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Handbook of Operating Procedures
Handbook of Operating Procedures
Chapter 5 - Students
Publication Date: June 16, 2010
Responsible Executive: VP for Academic Affairs


5.09 Class Attendance

POLICY STATEMENT

This policy promotes student success by communicating the expectation of regular attendance and participation in classes and providing the requirements and procedures for excused absences.

RATIONALE

This policy provides procedures for instructors and students to appropriately address student attendance.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) instructors assigned to teach classes and to all students registered in classes at UTSA.

WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY

http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter5/5-9.html

RELATED STATUTES, POLICIES, REQUIREMENTS OR STANDARDS

UTSA or UT System Policies or the Board of Regents Rules & Regulations        

Other Policies & Standards         

CONTACTS

If you have any questions about HOP policy 5.09, Class Attendance, contact the following office:

Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost)
210-458-4110

DEFINITIONS

A registered student is a student enrolled in a course on the official census date who has not officially dropped the course.

An instructor is the instructor of record assigned to teach a course or a teaching assistant under the supervision of an instructor of record.

Faculty or university employee in charge of an official university function is the person who sponsors, organizes and/or attends an official university function.

A school day is a day during which classes are scheduled at UTSA, without regard to the frequency that a specific class meets.

A religious holy day is a day observed by a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property taxation under the Texas Tax Code, §11.20. 

An official university function is an activity or event sanctioned by the university.

Active military service is active service in the armed forces of the United States or in the Texas National Guard or the Texas State Guard.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Student             

  • Notify each instructor prior to the absence (directly in writing, not later than the 15th day after the first day of the semester, and before the absence takes place) of the planned absence for a religious holy day on which an examination or assignment has been scheduled
  • Provide a copy of the military orders to each instructor when class is to be missed due to military service
  • Notify instructors directly of absence due to illness or other extenuating circumstances
  • Fulfill missed assignments by instructor-designated deadlines

Instructor        

  • Communicate student class participation requirements in the syllabus
  • Allow the student who was absent because of observance of a religious holy day to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time, normally within 20 school days
  • Excuse from class without penalty the student participating in an official university sanctioned student activity
  • Excuse from attending classes or participating in other required activities the student who is absent for a reasonably brief time period due to active military service (not to exceed 25% of the total number of class meetings or the contact hour equivalent excluding the final examination period) for the specific course or courses
  • Set a reasonable deadline for taking an examination or making up missed assignments due during excused absences due to an active duty military assignment. If the military absence is extensive, the deadline may extend up to the due date for course grades for the same semester one year later - the time permitted to clear a grade of ‘Incomplete,’ as described in the catalogs
  • Inform the student of the deadline for making up missed assignments or taking an examination

Faculty or University Employee in Charge of University-Sanctioned Activity        

  • File a list with the Office of the Provost identifying participating students and dates requested for excused absences from class

Student, Instructor, Department Chair, Dean of the College, Dean of Undergraduate Studies (undergraduate appeals); Dean of the Graduate School (graduate appeals)         

PROCEDURES

A. Class Attendance

    1. It is the instructor’s responsibility to set forth and communicate to students the course attendance policy in the course syllabus. Unless otherwise stated in the instructor’s course attendance policy or an absence is excused in accordance with this policy, regular attendance at and participation in all meetings of a course for which a student is registered are expected. 
    2. A student who enrolls for a course and then does not attend is considered absent from class until he or she officially drops the course or until he or she has accumulated an excessive number of absences and is dropped from the class with a grade of "F."
    3. When, in the judgment of the instructor, a student has been absent excessively, the instructor may report the absences to the dean of the college in which the course is offered and recommend that the student be dropped from the course with a grade of “F.”  If the dean approves the recommendation, he or she advises the registrar, who in turn advises the instructor and student of the action taken.

B. Excused Absences

    1. An absence may be excused for the following: religious holy days, including travel for that purpose (required by Texas Education Code, Section 51.911), active military service (required by Texas Education Code, Section 51.9111), official university functions, illness or other extenuating circumstances.
    2. A student is responsible for requesting an excused absence in writing, providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor to substantiate the excused absence and delivering the request personally to the instructor of each class. Notification must take place no later than five school days before the absence unless such advance notice is not possible, in which case the student must provide notice by the end of the third school day after the absence along with an explanation of why notice could not be sent prior to the absence.
    3. When an absence is excused, the instructor shall provide a reasonable time (normally 20 school days) after the absence for the student to complete the assignment or examination.  Each instructor should inform the student, at the time the student requests the excused absence from the instructor, of the deadline for completion of the missed assignment or examination.  If the absence occurs during final examinations the student may receive an incomplete for up to a year, until the exam is taken, per the Office of the Registrar’s “General Academic Regulations.” 
    4. An instructor may appropriately respond if the student who has been granted an excused absence fails to satisfactorily complete the assignment or examination by the deadline provided by the instructor.

C. Student Absences for Official University Functions

    1. Faculty or the university employee in charge of university functions or activities for which students will request excused absences shall file a list of students and the dates they request the students to be excused from class with the Office of the Provost.  Deans, department chairs and faculty may check any names against the list by contacting the Office of the Provost.

D. Student Absences Due to Military Service

    1. A student who is absent from classes due to a call to active military service must provide a copy of his or her military orders to each instructor.
    2. A student who has chosen not to withdraw from the university as allowed by Section 54.006 (f) of the Texas Education Code shall be excused.  However, as defined by the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter A, Rule 4.9 (d), “the maximum period for which a student may be excused shall be no more than 25% (twenty-five percent) of the total number of class meetings or the contact hour equivalent (not including the final examination period) for the specific course or courses in which the student is currently enrolled at the beginning of the period of active military service.”

E. Reporting Illness or Other Extenuating Circumstances

    1. The degree to which classroom participation is required and whether or not work missed by a student during an absence may be made up is at the discretion of the instructor.  See Section A.1 for additional information.
    2. The instructor should adjust attendance/make-up policies in the event the UT System and/or University issues guidelines to cover extraordinary events (e.g. dangerous conditions due to weather or a widespread threat to general health).

F. Disputes may be resolved using the formal appeals process stated in UTSA Information Bulletin, Graduate Catalog, and HOP Chapter 2.40 Administrative Grade Change/Assignment

FORMS AND TOOLS/ONLINE PROCESSES

Excused Absence from Class Attendance Form