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The university expects all students to attend class.
Individual faculty members may define attendance standards appropriate to each course and the consequences of not meeting those standards, within the following guidelines:
- Each policy must be distributed to students by the first day of class. The information dealing with course attendance standards will be distributed with the course syllabus.
- Each policy must define the level of allowable absence. In addition, each policy must recognize students’ need to miss class because of illness, personal emergency, university-sponsored activities, bereavement, or active military duty.
- Each policy must not penalize students who add the course during the regular or specified university drop-add period and must allow those students to make up work missed before adding the course.
Bereavement-related Class Absences
The university community recognizes the impact that the loss of a family member or loved one may have on the emotional and academic wellbeing of a student. In such circumstances, a student may request that a bereavement absence notification be sent to their faculty by contacting either the Office of the Student Advocate at the University College or the dean’s office of the college of their primary major, who will send an e-mail to the student’s faculty stating that the student is away from the university due to the death of a family member or loved one. Documentation that verifies the death (e.g., a funeral program, death notice, obituary, etc.) and the nature of the student’s relationship to the deceased may be requested by the Office of the Student Advocate or the dean’s office.
The university encourages allowances for the grieving process, while acknowledging the faculty member’s right in determining the terms of variance from the course syllabus. The student is expected to take the initiative to make all arrangements for meeting academic requirements. The university community also encourages students affected by a loss to contact the IUP Counseling Center or other university and community resources, as appropriate, if they are in need of ongoing emotional support.
Anticipated Class Absence for University Representation and Participation
The university community recognizes and values student participation in cocurricular and extracurricular activities of the university, while acknowledging the instructor’s right to determine the extent of allowable deviations from the course syllabus. The student is expected to notify the instructor as soon as the student knows that a class will be missed due to a university-sponsored event. The instructor may request documentation signed by the activity director, coach, or advisor detailing the specifics of the event in advance.
The student must contact the instructor before the anticipated class absence to make all arrangements for meeting academic requirements. Excused absences for participation in universitysponsored events will not result in a penalty to the student, provided that the student makes up missed work as required by the instructor.
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