Foundations Absence Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to inform students how to navigate unexpected absences and avoid unapproved absences during their Foundation years. Faculty aim to ensure high quality learning experiences with the least amount of disruption while supporting students in their personal and professional development. Attendance to all learning events is expected, however we realize that some absences are unavoidable.   

Absence requests will be handled by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs (ADSA) and the Associate Dean for Medical Education (ADME), and their staff, in consultation with the appropriate Module Director(s). Students are requested to report absences using the Absence dashboard in BAMS as detailed below.

All absences, anticipated or unanticipated, count towards the maximum allowed for the module.

Allowed Absences

All Modules will indicate the maximum number of absences on the module page in the classroom management system (BAMS). 

  • 4 days for a module that is greater than or equal to 12 weeks
  • 2 days for a module that is less than 12 weeks except for:
    • Scholarship in Medicine, Physician Cultural Responsibility which will have a maximum of 1 absence each
    • Clinical Medicine, as a longitudinal module, has its own absence policy detailed below:
      • Students are permitted to miss a maximum of four (4) Clinical Medicine days for CM year 1 (July-May) and 2 absences for CM year 2 (August-January). There are often multiple Clinical Medicine teaching and learning activities on a particular day. Missing one activity will be counted as an absence for that day.  Students must also notify the module director regarding any absences from non-graded, mandatory activities by emailing som-satc@wright.edu.
  • Modules may indicate specific dates as “blackout dates” in which attendance is required and material cannot be made up. This includes but is not limited to class sessions in which an individual or group class activity satisfies a specific objective required to earn a passing grade in the module. These blackout dates will be clearly indicated in the learning event on BAMS. Students who have an unexpected absence on a “blackout date” should meet with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Dean for Medical Education within 7 calendar days. The ADSA and ADME will work with the module director(s) and/or content facilitators to determine if an exception or alternative assessment is warranted.
  • Final points total will be adjusted to exclude allowed or excused absences. For any unexcused absences students will receive a score of 0 for that activity and will be noted as a professionalism violation.  

Anticipated Absences

Anticipated absences for events including but not limited to life events, religious observances, off-site professional activities, and other known events, should be requested a minimum of 30 days prior to the date of the anticipated absence using the absence reporting tool in the classroom management system (BAMS). Students will have the ability to upload supporting documentation or may be asked to upload supporting documentation within one week of the planned absence, as appropriate. If the student has exceeded their allowed absences for a module, the student will be notified of approval or denial of the request by the Office of Student Affairs no more than 14 days prior to the anticipated absence.

Unanticipated Absences

Unanticipated absences from module learning events due to illness or family emergencies should be directed to the absence portal as soon as possible.  Absence form submission and any required documentation should be submitted within 7 days of returning to classes.

  • If the absence is health-related and lasts more than two consecutive days, students should obtain a written statement from their physician.
  • If the absence is more than the allotted days, as indicated in the module’s BAMS page, for other reasons besides health-related, the student should meet to discuss the situation with the ADSA.

Students are encouraged to arrange to review any missed material as soon as possible at the discretion of the Module Director(s), teaching faculty, or learning specialists as appropriate. In instances of an extended absence, students may be required to request a leave of absence as outlined in the Leave of Absence Policy (these include medical, parental, and other forms of leave).

Procedure for Examination Absences

Absences for examinations and in-class quizzes will require an excused absence in order to be eligible to make up the examination. Students must fill out an Examination Absence Request form and provide supporting documentation for an excused absence to be granted (i.e., doctor’s note, obituary notice, conference presentation schedule, etc.) to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions to be granted an excused absence.

Circumstances where an excused absence may be granted are as follows:

  • Medical illness
  • Authorized presentation of scholarly work at an academic conference
  • Serving in an official capacity as a representative of the School of Medicine
  • An anticipated significant family ceremony that requires a student’s attendance
  • A family crisis that requires a student’s presence
  • An anticipated religious ceremony or observation (Religious Observances Policy)
  • Inclement weather (see student policy guide)
  • Unforeseen extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control

Requests for an excused absence must be submitted via the Examination Absence Request form at least thirty (30) days for anticipated absences, and BEFORE the start of the examination for unanticipated absences. Supporting documentation must be provided to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions for the decision to approve or deny an examination absence request.

For any exam with a group component, a student granted an excused absence and ability to reschedule for medical reasons with supporting documentation from a physician, will receive their group score for the group portion of the exam grade. For excused absences related to other reasons and the ability to reschedule, students will receive their individual score only as their grade for the entire exam.

If a student is denied an excused absence and is not present for an exam, the student shall receive a score of zero and will not have an opportunity to make up or retake the exam.

Repeated requests (beyond one [1] in an academic year) to reschedule examinations will be referred to the Associate Deans of Medical Education and Student Affairs for further discussion and potential referral to SPC for unprofessional behavior.

Holidays

Students are allotted time off for Thanksgiving, a winter break which includes New Year’s day, a spring break in first year, and other federal and state holidays as indicated on the Academic Calendar.

Observation of religious holidays should be requested utilizing the same manner and timeline as other types of absences, preferably making notification within the first two weeks of a module. These absences will not count towards a student’s pool of absences. Please refer to the BSOM Religious Observance Policy for additional information.

Personal Health Appointments

Routine physical and mental health appointments are a key component to maintaining wellness and academic success. Students are encouraged to schedule such visits outside of scheduled class time as much as possible.

When a personal health appointment conflicts with a module learning event, students are encouraged to reach out ahead of time, when possible, to seek guidance from module directors or learning event facilitators on overall scheduling specifics to assist students in finding appropriate times for reviewing missed material with the appropriate faculty or staff member.

  • Students are not expected nor required to provide more specific information to module directors or content facilitators beyond indicating when they will be absent.   

Policy for Virtual Teaching & Learning Activities

As teaching and learning strategies employed by BSOM are engaged learning activities, where much of the learning occurs through peer engagement, participating virtually results in a decrease in peer engagement and a sub-optimal classroom and learning experience. Students are required to participate in-person. Virtual teaching and learning will be limited to situations in which the University is closed or delayed in opening, such as with inclement weather or in the event of a pre-approved accommodation for an extenuating circumstance requiring absence from class for greater than two days.

In the event of University closure or delay, the entire class will participate remotely. Notification of a virtual class will be made to students as soon as possible upon official announcement by the University. When the entire class is virtual this will not count as an absence. Instances in which individual students are granted remote access by Student Affairs will be counted as an absence.

We strongly encourage students who are ill to use an absence and focus on resting and healing; faculty, learning specialists, and Module Director(s) can help to facilitate review of content missed when students are feeling better. Please contact the content facilitator for the session(s) you have missed or the module director(s) if you are unsure of who to contact.

Students that wish to participate virtually due to an extenuating circumstance must contact the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions. The Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Support Staff (MedOps), and appropriate Module Director(s) will be notified of students who are granted virtual participation no later than 60 minutes prior to a session. Requests received later than that time may not be accommodated.

  • For PI, students will be given access to the virtual learning format to view and listen to questions, but will not be allowed to “click in”. Students will be permitted to communicate via the chat function with other students that are remote, however faculty and staff will not be monitoring the chat to be able to answer questions in real-time.  All questions for faculty should be sent via email after the session. Students who are remote are under the same Honor Code obligations as in-person students and are not to write out, copy, or in any other way completely reproduce session questions.
  • For TBL, there is not a remote option available.  Students are encouraged to arrange to review any missed material as soon as possible at the discretion of the Module Director(s), teaching faculty, or learning specialists as appropriate.  
  • For WrightQ, students will notify their facilitator in addition to the ADSA and may be able to participate virtually at the discretion of the facilitator with consideration of the logistics involved. The student is responsible for ensuring any role they have for that session is covered by another group member.
  • For anatomy lab, students will notify the Human Architecture module directors and work with their dissecting group to ensure adequate coverage for their scheduled dissection time.
  • For all other sessions, students should contact their module director(s) to determine ability to participate virtually. Although faculty will do their best to accommodate students with extenuating medical circumstances, not all sessions or classrooms have the ability for virtual participation, such as patient/family presentations or workshops.
  • Students shall not receive points for approved individual virtual sessions and their final points total will be adjusted to exclude allowed or excused absences.
  • All logistics for virtual learning, including but not limited to approval of student request, establishing of a specific Teams or WebEx meeting with unique link, recording and reporting of student presence in remote, recording and reporting of students in remote without approval, and responding to student needs with respect to troubleshooting or questions for facilitators during learning events will be handled by members of the Office of Student Affairs. Office of Student Affairs will share this information with the ADME, module directors, and appropriate DME staff.
  • Students that attend a virtual session without approval may be reported for a violation of the Honor Code and may be denied approval for future remote sessions.

Examples of circumstances where virtual learning may be granted are as follows:

  • Medical illness
  • Authorized presentation of scholarly work at an academic conference
  • Serving in an official capacity as a representative of the School of Medicine
  • An anticipated significant family ceremony that requires a student’s attendance
  • A family crisis that requires a student’s presence
  • An anticipated religious ceremony or observation (Religious Observances Policy)
  • Inclement weather (see student policy guide)
  • Unforeseen extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control

Ultimately, approval or denial of virtual learning requests is at the discretion of the ADSA.

Unexcused Absences

An unexcused absence is seen as a lapse of professionalism and may be noted or reported to the Honor Council as warranted. Students missing graded activities due to an unexcused absence will receive a grade of zero without the option for make-up of that learning event. 

Appeal for denied absence requests or unexcused absences is to the Vice Dean for Educational Affairs. The appeal must be submitted in writing and received within seven (7) business days of the ADME and ADSA’s decision. In the event of a conflict of interest, the final level of appeal is to the Dean. After reviewing all relevant information, the Vice Dean for Educational Affairs will notify the student, ADME, ADSA, and Module Director(s), as appropriate.

 

Approved by FCC on May 24, 2017
Revised and Approved by FCC on January 3, 2018
Revised and Approved by FCC on July 2, 2018
Revised and Approved by FCC on November 30, 2022
Revised and Approved by FCC on May 24, 2023
Revised and Approved by FCC on June 28, 2023