memorandum
TO: Deans, Directors, Department Chairs and University Faculty
FROM: Donald DeHayes, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
DATE: January 19, 2017
SUBJECT: University-Sanctioned Events
As the new semester approaches, I want to remind faculty of the following policy regarding students participating in University-sanctioned events:
Sections 8.51.11 & 8.51.12 of the University Manual states (https://web.uri.edu/manual/chapter- 8/chapter-8-4/):
8.51.11 Students who plan to be absent from classes or examinations for religious holy days that traditionally preclude secular activity (see 6.20.11 for how such information is made available) shall discuss this with the appropriate instructor(s) in advance of the holy day. The instructor(s) shall then make one of the following options available:
a. the same quiz, test, or examination to be administered either before or after the normally scheduled time;
b. a comparable alternative quiz, test, or examination to be administered either before or after the scheduled time;
c.an alternative weighting of the remaining evaluative components of the course which is mutually acceptable to the student and instructor(s).8.51.12 Students who expect to be absent from classes or examinations for University sanctioned events shall discuss this with the appropriate instructor(s) at least one week in advance of the sanctioned event(s). The instructor(s) concerned shall then offer the student an alternative listed in section 8.51.11. For these purposes University sanctioned events shall be those events approved for class excuses by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a Vice President, a Dean, or the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. No event shall be regarded as University sanctioned until the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs has been notified. Disagreements over the validity of an event being categorized as University sanctioned shall be mediated by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. If agreement cannot be reached, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall decide the matter and that decision shall be final.
Best wishes for an enjoyable and productive semester.