Senate Bill No.: 0304-06
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Undergraduate Academic Council
Date: October 9, 2003
REVISIONS IN POLICIES GOVERNING EXCUSES FROM
UNDERGRADUATE
CLASSES, EXAMS, AND TIMELY COMPLETION OF ASSIGNMENTS
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1. The University Senate approve the attached revisions proposed by the Undergraduate
Academic Council.
2. The bill be referred to the President for approval.
RATIONALE
In accordance with New York State Education Law section 224-a, excuses
must be granted for absences from class, for absences from examinations,
and for the failure to complete by the assigned deadline "any study or
work requirements" if the student is able to demonstrate that religious
observance interfered with attending the class or exam or completing the
assignment when it was due. Similar provisions have been adopted by the
University Senate to handle a student's "significant participation" in "a
major academic conference… a varsity athletic contest," etc. These
regulations are all fully described in the bulletin.
In contrast, for medical and other "compelling" emergencies, comparable
redress is described only for absences from examinations. Moreover, the
entire set of policies, including those relating to religious observance, fall
within the "Attendance" section of the bulletin.
The Dean of Undergraduate has noted that the University's practice goes
well beyond the narrow policy. A hospitalization, serious illness, personal
tragedy or other documented trauma that keeps a student from attending a
class or taking an examination may also convincingly prevent the student
from attending an assigned theatrical performance, completing a paper by
the stated deadline, or meeting some other requirement within a class.
Undergraduate Studies, when presented with documentation of a
sufficiently compelling circumstance, appropriately issues excuses for
students, asking the faculty to assist the student by extending a deadline or
coming up with an alternative for an assignment or not penalizing the
student for a missed class. The UAC agrees that this is appropriate and
should continue, but notes that it is not covered by the letter of the current
policy.
Therefore, the Council proposes that the section be titled "Attendance and
Timely Compliance with Course Requirements" and that the University
formally grant the same consideration given to students with compelling
foreseeable time conflicts and religious observances to students whose
failure to complete a requirement of a course derives from medical
problems and other personal emergencies, tragedies or traumas.
At the same time, the UAC revised the policy to emphasize the
responsibilities of the student in duly notifying campus officials of the
problem and in providing credible evidence of the issue itself and, where
relevant, its impact on the individual student. At times the reason for
granting an excuse may be highly personal or confidential, and it is natural
for a student to go directly to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies to seek
an excuse that would cover several classes. However, in revising the
policy, the Council also wished to emphasize that an individual faculty
member, when confronted with compelling evidence warranting an excuse,
is not compelled to have that excuse "validated" by Undergraduate
Studies.
The revision contains the previous proviso that, when the faculty member
and student do not mutually agree on an alternative to the missed work,
resolution should be sought from the Chair of the department in which the
course is offered.
