A. Attendance

The resources of Purdue University are provided for the intellectual developmentof its students. Courses with defined schedules are provided to facilitate an orderly and predictable environment for learning, as well as to provide assurance of a registered student’s right to access the course. Scheduled courses allow students to avoid conflicts and reflect theUniversity’s expectation that students should be present for every meeting of a class/laboratory for which they are registered. Faculty are responsible for organizing and delivering a course of instruction and for certifying student accomplishment on the basis of performance.

The University recognizes that the learning mission can be enhanced significantly by extracurricular experiences. Students participating in University-sponsored activities should be permitted to make up class work missed as a result of this participation. Ultimately students are responsible for all required coursework and bear full responsibility for any academic consequences that may result due to absence.

1. General Attendance Issues
Instructors are expected to establish and clearly communicate in the course syllabus attendance policies relevant to individual courses. Course attendance policies must be consistent with University policy.

It is recognized that occasionally it may be necessary for a student to be absent from a scheduled course activity for personal reasons beyond his/her control (e.g., illness, family emergency, bereavement, etc.). The University expects each student to be responsible for class-related work missed as a result of an unavoidable absence; this work may be made up at the discretion of the instructor.

Only the instructor can excuse a student from a course requirement or responsibility. When conflicts or absences can be anticipated, such as for many University sponsored activities and religious observances, the student should inform the instructor of the situation as far in advance as possible and the instructor should strive to accommodate the student. Individual course policies may state expected notification periods. For unanticipated or emergency absences where advance notification to an instructor is not possible, the student should contact the instructor as soon as possible by e-mail, phone, or by contacting the main office of the department that offers the course. When the student is unable to make direct contact with the instructor and is unable to leave word with the instructor’s department because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, the student or the student’s representative should contact the Office of the Dean of Students if the reported absence is expected to be for an extended period of time (normally a week or more). A member of the Dean of Students staff will notify the student’s instructor(s) of the circumstances. The student should be aware that this intervention does not change in any way the outcome of the instructor’s decision regarding the students’ academic work and performance in any given course.

Regardless of whether these absences are anticipated or unanticipated, instructors are encouraged to accommodate the student. In certain laboratory-based or intensive short-term courses, a student can jeopardize his/her academic status with an unreasonable number of absences, particularly in lab courses that cannot be made up later. The student should always consult with the instructor to determine the potential impact of any absence.

Students holding the opinion that they have been wrongly denied an excused absence or the opportunity to make up missed work should contact the head of the department offering the course to attempt to resolve the conflict.

2. Conflicts with Religious Observances
The University values a community with diverse backgrounds and traditions and recognizes that conflicts between regularly scheduled curricular activities and religious observances of some members of our community can arise. Instructors are encouraged to cooperate with students in dealing with work missed due to absences resulting from participation in religious observances.

Students requesting special consideration in scheduling are encouraged to make this known to instructors well in advance, minimize the length of the absence, and be flexible in arranging alternative times to complete any assignments they might miss. Students holding the opinion that they have wrongly been denied an excused absence or the opportunity to make up missed work due to an absence for a religious observance should contact the head of the department offering the course to attempt to resolve the conflict.

3. Conclusion
The University expects that students will attend classes for which they are registered. At times, however, either anticipated or unanticipated absences can occur. The student bears the responsibility of informing the instructor in a timely fashion, when possible. The instructor bears the responsibility of trying to accommodate the student either by excusing the student or allowing the student to make up work, when possible. The University expects both students and their instructors to approach problems with class attendance in a manner that is reasonable.

B. Visitor

A person who is not already enrolled as a student in the University and who wishes to attend a course in the University without credit shall obtain from the Office of the Registrar a visitor’s permission form stating his/her name, the number of the course, the date of attendance permitted, and the fact that no credit is to be allowed. The registrar shall issue a visitor’s permit upon written recommendation of the instructor and approval by the head of the department administering the course. No person who is ineligible for readmission by reason of his/her having been dropped from the University for scholastic or other reasons shall be eligible to attend classes as a visitor.

A person who has status in the University by reason of admission to, and registration in, a definite classification may enroll in a course as a visitor. The assignment and enrollment must be completed by the regular procedure for visitor registration. The assessment of fees and determination of allowable load shall be in accordance with the credit value or equivalent of the course(s) involved.

For a staff member, the registrar will also require the approval of the dean of the Graduate School acting for the president. The fee for a visitor’s permit shall be waived for persons who are members of the staff exempted by the dean of the Graduate School acting for the president, and for others exempted by the Office of the President.

Members of the staff who, as part of the regular duties for which they are paid, are required to attend course(s) in their own department without credit shall be exempt from the above provisions requiring a special permit for registration and approval of the dean of the Graduate School acting for the president.

A visitor in a course shall be entitled to hear lectures, recitations, and oral quizzes. He/She shall not participate in classroom exercises except as invited by the instructor. He/She shall neither submit papers, when tests or examinations are given, nor take part in laboratory work.

A visitor shall receive no credit for the course. However, if he/she has been, is, or shall be registered later as a student in the University, he/she may apply for examination for credit, under the usual rules, in the course that he/she has attended.