Flexible attendance is suitable for students with chronic health conditions who occasionally experience brief episodes affecting their attendance and assignments. This accommodation provides limited flexibility for random, periodic health flare-ups but does not support ongoing absences or extended inability to participate.
Students who are approved for this accommodation will have “Flexible attendance and deadlines” listed on their accommodation letter. Instructors are encouraged to meet with the student to discuss how the accommodation will be provided.
What is a Flex Plan?
The ODS Online Portal enables instructors to create a flex plan detailing how accommodations will be provided in the course, ensuring alignment among instructors, students, and ODS.
The Flex Plan asks instructors to specify opportunities available for students to make-up:
- Missed in-class participation points or presentations
- Missed quizzes and exams
- Missed out-of-class assignments (including providing a deadline extension if requested by the student)
- Missed group work
Completed Flex Plans are reviewed by ODS and made available to the student through the ODS Online Portal.
How do I complete a Flex Plan?
The Flex Plan is accessed from within the ODS Online Portal. Once you are signed in, select Flex Plan from the column on the left and proceed to complete a Flex Plan for each class listed. It may be helpful to review our PDF or video tutorial.
Note: The Flex Plan applies to any student in the course with flex attendance. Please do not use student names when completing this form.
ODS' recommendation is not appropriate for my course. What should I do?
If you prefer stricter parameters than ODS recommends, complete the Flex Plan and upload your syllabus to the ODS Online Portal promptly. The Flex Plan allows you to propose parameters suited to your course's type and length.
ODS staff will review the Flex Plan and communicate with you regarding approval or suggested changes.
Select a block below to learn more about the accommodation.
A note about flexibility from the Faculty Handbook:
CHAPTER 5: FACULTY INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDELINES, Section V. Assignments and Evaluations, Study Week, and Final Examinations, Opportunities for Making up Examinations and Assignments
Students should be given the opportunity to hand in assignments and to make up work missed due to legitimate circumstances beyond the students’ control. Methods for making up missed assignments may vary from course to course and from discipline to discipline, but normally should be the same from student to student within the same course. The appropriate method(s) used for each course must be stated in the course syllabus made available to each student at the start of the semester. Faculty members with students who may miss an exam or assignment for observance of a religious holiday should refer to the OAA Guidelines for Religious Holidays Observances, for pregnancy-related issues should refer to the guidelines and policies for Pregnant and Parenting Students, and for issues related to a disability should refer to the Office of Disability Services.