To: Faculty, Staff & Students 

From: Cindy E. Smith, M.D.
             Director, Health Services

Re: Clarification of Policy Regarding Requests for Excuses from Class

Date: March 28, 2007


Documentation of a visit to a Health Services provider (Nurse Practitioner or Physician) is available after a student is seen. Students often schedule an appointment to request an excuse or note for missing a class, when they may not actually need to see a doctor, or after their symptoms have resolved. It is not possible to determine the degree of impairment from a past condition when there are no longer any signs or symptoms; it may also be difficult to determine if someone should attend class or go to their job. A self-care center is available near the pharmacy in Health Services to get over-the-counter medications without seeing a physician or nurse practitioner; documentation is not provided for visits to self-care. 

Class requirements and attendance are administrative concerns to be established between the faculty member and student. Not all illnesses require that a student see a physician; time is lost by the student if sent to a physician only for an excuse, and an appointment is used that otherwise would have gone to a student with a health concern. There is also the potential for exaggeration of symptoms, consciously or unconsciously, if the perception exists that an excuse may be used as a reason for failure to meet educational requirements.

Health Services provides documentation that a student was seen on a specific date, but because health records are strictly confidential, no information about a student may be released without that student’s permission. Faculty members may wish to pursue the nature of the problem with the student if necessary to determine the validity of the request. With the student’s approval, information may be discussed with the Dean of Students Office. It is the responsibility of the student to notify professors or lab directors as soon as possible that a class, or especially an exam, will be missed secondary to an illness or injury. If the class or exam has already been missed, students should call or e-mail their instructors within an appropriate amount of time. It is at the professor’s discretion to excuse the student. 

Please feel free to call Health Services for any questions. Thanks very much for your cooperation and understanding.