Davis College Guidelines for Excuse Letters & Student Absences

 

Letters for excused absences may be written by a student’s academic advisor, department chair, or the sponsoring faculty of a course or professional development activity. Two tiers of letter are possible:

• Tier 1: Davis College Excused Absence
  • Provided when the student is representing the University, College, or Department (i.e. official teams, recruitment, internship required for graduation), or when the absence is required by a course (i.e. field trips) or to fill a graduation requirement.
• Tier 2: Davis College Verified Absence
  • Provided for a student that has career development or course-related events that are not required.
  • These are justifiable reasons for missing class- as determined by the advisor and department chair. These letters are for verification purposes only, not for excusing the absence.

All letters, whether Tier 1 or 2, should be emailed in a Word Doc format to the department chair and Associate Dean for Academics, and be issued at least 2 weeks ahead of the proposed absence.

 

Example of T1 Letter Wording

Instructor of Record:

Please excuse [student] from class on [date/dates] for the following [Davis College /Department Name] sponsored/approved event: [Event Title]

By presenting this letter, the student(s) named has (have) agreed to abide by the Davis College Code of Expectations, is (are) in good academic and disciplinary standing and will have their assigned work submitted within the time frame provided by the professor. The student(s) are expected to comply with the instructions of the professor regarding assignments and deadlines. The student is to present this letter to their professor prior to the absence.

Per OP 34.04, “Department chairpersons, directors, or others responsible for a student representing the university on officially approved trips must notify the student's instructors of the departure and return schedules. The instructor so notified must not penalize the student, although the student is responsible for material missed. Any student absent because of university business must be allowed to make up missed work within a reasonable span of time or have alternate grades substituted for work due to an excused absence. Students absent because of university business must be given the same privileges as other students, e.g., if other students are given the choice of dropping one of four tests, then students with excused absences must be given the same privilege.”

Please consider this letter notification that the student(s) are participating in an officially approved trip, and please accommodate their absences as described in OP 34.04.

(Signed by faculty or advisor)
(Signed by department chair)
CC: Department Chair; Associate Dean for Academic and Student Programs

 

Example of T2 Letter Wording

Instructor of Record:

[Student Name], a student in your class, will be attending [event] from [dates].

[Student] has the opportunity to attend [event], and this [leadership/professional development/service/etc.] opportunity will be a valuable professional development or academic learning experience. Although this absence is not an officially excused absence as described in OP 34.04, any consideration you may give [Student] in making up missed class and assignments will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration,

(Signed by department chair, faculty, or advisor)
CC: Department Chair; Associate Dean for Academic and Student Programs