Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

• Updated: January 2011
• Primary Contact : Suzanne Bardouche: Belinda Cheung

1. Students will not be penalized for absence during the semester due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. Such circumstances include illness of the student or his or her dependent, participation in intercollegiate athletic events (see the Administrative Policy: Intercollegiate Athletic Events during Study Day and Finals Weeks: Twin Cities, which prohibits intercollegiate athletic competition during study day and finals week except under certain circumstances), subpoenas, jury duty, military service, bereavement, and religious observances. Such circumstances also include activities sponsored by the University if identified by the senior academic officer for the campus or his or her designee as the basis for excused absences. The instructor has the right to request verification for absences. Such circumstances do not include voting in local, state, or national elections.
2. It is the responsibility of students to plan their schedules to avoid excessive conflict with course requirements.
3. A student must notify instructors of circumstances identified in (1) as soon as possible and provide documentation requested by the instructor. In the event that the University declares a pandemic emergency (e.g., flu), the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost or designee may waive the requirement that students are required to have documentation from a physician for illness.
4. If a student is absent due to circumstances identified in (1) and has complied with the notification requirement, the instructor may not penalize the student and must provide reasonable and timely accommodation or opportunity to make up exams or other course requirements that have an impact on the course grade.
5. The instructor has primary responsibility to decide if an absence is due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. If a student believes he or she has been wrongly denied the opportunity to make up work due to disagreement with the instructor about the legitimacy or unavoidability of an absence, the student should pursue his or her complaint using the usual process for appeals of student grievances. Chairs and deans who have questions about what constitutes an excusable bereavement absence, religious observance, or eligible dependent illness should consult with the campus chief academic officer for resolution of the disagreement. In accordance with the policy, final authority rests with the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.
6. Instructors are expected to accommodate students who wish to participate in party caucuses, pursuant to Board of Regents resolution [See http://www1.umn.edu/regents/minutes/2005/december/board.pdf, p. 147]
7. This policy applies to all course requirements, including any final examination.
8. Colleges and academic units may establish specific criteria for notice and completion of work to implement this policy.

This policy does not apply to the Duluth campus.

It is in both the University's and the student's interest to outline some academic protections for students when they miss class for legitimate reasons. This policy places parameters around what is a legitimate absence.

There are no procedures related to this policy.

There are no forms related to this policy.

There are no definitions related to this policy.

There are no specified responsibilities related to this policy.

There are no appendices related to this policy.

• Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences FAQ

• Board of Regents resolution [See p.147]

Amended:

January 2010 - Comprehensive Review. Expands allowable absences to include caring for student's dependent. Documentation required only when requested by instructor. Responsibility for determining whether absence is legitimate rests with instructor.

Amended:

May 2010 - Expands the application of this policy to final exams, in addition to all course requirements, since legitimate absences can occur anytime during the academic year.

Amended:

December 2009 - Policy now applies to Crookston.

Effective:

April 2009