Modified Attendance
Overview
Some students with chronic health conditions that are episodic in nature and periodically worsen or unexpectedly "flare up" may experience legitimate barriers to class attendance and may need occasional exceptions to the class attendance policy.
This accommodation does not go into effect until the student and instructor have discussed, agreed upon a specific plan and the student has submitted the agreement through myDRC. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate this process. Please see below for important information about this process.
Attendance accommodations do NOT apply to the following:
- Consistent absences due to frequently occurring appointments (e.g., weekly therapy);
- Absences due to chronic personal organization and time management difficulties;
- Absences due to non-disability related reasons (e.g., car trouble), seasonal illness (e.g., cold/ flu), or health conditions that are not documented with the DRC.
Resources and Instructions
Students who are eligible for attendance accommodations are expected to keep up with the overall volume of coursework, including course content, lecture notes, and information presented during class. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange how they will obtain this information, such as by planning with their instructor or classmates to obtain notes from missed classes.
The Modified Attendance accommodation is not in effect until a Flex Agreement for each class has been reviewed and accepted by both student and Instructor*. Instructors are not expected to accept late work due prior to the completed Flex Agreement.
*If the Instructor does not respond after (2) DRC outreach emails (14 days), the agreement will be in effect. This allows the university to remain in compliance with disability legislation.
STEP 1: Student requests the accommodation via myDRC Portal
Student submits an Accommodation Request, selecting Modified Attendance for each class in which it may be needed.
STEP 2: Student initiates the Flex Agreement via myDRC Portal
The student must start the process of creating a Flex Agreement for each class using the Flexible Agreement option in myDRC. The agreement should address specific adjustments that can be made to the attendance policy and must be a reasonable (e.g., 2 additional absences).
STEP 3: Instructor reviews Flex Agreement
The Instructor will receive email notification of the student’s proposed Flex Agreement, which can be viewed in myDRC-Instructor portal. Instructors must review, propose changes, or accept the agreement.
STEP 4: Notification of completed Flex Agreement
The student and Instructor will receive email notification when the Flex Agreement has been reviewed and approved.
Review the for step by step instructions on completing the Flexible Agreement on the myDRC portal.
Federal law requires universities to consider whether any policy or procedure in place is discriminatory for students with disabilities and alter it if found to be so. University representatives must engage in a reasoned, deliberative process to consider individualized adjustments to allow students with disabilities an equal opportunity to meet course and program requirements. However, the university is not required to waive essential academic requirements resulting in fundamental changes to learning objectives or technical standards.
The DRC is required to serve as an intermediary between students and class instructors to protect student confidentiality and determine reasonable adjustments to the course attendance policy. Students must submit to the DRC disability documentation from a qualified professional to establish relevant history and current functional limitations that necessitate the requested accommodation. At no time are students required to present disability documentation to instructors. Instructors have a legal obligation, upon DRC’s request, to participate promptly in a collaborative and deliberative process to determine educationally feasible alternatives to their class attendance policy.
View our Faculty Flexible Agreement page for details and a tutorial for faculty.