Excused Absence Policy for Students Engaged in Military Duties
Title 38 of the U.S. Code (Law) states that an educational institution may not take the following actions when a member receives orders for a period of service:
- Assigning the member a failing grade,
- Reducing the member’s grade point average,
- Characterizing any member’s absence(s) as unexcused, or
- Assessing a financial penalty on a member because of a withdraw or leave of absence due to receiving orders for service.
Lindenwood University allows students participating in required military duties to be excused from class. Military duties covered under this policy include, but are not limited to, military deployment, required annual military training, ROTC activities, and civilian deployments in support of federal operations. For service members holding Reserve and National Guard status, weekend duty (drill) requirements should not interfere with normal school schedules. However, if a situation arises that requires absence from class due to duty/drill requirements, this absence can also be excused if the required absence is verified by the commanding officer or other affiliated Guard leader.
If circumstances permit, students should notify instructors of all absences for military duty prior to the absence. Instructors may request documentation/verification of the military duty and require that the absence be verified by the Office of Veteran Affairs. If an exigent circumstance arises, where notification is not possible prior to the absence, the student should contact the instructor and/or university as soon as possible to present documentation of the reason for the absence as well as the reason for late notification. When make-up work is pertinent, students who have provided their professors with notice should be afforded the opportunity to complete assigned work. Alternatively, students can be assigned an educationally equivalent substitutable activity at a time and place mutually agreed upon by the student and the instructor.
No adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any student with excused absences for official university activities or military duties.
Note: Students enrolled in classes with extremely compressed meeting schedules will not be excused from class attendance if participation in the activity would cause the student to miss a significant portion of the scheduled meeting time. Students who enroll in such a class and find that they must be absent will be advised to withdraw from the class.