TO:	Dr. Joel Piperberg Faculty Senate Chairperson
FROM:	Francine G. McNairy Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
DATE:	January 13, 2003
SUBJECT:	APPROVAL OF FACULTY SENATE CURRICULAR RECOMMENDATIONS

As the President's designee, I am informing you of the approval of the following Faculty Senate Curricular Actions:

Faculty Senate action at December 3, 2002, meeting:

Academic Policy:

University Class Attendance Policy

Current Policy

Students are expected to attend all of their classes and must accept full responsibility for a decision not to attend a class unless official authorization to miss has been received by the instructor teaching the course.

1. Authorized absences are those granted because of:
   1. student illness
   2. death in the family
   3. participation in outside-of-the-classroom educational activities
   4. participation in University-sponsored activities or programs
   5. religious holidays

2. Officially authorized absences can only be obtained from the Registrar's Office. Other than in the case of illness or death in the family, no authorization to miss class will be given to a student after he/she has already missed the class.

3. Arrangements to make up a missed class must be made before the fact rather than after.

4. Each instructor will establish his/her own grading policy based on classroom participation, homework, unannounced quizzes, etc., a written copy of said policy to be distributed at the beginning of the course.

5. Responsibility for materials presented in, assignments made for, and tests/quizzes given in regularly scheduled classes lies solely with the student. However, a student may make up missed work at the discretion of the instructor. If a student misses class for an officially authorized reason, then he/she is entitled to make up the missed work but only at the convenience of the instructor.

6. Any student who has not contacted his/her professor by the end of the second class meeting (for classes meeting two or three times per week) or previous to the beginning of the second class meeting (for classes meeting only once a week) may be removed from a class roll by the instructor.

7. The registrar's office must be informed of this action no later than the third class meeting.

Revised Policy
(Faculty Senate-approved text and Deans' Council version)

University Class Attendance Policy

The University supports departmental and faculty class attendance policies that are reflective of and consistent with University approved guidelines. Faculty will include their class attendance policy in their syllabi given to all students in their classes at the start of the semester.

University approved guidelines:

1. Students are expected to attend all classes. It is the student's responsibility to complete all course requirements even if a class is missed. If a student misses class for an officially excused reason, then he/she is entitled to make up the missed work but only at the convenience of the faculty member. Responsibility for materials presented in, assignments made for, and tests/quizzes given in regularly scheduled classes lies solely with the student.

2. The University policy is that faculty will excuse absences for the following reasons:
   1. personal illness,
   2. death or critical illness in the family,
   3. participation in a university-sponsored activity,
   4. jury duty,
   5. military duties, or
   6. religious holidays

3. Faculty judge the validity of student absences from class within the University's approved guidelines and may require documentation for excused absences. Faculty will evaluate any reason, other than those listed above, for a student missing class and determine whether the absence is justified. In these circumstances, a student may make up missed work at the discretion of the instructor.

4. In the case of foreseeable absences, students are encouraged to notify the faculty member in advance. A student who will miss class due to participation in an official University activity must notify the instructor well in advance of the activity to assure that the absence is excused.

Appeals:

As with any academic issue, students may exercise their right to appeal adverse attendance decisions. Please refer to the current undergraduate catalog for the complete Academic Appeal procedure.

Rationale:

The intent of this proposed policy is to make class attendance the responsibility of the student and verification the responsibility of the faculty. This change in policy subsequently removes the Registrar as an intermediary in authorizing class absences. Faculty must make their attendance policy clear to the student and will be the judge of the validity of student absences from class, within the guidelines of the policy. It is expected that faculty attendance policies will be reasonable and will recognize the validity of the student's extra-curricular responsibilities, legitimate illnesses, family tragedies, and other responsibilities of the student in a modern society.

Since students will be responsible for complying with an instructor's attendance policy and completing missed assignments, and instructors will determine whether an absence is justified, it is unnecessary for the Registrar's Office to be involved in the process of evaluating a student's reasons for missing class and providing documentation of excused absences. The Health Center will continue the practice of verifying a student's illness which may affect his/her ability to attend class.

Approved, effective spring 2003