UCB POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Topic: Observance of Religious Holidays and Exams

Date: 1 May 1998, revised

Approved by Chancellor Richard Byyny and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Phil DiStefano

Introduction:

The University of Colorado at Boulder has a legal and moral obligation to accommodate all students who must be absent from classes in order to observe religious holidays, and we must be careful not to inhibit or penalize these students for exercising their rights to religious observance.

Religious Obligations--Conflicts with Scheduled Exams

Every effort shall be made to accommodate all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or required attendance, provided they notify you well in advance of the scheduled conflict. If an exam is scheduled on a religious holiday, the student must be allowed to take a makeup exam or complete an equivalent assignment. However, other accommodations may be made by mutual agreement of the student and the course instructor. For example, the student might be excused from the exam so that the course grade is based upon the scores from other exams. Accommodations for class assignments might include flexibility in accepting assignments turned in within a reasonable period, extra-credit assignments to substitute for missed class work, etc. If class attendance is required, classes missed to observe a religious holiday should not be counted as an absence.

In the event that your students are somewhat delinquent in informing you of their religious observations, please try to accommodate them where practical. It might be helpful if you announce this policy to your students and print it on the course syllabus so that they can notify you of any conflicts as soon as possible.

Appeal Procedures

If the student and the course instructor cannot agree on an accommodation, the student may bring the matter to the Department Chair for a decision. If there is still no agreement, the student may bring the matter to the school or college dean's office.