Delineating Medical vs. Disability Excused Absences
Excused absences from classes may be due to a documented disability or unanticipated medical issue (i.e. injury, sudden illness). In the case of the former, all documentation is received, reviewed, and managed by Disability Resources according to their established guidelines and students can generate accommodation letters to faculty. In the latter, faculty will be informed either by the Academic Success Center (after a review and determination is made by the CARE team) or students should provide documentation directly to faculty. Only if an unanticipated medical issue will lead to a temporary or permanent disability does Disability Resources need to be involved.
Faculty should not make assumptions about student recovery, treatment, or performance based on their personal or other experiences.