Attendance

Regular attendance at course meetings and related events is expected of all students. Furthermore, students are expected to remain in the immediate vicinity of Cambridge during the Examination Periods, Reading Periods, and term time with the exception of scheduled vacations and holidays. Students may not be absent from the area for extended periods of time during the term without the permission of their Allston Burr Resident Dean or the Dean of Freshmen.

A student on probation is required to attend all academic exercises. Unexcused absence by a student on probation renders him or her liable to requirement to withdraw from the College at any time.

By vote of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences instructors are required to hold their regular classes on the days preceding and following holidays and vacations. They are not permitted to allow temporary transfer of students from section to section or to excuse students at these times.

Restricted Attendance

With the exception of classes held prior to the filing of study cards, when any registered student may attend a class, only students enrolled in a course and auditors who have been given specific permission by the instructor ordinarily may attend course meetings. From time to time, instructors may permit other guests, such as colleagues, parents, alumnae/i, or prospective students, to attend individual class meetings; however, instructors are always free to restrict attendance at a class meeting or meetings to regularly enrolled students and authorized auditors.

Absence from Classes

A student should report all absences that may have a significant effect on his or her status to the Allston Burr Resident Dean or Resident Dean for Freshmen and to the instructor(s) of the course(s) concerned. A student who is called away in an emergency or is otherwise unavoidably absent from College should notify his or her Allston Burr Resident Dean or Resident Dean for Freshmen both before departure and upon return. Absence from College without such notification may lead to requirement to withdraw. A student who is sick may consult either the University Health Services or his or her own physician but should report all cases of serious illness promptly to the University Health Services either in person or by telephone.

Absence from academic exercises, for whatever reason, including representing the College in extracurricular and athletic activities, does not relieve a student from responsibility for any part of the work in the course required during the period of absence.

Storm and Emergency Conditions

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences rarely cancels classes due to weather. However, the faculty and section leaders who need to commute should not put themselves in danger during serious storms, and may choose to cancel their individual classes. Students may find the following information helpful:

• For the most part, undergraduate students are in residence and are expected to attend classes. Undergraduate students who decide that they cannot make it to class should consult the course materials for instructions on informing the course's instructional staff of planned absences from class. If such procedures have not been provided, then the student should inform the instructor or the teaching fellow of the planned absence by email or by telephone.
• Similarly, students may find instructions in the course materials that indicate how the instructional staff would inform students of the cancellation of a class or section meeting. For example, many courses inform students of the cancellation via an announcement posted at the course's home page on the web, via an email to the class attendees, or by leaving a message on the voice mail system of a centralized departmental telephone.
• FAS offices and academic departments will be open depending on staff availability and whether there are critical functions in progress. Call the central number for that office before going there.
• Final examinations and makeup examinations are rarely cancelled and students should report to their exam rooms on time.
• On the very rare occasion when FAS decides to cancel classes, an announcement of the cancellation will be posted at the College home page (www.college.harvard.edu) and on www.my.harvard.edu.

Hour and Midterm Examinations

The administration of hour and midterm examinations is the responsibility of the instructor; such exams should ordinarily be scheduled during regular class meeting times. Instructors are required to offer makeup exams to students who are absent from hour and midterm examinations for the observance of a religious holiday. If an instructor is satisfied that an absence for another reason is necessary and that omitting a grade for the missed hour or midterm examination will not affect the student's course grade, final evaluation of the student's work in the course may be determined from the remainder of the course work. The instructor may also elect to give a makeup examination. The responsibility for such decisions rests with the instructor only, and not with the Dean's Office or the Administrative Board.

Although instructors are obligated to offer makeup examinations only in the case of absence for the observance of a religious holiday, students who have obtained proper Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) documentation of illness may not be penalized for their absence from hour and midterm examinations. The appropriate form must be signed by a HUHS medical professional and given to the student's Allston Burr Resident Dean or Freshman Dean, who will write the student a letter that acknowledges receipt of the HUHS form. This letter may be presented to the instructor as certification of the student's illness.

Absences for Religious Holidays

A student whose absence from an hour or midterm examination is a consequence of his or her religious belief "shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such examination" (Commonwealth of Massachusetts H6642-a bill enacted in September 1985 excusing the absence of students for their religious beliefs). It is the responsibility of the students concerned to provide instructors with the dates on which they will be absent because of a conflict with the religious holidays they will be observing. If conflicts are unavoidable, students who are absent from hour or midterm examinations for religious reasons shall be offered an opportunity to make up the work, without penalty, unless it can be demonstrated that such a make-up opportunity would constitute an "unreasonable burden" on the faculty.