Student Absence Notification
Before communicating with faculty members about your absence or requesting a courtesy notification through Community Standards & Care Network, be sure to carefully review and follow the guidance provided in your course syllabi.
- Expectations may vary from course to course.
- Please note that faculty members should not require students to provide an absence notification from our office to confirm an absence.
- Community Standards & Care Network will notify faculty regarding a student's absence due to hospitalization, death of a loved one, extenuating circumstances, or other uncontrollable emergencies. This notification serves as a courtesy notice and not a verification of absence. As soon as they can do so, students should contact their faculty regarding missed classes and course expectations.
- For situations involving minor illnesses, medical appointments, or other non-emergencies, Community Standards & Care Network does not provide absence notifications. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate with their faculty regarding their absence.
How to Contact Instructors
Below is a template that you can use when contacting your instructors when you will be absent from class for a non-emergency:
- Use a proper greeting
- Introduce yourself, including your name, student ID, and which course you are taking from the instructor
- Note the date(s) of your absence
- Briefly explain the circumstance which impacts your attendance
- Explain the steps that you are taking to get caught up
- Make any necessary requests regarding making up missed work, late assignment submissions, etc.
- End your message with a polite request for a response
Dear Prof. Smith,
My name is Jane Doe, and my student ID is 0000000. I am a student in your UNIV 101 course. I am writing to let you know that I will be absent from class this coming Monday, March 5, due to a scheduled medical appointment. I have already made arrangements to get notes from a classmate on whatever I miss, and I will complete the assigned reading that is due on that day. However, I wonder if there would be an opportunity for me to make up the in-class reading response that is noted on the course schedule for that day? Please let me know if there is a way that I can make up the points.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe