Excused Absences and Makeup Work: Crookston, Morris, Rochester, Twin Cities

The University's mission centers on learning, and a critical component of learning is class attendance. Students are responsible for planning their schedules to avoid conflicts with course requirements and for attending all scheduled class meetings. However, the University recognizes that extenuating circumstances may impact students’ abilities to attend specific class sessions. Effective and timely communication between students and instructors is essential regarding excused absences and related makeup work because of the impacts on students, their classmates, and instructors. If notified about an excused circumstance within a reasonable timeframe, instructors must provide opportunities for makeup work that do not penalize students and that maintain the academic goals and standards of the course. This policy applies to all required or graded course components, including final examinations.

Guiding Principles

1. Students are expected to attend all meetings of their courses. Class attendance, including participation in class activities and assessments, is a critical component of learning. Students recognize that their absence may have an impact on other students in the class and instructors.
2. Instructors provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their learning and assume that students have purposefully enrolled in their course with the intent to engage in all class activities and assessments.
3. The University recognizes students may have to miss a class due to extenuating circumstances, and that students have a responsibility to initiate the request for makeup work.
4. Instructors have the discretion to consider additional circumstances beyond what the University provides in this policy.
5. The University encourages timely communication between an instructor and a student regarding substance of and due dates for makeup work.
6. At the discretion of an instructor, and based on essential components of the academic content of the course, there may be a limit to the amount of work that is reasonable to make up.
7. Makeup work needs to be equitable compared to the work completed by other students in the course.

Makeup Work

1. Makeup work is a reasonable provision an instructor provides to a student when the student notifies their instructor as soon as reasonably possible of an excused circumstance (see list in 6.) that causes the student to miss a scheduled class session in which a graded course component, including an exam, takes place.
   1. Instructors will consider all available factors when determining arrangements and timing for makeup work that has an impact on the course grade.
   2. If a student has missed required or graded components of the course that cannot be made up in exactly the same manner, the instructor may substitute an equitable type of activity or assignment in order to assess the missed component.
   3. If no substitution for a course requirement that impacts a student’s grade can be devised, the missing component will not be factored into determining that student's final grade for the course.
2. Instructors are not obligated to continue providing makeup work options to a student who has missed so many of the essential components of a course, even for legitimate reasons, that arrangements for makeup work would not be reasonable.
   1. This does not apply to absences governed by Title IX regulations and due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. For additional information, please see Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, and Related Medical Conditions.
   2. For concerns regarding absences for intercollegiate student athletes, please refer to the travel letter provided by the student from the campus’ Athletics department.

Notification and Verification

3. Students must notify their instructors of circumstances causing them to miss a scheduled class meeting and must provide information to explain the absence. Students must provide required notification prior to the missed class meeting when the circumstance allows for advanced notice. When circumstances are sufficiently urgent that advanced notification of a class absence is not possible, students must notify the instructor as soon as reasonably possible.
4. Instructors may request verification.
   1. Requested verification documentation must be appropriate for the circumstances.
   2. For students working with the Disability Resources (DR/C) office, instructors should refer to the student’s accommodation letter. Verification or questions regarding disability-related absences or accommodations for students with DR/C letters should be directed to the Disability Resource professional who signed the accommodation letter.
   3. In the case of health-related absences, students are directed to submit the self-report form as documentation.
5. Colleges and academic units may establish and publicize to students more specific criteria for notifying instructors and for completing makeup work when class is missed due to an excused circumstance, especially when the absence involves course activities and assessments that may not be possible to make up, such as laboratory or clinical sessions and performances.

Excused Circumstances

6. Instructors will not penalize students, and may arrange makeup work, when students provide timely notification for missing required or graded course components taking place in scheduled class sessions due to the following circumstances:
   1. Illness (physical or mental) or acute injury of the student, a student’s dependent, a student’s immediate family member, or someone for whom the student is a primary caregiver;
   2. The need for reasonable accommodation due to disability;
   3. Pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and/or related medical conditions of the student or student’s birthing partner;
   4. Participation in NCAA intercollegiate athletic events;
   5. Subpoenas, jury duty, arrest, and/or mandatory court appearances;
   6. Serving as an election judge on official election days;
   7. Required appointments related to visa or immigration-related matters;
   8. Participation in a formal University hearing;
   9. Military service and ROTC Field Training Requirements;
   10. Bereavement, including travel to/from bereavement;
   11. Religious observances or participation in cultural ceremonies;
   12. Disruptions to public transportation (e.g. transportation strike);
   13. Participation in formal system governance, including the University Senate, Student Senate, and Board of Regents meetings, for students selected as represented to those bodies;
   14. Taking college entrance exams (PSAT, ACT, SAT) at high schools for students participating in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) program;
   15. Activities sponsored by the University if identified by the senior academic officer for the campus or the officer’s designee(s) as a basis for excused absences.
7. Instructors are expected to accommodate students who wish to participate in party caucuses, pursuant to Board of Regents resolution (see December 2005 Board of Regents Minutes, p. 147).
8. Students may notify their instructors of class meeting absences not specified as excused circumstances by this policy, and instructors will determine whether to provide reasonable provisions for those absences.

Appeals

If a student believes they have been wrongly denied the opportunity to make up work due to disagreement with the instructor about the legitimacy of an absence or the timeliness of the student’s notification to the instructor, the student may pursue resolution to their concern using the campus’s process for informal conflict resolution or formal student grievance appeals. In the case of a disability-related absence, students should follow the DR/C grievance process. Additional information can be found in the FAQ.

Students should consult Administrative Policy: Addressing Student Academic Complaints for more information.

Exclusions

This policy does not apply to the Duluth campus.