Student Class Attendance

By action of the University faculty, the responsibility for defining attendance expectations is left to the individual faculty member, subject to the guidelines given below. Thus it is of great importance that early in each course the instructor make clear to each student what attendance expectations are.

It is the policy of the University of Delaware not to cancel classes on religious holidays. However, students and faculty are encouraged to exercise their own judgment pertaining to their attendance on these days. In addition, faculty are encouraged not to schedule examinations or require the submission of special assignments on the following days: the evening before as well as the first two days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the fall term, Good Friday and the evenings before and the first two days of Passover in the spring semester. To facilitate planning for the potentially large number of absences on these days the University shall include the dates of these holidays in the academic calendar. Adjacent to each of these dates the academic calendar will include a reminder to consult the University policy on excused absences.

1. Absences on religious holidays listed in University calendars is recognized as an excused absence. Nevertheless, students are urged to remind the instructor of their intention to be absent on a particular upcoming holiday.
2. Absences on religious holidays not listed in University calendars, as well as absences due to athletic participation or other extracurricular activities in which students are official representatives of the University, shall be recognized as excused absences when the student informs the instructor in writing during the first two weeks of the semester of these planned absences for the semester. Absences due to similar events which could not have been anticipated earlier in the semester will be recognized as excused absences upon advance notification of the instructor by an appropriate faculty adviser or athletic coach.
3. Absences due to illness requiring medical attention and serious illness or death within a student's family shall also be recognized as excused absences. The student shall see that the instructor is notified as soon as possible. The instructor may require the student to present evidence, such as a note from a doctor, to substantiate his or her excuse.
4. Students are not to be penalized if absent from an examination, lecture, laboratory, or other activity because of an excused absence. However, students are fully responsible for all material presented during their absence, and faculty are encouraged to provide opportunities, when feasible, for students to make up examinations and other work missed because of an excused absence.