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Disability Services

Determining Attendance Policies

At no time is the student required to present the professors with medical documentation verifying their disability-related absence for accommodation.

Students are expected to attend class and meet deadlines as stated in the syllabus. However, if a student has a disability with random or cyclical acute episodes that may occasionally impact their ability to attend class or complete assignments at the scheduled time, consider these guidelines:

  1. Ensure your syllabus clearly addresses policies for attendance, tardiness, extenuating circumstances, late submissions, extra credits, pop-quizzes, etc. (e.g., coming to class 10 minutes late or leaving 10 minutes early is considered absent; late work will only be accepted at 50% of the grade if submitted within 24 hours).
  2. Adjustments to attendance/assignments policies is not intended to be used every week, for every assignment, or every quiz/exam. Such adjustments do not mean the student is granted permission to miss classes as they wish. The student is still responsible for completing all coursework and be graded like every student.
  3. Absences that are not related to the effects of a disability are not part of an accommodation (e.g., due to a cold, car trouble, childcare, work schedule, flight delay, funeral, etc.) and should be addressed according to the attendance/absence policy stated in the syllabus.
  4. The number of allowable absences depends on the interactive or participatory nature of a course, specific program, university policies, and accrediting rules. Not every course component can be provided an extension.
  5. Professors are not obligated to re-teach material missed due to student's absence.
  6. Ensure attendance, late work, and missed assignment policies are applied consistently throughout the course and in the program.
  7. Consider the extent to which student participation constitutes a significant component of the formative assessment. Ensure those components are weighted equivalently to reflect such an impact on the final grade.
  8. Decide if the majority or most critical content is offered in the class compared to outside engagements (e.g., labs, practicum, independent work, peer groups, external locations).
  9. Consider how the absence or failure to complete an assignment on time could compromise the overall educational experience of other students in the class (e.g., presentation, group project, team building).
  10. Extension of a pop-quiz is not an accommodation when answers have already been revealed by the time the student arrived in class.

Questions? Contact AIDE@byuh.edu

10/5/2019