Flexible attendance is appropriate for students with chronic physical or behavioral health conditions who experience brief, acute episodes that impact course attendance and assignments on occasion. The accommodation builds in a limited amount of flexibility to address the impact of random, periodic health flares that interfere with course activities. The accommodation is not appropriate to comprehensively address or fully support ongoing absences or the inability to participate for extended periods.
Students who need to request this accommodation should communicate with their Accommodations Specialist.
Flexible Attendance Guidelines
Attendance is an essential component of postsecondary education and students are expected to comply with class attendance policies. However, when the nature of a student’s disability includes symptoms which could exacerbate unexpectedly and/or require medical intervention, causing them to miss class, this accommodation provides a penalty exemption.
The accommodation is not an attendance waiver and therefore does not cover excessive or habitual absences, or negate the attendance and participation requirements of the course. The student remains responsible for fulfilling the essential requirements of the course. Instructors are not expected to compromise essential course requirements or fundamentally alter courses.
How is a reasonable number of disability-related absences determined?
The flex attendance accommodation is designed to provide a penalty exemption when a student’s disability results in an absence. These guidelines were developed based on course length and schedule type for courses with required in-person meetings, based on the belief that, generally, students should not miss more than 15-20% of class meetings. This rubric does not preclude the potential need for additional flexibility which should be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Keep in mind: These are guidelines. Instructors who do not believe the rubric reflects what is reasonable for their course should consult ODS.
| Course Length | Schedule Type | Total Absences Allowed |
| 4 Week Course – meets 3 times per week (i.e., Summer I and II) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 3 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 2 absences | |
| 4 Week Course – meets 5 times per week (i.e., Summer I and II) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 4 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 3 absences | |
| 10 Week Course – meets once per week (i.e., Fall II and Spring II) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 2 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 2 absences | |
| 10 Week Course – meets twice per week (i.e., Fall II and Spring II) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 4 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 3 absences | |
| 10 Week Course – meets 3 times or more per week (i.e., Fall II and Spring II) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 6 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 5 absences | |
| 15 Week Course – meets once per week (i.e., full Fall and Spring) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 3 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 3 absences | |
| 15 Week Course – meets twice per week (i.e., full Fall and Spring) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 6 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 5 absences | |
| 15 Week Course – meets 3 times or more per week (i.e., full Fall and Spring) | 1 – Lecture (LEC), Activity, Performance, or Studio (APS), Combined Lecture/Lab (LLB) | No more than 9 absences |
| *2 – Laboratory (LAB), Recitation (RCT), Seminar (SEM) | No more than 7 absences |
*2 – LAB, RCT, SEM courses are designed to be highly experiential, interaction, and/or discussion-based, thus limiting the amount of flexibility that is reasonable.
If the course attendance policy provides for additional flexibility beyond what is listed above, ODS considers that to meet the accommodation.
Course formats not represented in the above table:
- Independent Study (IND), Research (RES), Thesis or Dissertation (THD): The Registrar defines these as courses where no classroom or meeting pattern is expected to be scheduled. If flex attendance is applicable to and needed in these course formats, students should contact their Accommodations Specialist.
- Clinical (CLN), Field Experience (FLD), Internship (INT), Practicum (PRA), Student Teaching (STT): The Registrar defines these as courses where no classroom or meeting pattern is expected to be scheduled. Instruction may occur off-campus and course requirements may be dictated by state/licensing/credentialing organizations or specialized accreditors. Therefore, flexibility is limited. Students who need flex attendance in these settings should promptly contact their Accommodations Specialist to request a clinical accommodation letter.
- Interim courses (Winter and Summer) are 3 weeks in length and generally follow an asynchronous, online format.
What are the expectations for students using this accommodation?
Use of this accommodation requires prompt and collaborative communication between the student, the instructor, and ODS. Students are not expected to negotiate this accommodation with instructors.
This accommodation is not meant to automatically apply to every exam or assignment. It can only be used for disability-related flares.
Instructors will initiate a Flex Plan that will be reviewed by ODS. Students will receive an email when the Flex Plan is ready for review. If students have concerns about the parameters of the Flex Plan, they should contact their Accommodations Specialist immediately.
When students must miss class, an exam, or an assignment for disability-related reasons, ODS recommends the accommodation be implemented as follows:
- Absences – typically students will not miss more than 15-20% of meetings, dependent upon the course format, length, and schedule. Consult the table above for guidance.
- Missed exams – make up typically within 1 week or during the departmental make-up date. The deferred final should be used to make-up a final exam.
- Missed assignments – typically an extended deadline of 48 hours from due date
Accommodations related to attendance are not retroactive. Like other accommodations, they become effective after the student sends an accommodation letter to the instructor and discussed the accommodation.
As students need to use the accommodation, the student should:
- Email the instructor as soon as possible to state they are using a disability-related absence and initiate arrangements for making up any missed work. If missing multiple classes, the student will need to email each instructor. Students are not required to disclose confidential information to their instructors, but can simply state “I need to miss class today due to my disability.”
- Copy (CC) their Accommodations Specialist on email communications to the instructor(s). Students are responsible for notifying ODS of the use of this accommodation in addition to notifying instructors.
- Failure to follow these steps may result in an unexcused absence in the course.