Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any absence from class. At the beginning of each semester, instructors must provide the students in their courses with written guidelines regarding possible penalties for failure to attend class. These guidelines may vary from course to course but are subject to the following conditions:

• In accordance with Federal Law, students with a disability documented through Student Accessibility Services (SAS) may require reasonable accommodations to ensure equitable access. A student with an attendance accommodation, who misses a scheduled course time due to a documented disability, must be provided an equivalent opportunity to make up missed time and/or coursework within a reasonable time-frame. An accommodation that affects attendance is not an attendance waiver and no accommodation can fundamentally alter a course requirement. If a faculty member thinks an attendance-related accommodation would result in a fundamental alteration, concerns and potential alternatives should be discussed with SAS.
• In accordance with New York State law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. The faculty member is responsible for providing the student with an equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirement that the student may have missed. Any such work is to be completed within a reasonable time frame, as determined by the faculty member.
• Any student who misses class due to a family or individual health emergency or to a required appearance in a court of law shall be excused. If the emergency is prolonged or if the student is incapacitated, the student or a family member/legal guardian should report the absence to the Dean of Students or the Dean of the academic school where the student’s program is housed. Students may consider a leave of absence, medical leave of absence, selected course withdrawals, etc., if they miss a significant portion of classwork.
  • Graduate students may not take a leave of absence 
• A student may be excused to participate in local, state, or federal elections. The student is responsible to make up any work that is missed due to the absence. Any such work is to be completed within a reasonable time frame, as determined by the faculty member.

A student may be excused for participation in College-authorized co-curricular and extracurricular activities if, in the instructor’s judgment, this does not impair the specific student’s or the other students’ ability to succeed in the course.

For all absences except those due to religious beliefs, the course instructor has the right to determine if the number of absences has been excessive in view of the nature of the class that was missed and the stated attendance policy.

Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences.