Student Absences

Absenteeism

Class attendance is required of all undergraduates unless the student has an excused absence. Excused absences may be approved by faculty upon direct request by the student, by request and approval of the procedure below, or occasionally, by Title IX, Dean of Students Office, and/or Disability Support Services. Excused absences are granted for three general reasons: 

  1. Student is a varsity athlete and is representing the School in a varsity athletics activity.
  2. Student is representing the School in an authorized activity related to a club or academic endeavor (academic competitions, student professional society conferences, club sport competition, program-sponsored competitions, etc.)
  3. Student has a documented personal reason (illness of 4 days or more with documentation, injury, jury duty, life-threatening illness or death in the immediate family, religious holiday or required observance, job interview [limitations apply], significant hardship, etc.) 

Students who miss academic work (including but not limited to exams, homework, and labs) for one of the reasons listed above may be issued an excused absence. If an excused absence is granted, the student must be given the opportunity to make up the missed work in a reasonable period of time without penalty. The student is responsible for submitting appropriate documentation and for contacting his/her faculty member(s) to initiate arrangements for making up any missed work. 

Varsity Athletics Absences

The Athletics Department will authorize excused absences for all approved varsity athletics and club sports-related absences. The Athletics Department will send notice of excused absences to faculty members on or before Census Day each semester. The student is responsible for contacting his/her faculty member(s) prior to the absence occurring to initiate arrangements for making up any missed work. The Faculty Oversight Committee on Sports and Athletics oversees the number of excused absences permitted per semester by varsity and club sports athletes.  

Authorized Activity Excused Absence pdf/word doc.

Download Form as PDF or Word version

The Assistant Vice President of Student Life (AVP) or designee may authorize excused absences upon verification of proper documentation of the school-sponsored activity. All requests for excused absences for school-sponsored activities must be signed by the advising faculty/staff member of the sponsoring organization/club/department and submitted to the AVP at least three weeks prior to the absence. Once documentation has been verified, the AVP or designee will send notice of excused absences to faculty members. The student is responsible for contacting his/her faculty member(s) prior to the planned absence to initiate arrangements for making up any missed work. 

Requests for excused absence(s) related to an authorized activity received after Census Day may be denied or documented as an excused or unexcused absence at the discretion of the faculty member. 

Personal Reason Absence web-form

Limitations for Personal Reason Absence  (New Procedure  –  Fall 2022 semester)

Absences due to illness for three (3) or fewer consecutive school calendar days are not governed by this request process. Instead, such absences are the responsibility of the student to communicate directly to their faculty to request an arrangement to make up missed work.  Faculty should provide reasonable accommodation for such requests unless there is an excessive, suspicious, opportunistic and/or inappropriate pattern of absence (e.g., absences during exams in particular). In instances where an abuse of this policy is suspected, the situation will be referred to the Assistant Vice President of Student Life for resolution via Academic Misconduct or Code of Conduct protocols. 

For the purpose of this policy, Mines prioritizes both physical and mental health needs. Additionally, students who are primary caretakers may request excused absences when those they care for are ill. Students should prioritize and schedule coursework and exams around other obligations, including but not limited to work, childcare, family obligations, vacations, and transportation needs, which are generally not eligible as excused absences.

Personal Excused Absence Request Form

The Assistant Vice President of Student Life (AVP) or designee may authorize excused absences upon verification of proper documentation of the illness, injury, significant hardship, or other approved reason. The student must provide the documentation to the AVP within one week of returning to class. In the case of religious holidays or required observances (not including weekly or daily activities), the student must submit the request at least three weeks in advance of the absence. Once documentation has been verified, the AVP or designee will send notice of excused absences to faculty members. The student is responsible for contacting his/her faculty member(s) to initiate arrangements for making up any missed work. 

Tips for Emailing Faculty
When you email your faculty, please include the following and adhere to the following guidance: 

  • Email from your Mines’ email.   
                  Emailing from a personal, non-Mines email is not authenticated.
  • Email the faculty member’s Mines’ email address.
  •  Include your own Mines’ email address as a recipient.
  • Provide your full name and CWID (e.g. 12345678).
  • Explicitly note what date(s) you’ll be absent because of illness.
  • Explicitly note your class name (e.g., Math201) and course section (e.g., Section A) or time (e.g., 10am on Wednesday).

Failure to include these important details and/or the detailed guidance may result in an unexcused absence or lost email.

Unexcused Absences

All absences that are not documented as excused absences, as defined in the Absenteeism policy (above), are considered unexcused absences. Faculty members may deny a student the opportunity to make up some or all work missed due to unexcused absence(s). However, the faculty members have discretion to grant a student permission to make up any missed academic work for an unexcused absence. The faculty member may consider the student’s class performance and attendance in the decision. 

Important Note: Every effort will be made by the faculty to honor all excused absences. However, class attendance is essential to understand the material and for learning to take place. Excessive absences regardless of the reason may result in a reduced or failing grade in the course based on course content and delivery. As content and delivery differ among faculty and classes, it is important for a student missing class to discuss the absences, excused or unexcused, with his/her/their faculty member(s) to determine what will be considered excessive.