Hello all,
We had a situation come up on our campus recently regarding students being absent from class to fulfill their military obligations. Can you please respond and tell me your policies regarding the following situations:
1) Does your absence policy specifically address military obligations? Our policy (below) does not specifically address absences due to military obligations.
It is Montana Tech policy that faculty should make reasonable accommodation for students to make-up work missed (or the equivalent) because of an excused absence. Students expecting to incur excused absences should consult with their instructors early in the term to be sure that they understand the absence policies for each of their courses. Excused absences include official Montana Tech events or activities, or personal matters deemed appropriate by the instructor.
Official Montana Tech Events or activities for the purposes of “excused absence”:
NAIA sanctioned sporting events
Academic Team competitions (i.e., concrete canoe, steel bridge, human powered vehicle, ethics bowl, environmental design, etc.)
Travel for professional meetings related to major
Class field trips
Others as approved by the Chancellor
2) How does your campus deal with extended absences due to military obligations? For example, we have National Guard students that are required to participate in a military exercise for two weeks during the semester. Does your campus require faculty to provide special accommodations for these students, or are the students just expected to make up the missed work on their own?
3) Are you aware of any regulations that state that we are required to make special accommodations for students that miss school due to military obligations?
Kathy J. Williams, MBA
Registrar/Executive Director of Enrollment Management
(406) 496-4266
