Athletic Certification Page (Campus Info, Registrar, Faculty/Staff, Record Services)

Archived Certification Information

ARMS

ABSENCES

Accommodations Examples

Here is the official UMD policy:

https://evcaa.d.umn.edu/excused-absences

Excused Absences

Effective: January 3, 2011

Last Updated: Approved by EPC April 28, 2010; amended and approved by Campus Assembly on November 9, 2010, amended and approved by TLC 11-15-17; approved by EVCAA 1-24-18, amended and approved by TLC 3-20-19; approved by EVCAA 4-30-19

Policy Owner: Academic Affairs

Students are expected to attend all scheduled class meetings. It is the responsibility of students to plan their schedules to avoid excessive conflict with course requirements. However, there are circumstances that lead to excused student absence from the classroom.

1. Students may not be penalized when legitimate and verifiable circumstances lead to their absence from attending class or taking a final exam. These are:

• illness, physical or mental, of the student or a student’s dependent(s);

• medical conditions related to pregnancy, including time away from class for lactation;

• participation in NCAA intercollegiate athletic events (does not refer to or include recreational sports, intramural sports, club sports, or other special interest sport clubs or organizations. Student athletes must provide instructors the team schedule during the first week of the semester.);

• subpoenas;

• jury duty;

• military service;

• bereavement, including travel related to bereavement;

• religious observances; and

• participation in formal University-wide system governance, including Board of Regents meetings, by students selected as representatives to those governance bodies.

2. Voting in a regional, state, or national election is not an unavoidable or legitimate absence.

3. Instructors are expected to accommodate students who wish to participate in party caucuses, pursuant to Board of Regents resolution (see December 2005 Board of Regents Minutes, p. 147.)

4. In addition, there are other circumstances not mentioned above that lead to absence from class. These requested absences may be excused at the instructor’s discretion; students must provide written documentation to verify the reason for the absence.

Notification, Verification Of Absences, And Make-Up Work

5. Students must notify their instructors of circumstances identified in (1) or other circumstances leading to a request for makeup work as soon as possible and provide information to explain the absence. Some situations will be sufficiently urgent that arrangements for makeup work cannot be made prior to the date of an absence. In such cases, arrangements should be made as soon as possible following the student’s return.

6. The instructor has the right to request, and the student must provide if requested, verification for absences.

7. The instructor may not penalize the student and must provide reasonable and timely accommodation or opportunity to make up missed work, including exams or other course requirements that have an impact on the course grade if the student:

• Was absent due to circumstances identified in (1);

• Has complied with the notification requirements; and

• Has provided verification if the instructor has requested further information.

 8. Instructors are not obligated to accommodate a student who has missed so much of the critical components of a course, even for legitimate reasons, that arrangements for makeup work would not be reasonable.

Instructors should take all factors into consideration when determining whether to grant an excused absence and how to make arrangements for makeup work that has an impact on the course grade. If a student has missed a component of the course that cannot be made up in exactly the same manner, the instructor may substitute another activity or assignment in order to assess the missed components. If no substitution can be devised, the missing component(s) cannot be factored into determining that student’s final grade for the course.

Appeals Process

The first step of any resolution should be between the parties involved. Department head involvement may be requested to assist in finding a resolution. If the course instructor is the department head then the student should request assistance from the collegiate associate dean. If satisfactory resolution cannot be found at this level, an appeal can be made first to the Collegiate Dean and then to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs.

Special Situations

For the health or safety of a campus, the senior academic officer for the campus or the officer’s designee may waive the requirement that students provide verification from a health care provider for illness.

DEFINITIONS

Dependent

A person, typically a qualifying child or other relative, other than the taxpayer or spouse, who entitles the taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption for tax purposes.

Medical provider

A licensed mental health or medical professional including registered nurses (RNs).

Bereavement

Bereavement refers to a period of mourning. For purposes of this policy, (a) bereavement is defined by the student, but (b) the terms of the excused absence, including length of time a student may be excused and makeup work must be negotiated with the faculty member.

UMD NIL resources

Student Athlete Tutor Resources

 SA Issues I will work on and which I will not

As FAR, I will work with student athletes (SA) if it is an athletic issue.  Otherwise, the SA needs to work with others (academic advisor, financial aid, etc.) to resolve issues, so there is never a perception that SA are somehow getting privileged attention just because they are SAs. 

Three questions I’ll ask if you need help working with a professor:

1.  Did you fulfill your obligations early on, and give the professor the letter stating which classes will be missed, and try to work out accommodations?

2.  Is all of your work up-to-date with the class?  Are all assignments, and projects turned in?  Are there non-athlete related absences and tardiness?

3.  Have there been attempts to communicate with the professor and keep each other updated on any changes in athletic events?

Concerned about Something You See Regarding Athletics at UMD?

Have questions or concerns about something you see regarding student athletes or the athletic program?  If so, I encourage you to take action.  You may first want to contact our Athletic Director, Josh Berlo (jberlo@d.umn.edu), who can probably answer most of your questions.  If you want to speak to our compliance expert at UMD, then contact Abbey Strong (alstrong@d.umn.edu).  Of course you can also reach out directly to me.  

 Final exam conflicts (policies)

 Grading Policies at UMD

 Student Academic Integrity (and Resolutions) UMD policies on this:  procedures

Other UMD policies

Final Exams

Instructor & Student Responsibilities

Syllabus Policy

Syllabus Policy Statements

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Course Numbering

Admissions

Student Academic Integrity

Student academic misconduct policies at UMD

 Please be aware of the campus and system policies for imposing sanctions for suspected misconduct.

If any sanction is to be imposed, faculty are required to file a form with the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution. A sanction can include giving students the opportunity to retake or redo an assessment that was suspect, as well as things like point deductions. The form allows the student due process to contest sanctions. Faculty who impose sanctions without following this procedure are vulnerable to student complaints at the departmental, college, or VCAA-level. If you don’t already, please be sure to follow this procedure (from https://champ.d.umn.edu/conduct/scholastic-dishonesty/faculty-staff-resources):

 “If you suspect a student has engaged in academic dishonesty, collect all documentation. Examples include the assignment, paper, exam, and any statements you may have from a TA or other witness.

Request that the student meets with you to discuss your suspicions using this e-mail template. This request should be fair and timely (specifically, within ten (10) business days of becoming aware of the offense).  A meeting request template is provided in the links below -- at a minimum, you must reference specifically Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code (Section 4, Subd. 1, Scholastic Dishonesty).  When you meet with the student, present your evidence, be objective, and explain the problem.  Then, listen to the student's explanation.

If you feel the student is not responsible, the situation resolves itself, and you do not have to do anything. If you believe the student has engaged in academic dishonesty, consult this rubric to select an appropriate sanction, then have the student sign the Report of Scholastic Dishonesty. Explain to the student that she/he can (1) accept the sanction, or (2) disagree with the allegations and/or sanction. In either case, file the Report of Scholastic Dishonesty with Student Conduct & Conduct Resolution, (conduct@d.umn.edu) located in 245 Kirby Plaza.

If the student accepts the sanction, The Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution will e-mail a sanction letter to the student. The letter reiterates the faculty member's sanction and the student's options for appeal. Further, if the student already has a record of scholastic dishonesty, they'll be directed to attend an additional meeting with the Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education (AVCUE), who may issue additional sanctions.  If the student disagrees with the allegations and/or sanction, The Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution will contact the student and the appropriate appeals officer.  After the appeal has been heard and decided, if the student still disagrees, the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution and will explain UMD's Student Academic Complaint Policy, which provides a further avenue for appeal.”

Please note that this process is a means by which a UMD Academic Affairs policy and the system policy behind it are implemented. I know that many faculty I have spoken with were not aware that policy requires filing the report if sanctions are to be applied. Filing the report will help protect the students as it provides due process for them and also protects the faculty from a formal student complaint that they violated policy. It also provides a means of tracking student misconduct. 

Dr. Jackson in the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution does this tracking, identifies students with multiple cases brought against them, coordinates investigations and appeals, and is an excellent resource if you have questions about the process. Associate Vice Chancellor Pepper has all students with a second offense referred to him and he tells me this happens about twice per year. Although faculty do not get informed of these outcomes for privacy reasons, repeated academic dishonesty is taken seriously by AVC Pepper. Please help us reduce academic dishonesty while also allowing students due process.

Academic Probation and Dismissal from UMD

UMD POLICY:

ACADEMIC PROBATION

Students with a cumulative University of Minnesota GPA less than 2.0 are placed on academic probation.  This DOES NOT include transfer credit GPA.

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL

Students who fail to achieve a cumulative University of Minnesota GPA of 2.0 during the probationary semester are subject to dismissal from the University. Students with a first-term GPA below 1.0 are subject to dismissal from the University without probation.