Policies to Include in Your Syllabus

Absence Policies

General Attendance Policy

Your students might face situations where it may be necessary for them to be absent from course activities beyond their control, including course work missed from absences related to participation in religious observances. The university policy states that “if a student needs to miss a class, instructors must clearly and explicitly state, in their course syllabus, procedures in which assignments and assessments can be made up.” Please see the full Academic Regulation around attendance by clicking here.

Your absence policy should include:

• How and when to contact you or other instructors/teaching assistants if a student needs to miss class.
• Timeframe to submit missed coursework.
• Where to submit missed coursework.

In addition to a general attendance policy, the University has established the following as reasons to be granted an excused absence from class (Please see the full Academic Regulation around attendance by clicking here):

• Grief/Bereavement (3-5 days).
• Military Service (15 days per academic year with no more than 10 academic calendar days (during fall and spring semester) taken consecutively; total absences, including travel, may not exceed 1/3 of the course meetings for any course).
• Jury Duty (10 days per academic semester; total absences, including travel, may not exceed 1/3 of the course meetings for any course).
• Parenting Leave (see policy for details).
• Medical Excuse (15 days per academic year with no more than 10 days per academic calendar (during fall and spring semester) days taken consecutively; total absences, including travel, may not exceed 1/3 of the course meetings for any course).

Students should contact the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS), for grief, military, jury duty, and medically excused absences.

Medical Excuses

​​​​​​​Please be advised that only emergent and urgent medical situations are covered under this policy. Emergent medical issues are those that pose a threat to loss of life or limb.  Urgent medical issues are less severe than emergent but cannot wait to be evaluated.

Excuses will not be provided for primary care medical appointments such as overall wellness and general behavioral health care, occasional vomiting and/or diarrhea, cold and flu symptoms, mild fevers, mild to moderate discomfort, sore throat, etc. These situations are considered general attendance issues that should be handled according to the instructor’s course-specific practices.

ODOS Student Support Services has a summary of types of absences and links to the appropriate forms. Please click here for the ODOS Class Absences Information.

Students should contact the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) for parenting leave absences.​​​​​​​

For more information about absences and their definitions see this tool created by ODOS. 

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Quiet Period (New beginning Fall 2022) 

The “Quiet Period” occurs during the last Monday through Saturday (during the fall and spring terms), or the last three days (for 8-week terms), or the 1 day (in 3–4-week terms) of the instruction period preceding the final examination period.

If you have an assessment(s) during the final examination period (e.g., final exams, projects, etc.), you cannot administer assessments during the Quiet Period that are worth any point value (grades) in the course. This rule does not apply to your course if there are no assessments during the final examination period.

An assessment is defined as activities relating to the course’s learning objectives, which students submit for class credit that the course instructor intends to use to judge whether students have met the associated learning objectives.

For a detailed outline of the quiet period, please see the Calendar section of the Academic Regulations for the academic year.

For more information on the Quiet Period or to review the University Senate Document on this educational policy, click here. ​​​​​​​

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Final Examination Period and Testing Accommodations 

Final Examination Period

At Purdue, the final examination period occurs during Week 16 of the semester. Each class is scheduled for a two-hour final examination meeting during this week unless otherwise dismissed by the department. Courses classified as individual study, clinic, student teaching, industrial experience (co-op), or research, and those offered for zero credit are exempted from this rule.

For more information on final examinations, please see the Final Examinations section of the Academic Regulations.

Testing Accommodations

At Purdue, we strive to make students’ learning experiences as accessible as possible. You may have students provide an accommodations letter detailing support to help them succeed with their learning, such as requesting testing services at the Disability Resource Center (DRC) and more. The information below for accommodations is specific to testing services (if you need more information on accommodations generally, please see the DRC website for your specific needs). 

As the instructor, you have two options for administering approved testing accommodation: 

1. Arrange for testing accommodations in your department/classroom.
2. Arrange for the exam to be administered in the DRC Testing Center.

See the DRC Administering Testing Accommodations for information on when to consider each option.

For testing services, the student must submit all exam requests through the Student Examination Portal. As the instructor, you must upload the Testing Instruction Form before your student(s) can submit any exam requests. For instructions for your students on submitting a Request for DRC Testing Services, see the Submitting an Exam Request guide on the DRC Testing Services website.

You can contact the Purdue DRC:

• Visit: YONG Room 830
• Call: (765) 494-1247
• Email: drc@purdue.edu

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Submitting Grades

Mid Semester Academic Progress Submission

Mid semester academic progress is submitted between Weeks 4-7 for the fall and spring semesters and before the third week of the spring semester.

Instructors of all undergraduate courses up to 49900 level must give graded feedback to students by two timepoints in the semester:

1. Before the last day to drop the course.
2. One week prior to finals week. 

Regular feedback enhances student learning and empowers students to make good decisions regarding their continuation in the class. This feedback also allows students to prioritize their time in preparation for final exam week.

For more information regarding mid semester academic policies, including definitions, click here to access the Academic Regulations website. 

​​​​​​​For instructions on submitting mid semester academic progress, click here for a PDF on the Office of the Registrar website.

Final Grade Submission

All instructors of record are required to submit final grades by the deadline set each semester. The grade submission deadline is typically a week after the last day of classes and only a few days after the final examination period ends. For instructions on submitting final grades, click here to go to the Office of the Registrar website.

For more information on grading, special situations (such as incompletes), or grade corrections, see the grading section of the Academic Regulations website.​​​​​​​

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Instructor and Student Conduct

This section focuses on three policies: amorous relationships, the right to personal property, and the right to remain in class.

Amorous Relationships

While amorous relationships can form at the University between faculty, staff, and students, they can affect the power dynamics at the institution and disrupt the educational and work environments. For more information and responsibilities on this policy, see the Amorous Relationships policy section of the University Policy Office website.

The policy means that you are not to date students or a person you supervise, specifically while you are in a supervisory role for the student or subordinate.

If you are or were engaged in a relationship prior to being in a supervisory role or you find yourself starting to have a relationship, you are required to report this relationship to your department or unit head.

Right to Personal Property and Remain in Class

Students have a right to their personal property, and you cannot take away things like cell phones. Instead, establish a classroom policy around the appropriate time to use technology.

In the same vein, you cannot ask students to leave the classroom. If there is a direct disruption to your class or the safety of you or your students, you can call the Purdue University Police Department (PUPD) at 765-494-7504 or 911. For clarification on this policy, contact the Senior Director of Environmental Health and Public Safety at ehps@purdue.edu.

Reporting Concerns about Students 

If you are concerned about the behavior of a student, you are encouraged to report the concern to the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS). See the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) website for more information and examples of behaviors or concerns you might consider reporting. If this situation is an emergency, call 911. To submit a Student of Concern Report, click here to complete the form.

Student Conduct 

As an instructor, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the student conduct expectations and what student conduct is subject to disciplinary sanctions (listed under Regulations Governing Student Conduct, Disciplinary Proceedings, and Appeals). Students are advised of the university policies and are expected to conduct themselves in a responsible and respectable manner.​​​​​

For the Student Bill of Rights, Code of Honor, and Regulations Governing Student Conduct, Disciplinary Proceedings, and Appeals see the Student Conduct Regulations on the Office of the Registrar website.​​​​​​​

University Policy Office: https://www.purdue.edu/policies/index.html

Amorous Relationship Policy: https://www.purdue.edu/policies/ethics/iiia1.html

Nepotism Policy: https://www.purdue.edu/policies/ethics/iiib3.html

Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) – Student of Concern website: https://www.purdue.edu/advocacy/faculty/incident.html