Attendance Accommodations
Pitzer College views class attendance as an individual student responsibility. Students are expected to understand and follow the attendance policy established by the professor in each class. Faculty should explain the class attendance policy and method used to calculate the final grade on the syllabus, and ideally review with the class at the beginning of the semester so that all students are clear on the attendance and participation expectations. This rubric will then be utilized to establish attendance accommodations per the faculty and the student.
Modifications to Course Attendance Policies as defined within the accommodation of occasional absences
Some students with chronic health conditions that are episodic in nature and periodically worsen or unexpectedly “flare up” may experience barriers to class attendance and may need occasional exceptions to the class attendance policy. Examples include, but are not limited to, students with diabetes, epilepsy, lyme, crohn’s, mental health disabilities, migraines, inflammatory disease and conditions requiring on-going or specialized medical treatment. Due to the nature and/or history of the disability, periodic or occasional absences may be anticipated; however, students may not always be predict advanced notice of a disability-related absence. Some students may require treatment and, in some cases, hospitalization when flares occur.
Student Expectations
It is important for students to understand that, even if excused, absences might negatively affect academic performance because of the lack of benefit from full classroom interaction. Students who are eligible for occasional absences as an attendance accommodation are expected to keep up with the overall volume of coursework, including course content, lecture notes, and information presented during class. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange how they will obtain this information, such as by planning with their instructor or classmates to obtain notes from missed classes.
When Attendance Accommodations Might Not Be Reasonable
Attendance accommodations might not be reasonable in some cases. Missing too many class meetings might threaten the integrity of the course as offered and compromise the educational experience of other students in the class. Below are some examples of when attendance accommodations may not be feasible.
Students with extended absences or those who have missed too many class meetings and/or scheduled tests might find that a make-up plan is not workable, particularly in classes where participation makes up a significant portion of the grade i.e. lab courses, language courses, art courses, physical education courses. Instructors are not obligated to provide individualized instruction or to re-teach missed material. If absences become excessive, it may be necessary to petition for a Course Withdrawal or to ask the instructor for an Incomplete Grade at the instructor’s discretion.