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To: Deans, Department Heads, Academic Associate Deans, and Instructors From: Jenna Rickus, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Re: Academic Regulations on Class Attendance – New Medically Excused Absence Policy Date: August 15, 2022 In February 2022 the University Senate added the Medically Excused Absence Policy (MEAPS) to the academic regulations on class attendance. MEAPS joins Grief/Bereavement, Military Service, Jury Duty, and Parenting Leave as specific attendance and excused absence situations with university-defined procedures and instructor/student expectations. “The intention of this policy is to afford arrangements to students experiencing serious and short-term medical situations which cause them to miss coursework and/or exams.” 1 Only emergent and urgent medical situations are covered. Emergent medical issues are those that pose a threat to loss of life or limb. Urgent medical issues are less severe than emergent but cannot wait to be evaluated. “This regulation is not intended to provide extended arrangements for chronic medical conditions. Students experiencing a chronic condition or diagnosis may have their initial absences accommodated, but long-term periods of absences will need to be addressed through students registering with the Disability Resource Center (DRC).”1 Excuses will not be provided for primary care medical appointments such as overall wellness and general behavioral health care, occasional vomiting and/or diarrhea, cold and flu symptoms, mild fevers, mild to moderate discomfort, sore throat, etc. These situations are considered general attendance issues that should be handled according to the instructor’s course-specific practices. Instructors will NOT need to determine eligibility and should NOT collect medical information from students. Please refer students who believe they may be eligible for MEAPS to the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS). Absence due to COVID-19 quarantine or isolation will continue to be handled separately from MEAPS, as it has been since Fall 2020, via COVID absence notifications. Please review the academic regulation on attendance, including the new MEAPS section provided below, and confirm that your course attendance policies adhere to the regulation. Medically Excused Absence Policy for Students (MEAPS) (Senate Document 21-12, revised for February 21, 2022) “Students will be excused, and no penalty will be applied to a student’s absence for situations involving hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care visit and be given the opportunity to make up coursework as defined in the course syllabus. Students experiencing hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care visits can provide documentation to ODOS who will then assess the student’s request for a Medically Excused Absence, and issue notification of the start and end of the absence to the student’s instructors. The student should then follow up with the instructor to seek arrangements as per the policy. Students are eligible for up to fifteen (15) days for medically excused absences per academic year with no more than ten (10) academic calendar (during the fall and spring semester) days taken consecutively, for the Medical Excused Absence Policy. Total absences, including travel, may not exceed 1/3 of the course meetings for any course. A student can contact the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) to request that a notice of the leave be sent to instructors when a situation involving hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care visit emerges. The student can then provide documentation of hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care visit as proof of legitimate absence to the ODOS as soon as these documents are available. When documentation is presented to the Office of the Dean of Students, a verified absence notification will be sent to the student’s instructors. With a verified absence notification from the ODOS, no penalty will be applied to a student’s absence for reasons of hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care visit and the student will be given the opportunity to make up course work as defined in the course syllabus. Unique or variant exceptions should be dealt with in a negotiated manner between the student and professor, which may include involving the Department Head, Dean of the school or college, or ODOS, to review and consult on his or her situation. In certain laboratory-based or intensive short-term courses, a student can jeopardize his/her academic status with an unreasonable number of absences, particularly in lab courses that cannot be made up later. In courses with extensive laboratory exercises, group projects, group performances, or participation requirements, equivalent exercises or assessments may not be possible as determined by the instructor and subject to review by the Dean of the school or college offering the course, or their designee. In such a case the student may be eligible for retroactive withdrawal. The student should always consult with the instructor to determine the potential impact of any absence. Students with long-term or chronic medical needs are strongly encouraged to work with the Disability Resource Center to arrange for needed accommodations.”2 cc: C. Brady, Chair, University Senate E. Kvam, Chair, Senate Educational Policy Committee A. Jensen, President, Purdue Student Government A. Seto, President, Purdue Graduate Student Government C. Levesque Bristol, Director, Center for Instructional Excellence K. Gehres, University Registrar K. Sermersheim, Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Students |