Student Academic Accommodations for Religious Observances Policy

Effective: July 1, 2026 

Approved by: Justin Schwartz, Chancellor  

Policy Owner: Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs  

Policy Contact: Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Assessment 

Supersedes: N/A 

Applies to: Faculty, students 

I. Introduction

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) protects religious freedom by offering academic accommodations to students for religious observances in accordance with federal and Regent law, Regent policy, and CU Administrative Policy Statement (APS) 5065: Protected Class Nondiscrimination. CU Boulder strives to protect students’ religious practices without academic penalty. 

II. Definitions

Academic accommodation for religious observance: A modification or adjustment to a course requirement, schedule or procedure that enables a student to practice their religion without being academically penalized. 

Appeal: A formal request by a student for further review of an academic accommodation decision. Appeals are handled according to the academic appeals procedure established by the student’s college or school. 

Instructional faculty member: An instructor or course leader, of any academic rank or in any type of teaching appointment, who is responsible for administering coursework, grading, and managing academic accommodations within a course. 

Reasonable effort: An expectation that instructional faculty members will consider and implement fair, appropriate and course-specific accommodations for religious observances, as long as doing so does not compromise essential course requirements. 

Religious observance: Any practice, holiday or ritual associated with a person’s sincerely held religious beliefs. 

Syllabus: A course document provided by the instructor that outlines the structure, requirements, and policies of the course, including procedures for requesting accommodations for religious observances. 

III. Roles and Responsibilities 

Instructional faculty members: Provide reasonable accommodations for religious observances; include accommodation procedures in syllabi; notify students of the accommodation request process; and implement appeal outcomes. 

Students: Request accommodations for a religious observance according to instructional faculty member’s accommodation request process and file appeals with the appropriate department or dean. 

Department chairs, program directors, and deans: Review and decide on student appeals and ensure consistency with college or school academic appeal procedures. 

Office of the Provost: Provide instructional faculty members with a syllabus statement template on accommodation procedures for religious observances. 

Vice chancellor for academic planning and assessment: Serve as point of contact for policy guidance and compliance. 

Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance: Serve as a resource for faculty and students with questions or concerns about implementation and appeal procedures. 

IV. Policy Statement 

  1. Instructional faculty members must make every reasonable effort to accommodate all students who have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignment deadlines or required attendance due to a religious observance. 
  2. Because religion is defined broadly, instructional faculty members must not inquire into the validity of the religious observance when determining accommodations. 
  3. Specific accommodations for religious observances may vary from course to course depending upon factors such as the size of the class, the nature of the course content and the mode of instruction. Examples of accommodations for religious observances include, but are not limited to, providing the opportunity for a makeup exam or an equivalent assignment; allowing extra-credit assignments to substitute for missed class work; and arranging for an increased flexibility in assignment due dates. 
  4. Whenever possible, students must notify the instructional faculty member at least two weeks in advance of the expected exam, assignment deadline, or attendance conflict to request an accommodation for religious observance. If the start date of the course is less than two weeks before the date of requested accommodation, students must notify the instructional faculty member on the start date of the course. If a student fails to request an accommodation for religious observance within this notification timeline, the instructional faculty member should exercise discretion as to whether the requested accommodation can be reasonably accommodated, balancing the essential course requirements with the student’s right to exercise their religion. In such cases, the instructional faculty member should provide an accommodation if it is feasible to do so. 
  5. If class attendance is required or if attendance at a specific event or performance is tied to course requirements or grading, a class, event, or performance missed for a religious observance should not be counted as an absence. If students are given the opportunity to skip an exam or quiz or drop their lowest-scored exam or quiz, an exam or quiz missed because of a religious observance should not be counted toward that opportunity. An instructional faculty member may require make-up work in the case of a missed class, exam, or quiz. 
  6. All instructional faculty members must include precise instructions for requesting accommodations for religious observances, tailored for course-specific needs, in the syllabus and should call students’ attention to the requirement for early, timely arrangements. 
  7. If the student is denied an accommodation or believes that the accommodation offered by an instructional faculty member does not reasonably accommodate their religious observance, the student may appeal the matter to the appropriate department, program, or dean.  

V. Procedures

  1. The Office of the Provost will provide a required syllabus statement template for instructional faculty members to tailor with course-specific instructions for students to request accommodations for religious observances. This template will include a link to this policy and will also be included in campus-wide learning management systems (e.g., Canvas) course templates. 
  2. It is the responsibility of the student to request an accommodation for a religious observance, and it is the responsibility of both the student and the instructional faculty member to engage in a respectful dialogue about a reasonable way to accommodate the student. 
  3. Student appeals regarding accommodations in a particular course will be handled according to the established procedure for student academic appeals in the applicable school or college. 
  4. Instructional faculty members seeking guidance on how to implement this policy in their courses, along with any other members of the campus community seeking guidance on how to implement or advise students on this policy, may contact the Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Assessment. Instructional faculty members seeking further guidance on reasonable accommodations for religious observance may contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC). 
  5. Students seeking guidance on how to appeal a requested accommodation for religious observance should contact the chair or director of the department or program offering the course, or the dean of the school in the case of schools that are not divided into departments. Students who have questions about accommodations for religious observance may contact OIEC.  

VI. Related policies, forms, guidelines, and other resources 

VII. History 

  1. Adopted: April 1, 2002 
  2. Revised: July 1, 2026
  3. Last Reviewed: N/A