Student appeal leads to new ‘family emergency’ policy

Members of student government vote during a general meeting. (Kathryn Thompson))

Provost Peter Stearns announced a new policy last Wednesday outlining protocol for dealing with student family emergencies, specifically a death in the family. The policy decision follows a student appeal to address the issue.

The new policy appoints Dean of Student Academic Affairs Marcelle Heerschap as the point-person for resolving issues of academic integrity and student concerns of privacy during a family emergency.

According to a Feb. 20 post on the Provost’s blog, the need for a university policy addressing the issue arose when a student was asked by a professor to present a death certificate in order to be granted an excused absence from class.

“The student managed to appeal to the  [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] privacy laws and persuade the instructor to change his mind but felt demeaned in the process—in what was clearly a difficult personal time,” said Stearns in his blog entry.

Under the new policy, a student who is uncomfortable asking a professor for an excused absence in the event of a family emergency may visit the Dean of Student Academic Affairs Marcelle Heerschap. The Dean would then discuss the situation with the student and reach out to the instructor to gain approval for the absence without documentation, said Stearns in the blog post.

“Through this process no student would face the intrusion of a potentially offensive documentation request from an instructor,” said Heerschap.

Following the Provost’s announcement, Student Government presented a resolution in support of the new policy.

Student Government Speaker Tommy Lee presented Resolution 18 to the Committee of Government Affairs on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The committee unanimously voted to pass the resolution which officially proclaims Student Government’s support of the university policy and commends Provost Stearns for his quick action and leadership on the issue.

On Thursday, Feb. 23, the Student Senate also voted to support the resolution.

“I think that this resolution is very important because people go through stuff like this all the time,” said Student Government Senator Matt Crush.

The policy addresses a personal issue for Crush who said he once had to deal with a difficult situation with a professor following the death of a close friend.

“I found out [that my best friend passed away] on a Sunday night and I had an exam on a Thursday,” said Crush. “The viewing was Thursday.”

When Crush discussed with professors his intentions to attend his friend’s wake, he encountered a dilemma.

“I talked to my professor and he was like ‘I won’t move the exam because if I move it for you, I have to move it for everybody,’” said Crush. “Every other professor moved exams, papers, whatever, but he refused to.”

When asked how far the policy would extend and how it would be enforced, Stearns said a statement about the policy has been circulated, but that his “honest hope would be that—for the most part—this is a non-issue.”

“I hope most instructors are willing to take students at their word,” said Stearns.

C2M Managing Editor Adam Sylvain contributed to this story.