Academic Accommodations

Guidance on Modified Attendance Accommodations

The Office of Student Life works with students, faculty, and staff to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities to provide equal opportunities and access to the educational environment. All students, with or without reasonable accommodations, are held to the same academic standards and are required to meet technical course and degree requirements, including regular class attendance and coursework completion.

The Modified Attendance Accommodation is designed for students who, due to the nature of their chronic physical or mental condition/disability, may experience a brief, episodic flare-up impeding their ability to attend class, submit an assignment on the schedule due date, or take an exam or quiz on the scheduled date or time. It is not designed to support a substantial number of missed classes (sporadic or consecutive) or lengthy assignment extensions, or lengthy delays in taking an exam for reasons beyond brief, periodic flare-ups. In some cases, reasonable adjustments may not be possible, and the student’s final grade may be impacted should the student choose to stay in the course. The Modified Attendance Accommodation is only to be utilized for disability-related reasons on record with PAFA's Office of Student Life (e.g., not the common cold, caregiving, travel, or other personal reasons). 

Determination of the extent to which this accommodation is reasonable given the course format and learning objectives should be made on a course-by-course basis directly with the course instructor. To facilitate this conversation, the Office of Student Life provides a Attendance Policy Modfication Agreement Jotform to be completed by the student and the instructor per student request. While completing the Modified Attendance Accommodation Jotform, the student and instructor should refer to the course syllabus pertaining to policies on assignment deadlines, attendance, and make-up exams/quizzes that are applicable to all students enrolled in the course. This accommodation is only active if a student has submitted their Letter of Accommodation to their instructor and the Attendance Policy Modification Agreement Jotform has been completed.

The Modified Attendance Accommodation should not fundamentally alter the core requirements of a course. If an instructor has questions or concerns regarding the Modified Attendance Accommodation given the course format and learning objectives, they should contact the Office of Student Life. Faculty should not approach students directly with concerns regarding approved accommodations.