Attendance
Course and Lab Attendance Policy
Bastyr University does not have a universal course and lab attendance policy. However, faculty members may establish attendance requirements for their course(s) or lab(s). Some state licensing boards and the Veterans Administration require 90 percent attendance. Students receiving financial assistance from the Veterans Administration or students who need to meet state licensing board requirements are responsible for notifying the faculty member of their need to document attendance.
When a student has an excused absence, the faculty member may require that the student complete an assignment to make up for the time missed. An absence is considered excused if the student has a legitimate personal emergency, a serious illness or a documented birth (midwifery program students), as long as the student calls his/her faculty member(s) or leaves a message for the faculty member(s) with Faculty Services regarding the situation (24-hour voicemail is available). Faculty may require documentation upon return from the excused absence. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with the faculty member to discuss the absence and make up work upon return. Failure to meet the stated attendance requirements for the class may affect the student’s final grade, and the student may be required to take the course again. In addition to possible consequences for absences, habitual tardiness may be taken into account by faculty as part of the course grade and/or may be reported to the dean of students for disciplinary action.
Students cannot register for two courses or labs that are scheduled at overlapping times. Credit can only be applied to a single course at any one given time. Students cannot attend a course without being registered for it and must attend the section of a course or lab for which they are registered. Failure to follow this policy may result in loss of course credit or a course grade of No Show (NS).
Clinic Attendance Policy
All student clinicians are required to attend at least 80 percent of each assigned quarter shift in order to receive a grade of achieved competency (AC). Holidays and emergency closures of the University clinics do not figure into the total quarter attendance. A student who does not attend at least 80 percent of the shift (two excused absences) will receive a failure grade for that shift and lose all patient contacts and hours. The entire shift would need to be taken again. Exceptional circumstances resulting in a third absence may be approved at the discretion of the supervisor. Four or more absences will result in an automatic failure for that shift. Please note that 100 percent of the required clinical hours must be completed before recommendation for graduation. Please refer to the Student Clinician Handbook for further details.
Religious or Spiritual Holidays
The University’s policy is to attempt to accommodate the observance of religious practices. Religious absences will not count against any attendance requirement, but students are responsible for the information and material covered. Students observing such holidays are required to notify faculty during the first week of classes as well as find substitutes for clinic shifts affected. Students should follow the reschedule exam procedures in the event an exam falls on a religious holiday.
The University schedules clinical training and occasional required courses or intensives on weekends. Students with religious restrictions against attending classes on weekends need to contact their program chairs, in advance, when such conflicts occur. Efforts will be made to resolve such conflicts, but a resolution cannot be guaranteed.
Convention, Conference, Seminar and Workshop Attendance Policy
Occasionally, there may be professional conventions or conferences offered during the academic year which programs encourage their students to attend. Students who wish to attend must receive advance permission from their instructor(s) if there is an attendance requirement, exam or project due during that time. Students are responsible for the information and material missed. Students who receive permission must arrange with faculty to take missed quizzes and exams immediately upon return.
Students must also comply with clinic absence policies. Please refer to the Student Clinician Handbook for further details.