Health Questions – Part I
We’re going to cover three common health-related questions over the next few days in the Daily Deac. Here’s the first one:
What if my student gets sick during the semester? What should he do? How should he handle his classes if he feels too sick to attend?
If a student is ill, he or she should make an appointment with the Student Health Service so he or she can be seen and treated as appropriate. The first priority is to get the student well again.
Students who are too ill to attend class should communicate promptly with their professors via email about their illness. If care is being received for an illness or injury at the Student Health Service that interferes with class attendance, the Student Health Service will provide documentation for faculty of this illness at the student’s request. This is usually through a receipt documenting the visit available to students at checkout. Because the responsibility of excusing students from class rests with the faculty, students are encouraged to discuss their medical situations with their professors. If additional documentation is needed from the Student Health Service, this can be provided at the student’s request. Information concerning hospitalization and prolonged illnesses is sent, with the student’s permission, to the Office of Academic Advising who can then contact student’s professors about the situation.
Some faculty members have an attendance policy on their course syllabi, Students can ask their professor about whether an absence for illness counts against a specific professor’s attendance policy or if that can be remedied with documentation from The Office of Academic Advising or Student Health. Faculty members may also have statements on their syllabi directing students not to attend class if ill with a contagious illness (such as influenza). Students should check the syllabus for that information.