • bereavement, including travel related to bereavement;
  • religious observances;
  • participation in formal University system governance, including the University Senate, Student Senate, and Board of Regents meetings, by students selected as representatives to those bodies;
  • taking college entrance exams (PSAT, ACT, SAT) for Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) students that are provided at their high school; and
  • activities sponsored by the University if identified by the senior academic officer for the campus or the officer’s designee as the basis for excused absences.

These absences should be pre-coordinated with the instructor as soon as they are known - in emergency or unexpected situation, communication may occur after the fact. All other absences are considered unexcused absences.

Makeup Policies for Unexcused Absences

Lecture Quizzes: Lecture quizzes can be taken the following Monday in the case of an absence the previous week.

Field and Lab Sessions: If you miss a required field/lab session we will not be able to replicate the experience. In that case it is your responsibility to work with a classmate to understand the activity and complete the assignment. Planning ahead for these absences can help quite a bit as we may be able to have a classmate generate a video or explanation of the session.

Assignments and Projects: If you miss the due date for an assignment or project, you can still get partial credit, so please continue to do it! You will lose 10% of your grade for each week it is late (prorated by day; approximately 1.4% each day).

Exams: Generally speaking unexcused absences are not allowed for exams. If you will be absent for an exam or are sick (which is excused per policy above), please contact me and we will make alternative arrangements.