General Attendance

Students are expected to attend classes. An academic program or individual instructor may require a specified level of attendance as a condition for successfully completing a course. Likewise, instructors may assign a portion of final course grades based on attendance and/or participation. Faculty must inform students of attendance requirements on syllabi.

Excused Absences
There are two categories of excused absences for which accommodations will be made by the faculty: scheduled and unscheduled.

• Court-imposed legal obligations (e.g., jury duty and subpoenas)
• Medical procedure
• Required participation in University-sponsored events (e.g., performances, athletic events, academic research presentations)
• Observation of religious holy days
• Requirements of military service

Unscheduled absences involve unforeseen emergencies such as illness, injury, hospitalization, deaths in the immediate family, consequences of severe weather and other crises. Students should contact instructors as soon as possible in these cases. Instructors may require documentation or verification to excuse unscheduled absences.

Employment schedules, athletic conditioning and practice schedules and personal appointments are not valid reasons for scheduled absences.

Faculty may consider applying the excused absence rules for other activities deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis. Advanced written notification (within the first two weeks of the beginning of the semester, or, in exceptional cases not scheduled prior to a given semester, as soon as the student becomes aware of the activity) would be required by any student asking for the excused absence along with a rationale for why their activity should be allowed. Faculty may state in their syllabus whether or not they will allow such exceptions. No faculty member is required to make allowances beyond official policy, but students should be notified so they may plan accordingly.

In order to maintain the integrity of the course content, faculty may limit the total number of allowable absences.

Procedures for Excused Absences and Make-up Work

Students must give notification to their instructors of scheduled absences in advance as soon as they are aware of it (for approved reasons as noted above). In the event of an emergency unscheduled absence (as described above), students must contact their instructors as soon as possible and provide documentation if required.

If an absence qualifies as an excused absence as defined above, the instructor will accommodate the excused absences in a fair manner. Instructors will provide an alternative opportunity to replace missed work or assignments; however, arranging to replace missed work is the responsibility of the student.

If an excused absence coincides with other graded work (e.g., homework collection, in-class activities, quizzes, presentations, activities, etc.), the student shall be given an opportunity to replace such work or shall not have that work averaged into the student’s grade, at the discretion of the instructor, provided it is not identical to the course’s stated accommodation for an unexcused absence. An instructor may determine that missing a certain amount of participation-dependent activities (whether excused or not) precludes successful accomplishment of learning outcomes. In cases like this, the instructor may advise students to withdraw from such courses.

Making up work for unexcused absences may be allowed or declined entirely at the discretion of the instructor.

Court Imposed Legal Obligations

The University respects the need for all citizens to serve on a jury when called to duty. If a student serves as a juror, class absences will be considered excused when the student provides advance notice to the instructor, the instructor acknowledges the request and the student provides written verification of jury selection and proof of service.

Any potential student juror may notify the court of conflicts or undue hardship and request an excuse from service. The individual student must make the decision as to whether jury service will present an undue hardship and then take the affirmative action to request to be excused from service, and may need to provide a written explanation to the court. If a student does not request to be excused and is selected to serve, the student may miss a prolonged period of time resulting in the inability to complete the academic requirements of classes.

Documented Medical Attention for Illness

Students are excused for absences due to documented illnesses or injury that require medical attention. Such absences should be for urgent or emergency situations; regular medical appointments are not covered by this policy. Documentation must be provided from a licensed health care provider and clearly indicate that the student is unable to attend class. While students should not attend class with infectious conditions, even if medical attention is not sought, the decision to excuse absences from undocumented illnesses is at the discretion of the individual instructor. Extended illnesses may interfere with the successful completion of courses, and in such cases a student may want to withdraw from the course. After the withdrawal deadline, students may submit an academic petition with proper documentation to withdraw from courses or use the medical withdrawal policy as an option.

Documented University Sponsored Activities

The University recognizes the importance of participation in University-sponsored activities such as musical and theatrical performances, athletic competitions and research presentations. It also recognizes that such participation may result in conflicts with scheduled class times. It is the responsibility of participating students to provide a full list of anticipated conflicting days to instructors by the end of the first week of the term, and directors and advisers of University activity programs have an obligation to assist students with this task. Students are responsible for identifying potential absences specific to a particular class and notifying individual instructors of these conflicts. Please note that a general schedule for a team or ensemble does not satisfy this notification requirement. Students should provide instructors with addenda (e.g., end-of-season tournaments, newly scheduled events or rescheduled events) that result in new conflicts as soon as they are available. Directors and advisers of University activity programs should consult with participating students prior to registration to help them choose courses that do not have excessive anticipated conflicts.

Notification of Observed Religious Days

Care will be given to schedule required classes and examinations in view of customarily observed religious holy days. Students must provide written notice to their instructors at the beginning of each academic term if they expect to be absent from a class or a scheduled examination for the observance of religious holy days. No student shall be compelled to attend class or sit for an examination at a day or time when such activity is prohibited by his or her religious belief, as long as the student has provided timely notice.

Any student who believes he or she has been treated unfairly with regard to the above may seek review beginning with the department chair, and if no resolution is reached, with the dean of the college.

Military Service
 
An undergraduate who is a member of the U.S. military, National Guard or other armed forces reserve unit who is called or ordered to active duty may be granted excused absences from the University of Tampa.  In order to maintain the integrity of the course content, faculty may limit the total number of allowable absences. 
 
In cases of an extended deployment, a withdrawal from the University may be necessary. Before deciding to withdraw, it is highly recommended that the student work with their professor and academic advisor to see if course work and exams can potentially be finished prior to the deployment period or with an acceptable number of excused absences.  If the student is unable to complete the course prior to their absence, the student may be granted a grade of Incomplete (“I”) if it is reasonably expected that the course work can be completed at a later date.  This option would have to meet the same requirements for the grade of Incomplete discussed in the UT Catalog and is subject to the approval of the instructor of the course. 

To support the excused absences, a student must be able to provide a copy of their deployment or activation orders and complete the military service leave application.  This documentation must be provided to the Spartan Support Program or designee prior to their departure.  If the course cannot be completed prior to their absence, the student must officially withdraw from the course or follow the process for receiving an Incomplete as described above.  If a withdrawal is necessary, please refer to the withdrawal policy in the UT Catalog.   

Students who are attending UT while using the Montgomery G.I. Bill, Post 9/11 G.I. Bill or any other such benefit must speak to the Assistant Registrar for VA Benefits and Academic Records to determine the effect of absence on these benefits as each instance will have to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.