When students are absent due to a crisis situation or unexpected illness and are unable to contact individual instructors directly, the Dean of Students Office can send an Emergency Notification. Requests should be emailed to ssas@uri.edu.
Important Note: Each instructor has the authority to make decisions about student absences and how an absence will affect students’ grades. The Dean of Students Office is unable to require faculty to excuse absences or grant make-up work. However, the Dean of Students Office staff encourages faculty to keep in mind that students who utilize the emergency notification service are typically recovering from a crisis and benefit from appropriate consideration.
An Emergency Notification is NOT:
- Appropriate for non-emergency situations such as car problems, minor illnesses, an absence fewer than 3 days, or a past absence.
- A request or mandate to excuse an absence; this decision belongs to the instructor.
- A requirement for students. If a student contacts instructors about an emergency directly, it is not necessary to involve the Dean of Students Office. Instructors are always welcome to share any concern about a student with the Dean of Students Office.
What is an Emergency Notification?
- An email notification from Student Support and Advocacy Services to a student’s instructor(s). A copy of this message is also sent to the student.
- An announcement that an emergency prevents a student from contacting their instructor directly and may also prevent the student from fulfilling academic responsibilities.
- A source of information so that faculty can anticipate a student’s absence and (sometimes) know when to expect the student to return to class.
- A written reminder that students should work directly with instructors to determine how to complete any missed coursework during an absence.