Dean of Students | University of Wyoming

Contact Us

Dean of Students Office

Knight Hall 128

Dept. 3135, 1000 E. University Dr.

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-3296

Fax: 307-766-3298

Email: dos@uwyo.edu

Excused Absences

What is an Excused Absence?

On occasion an unanticipated class absence occurs. If it falls within the following guidelines (in accordance with the UW Standard Administrative Policy and Procedure-Student Absence Policy) of an excused absence, the Dean of Students can provide an excused absence letter to a student, allowing them to make up missed work for the class.

How Many Days Can an Excused Absence Span?

Apart from active military duty and certain pregnant student support, excused absences for any given situation cannot be longer than 5 consecutive weekdays. For example, a five-day absence might be Monday through Friday OR Thursday through Wednesday. Any class attendance points, assignments, or tests falling outside of the excused absence would be at the discretion of your faculty. Refer to class syllabi for class attendance and absence policies. The Dean of Students does not have authority over instructor attendance or grading policies.

What Qualifies?

Students wishing to request an excused absence must meet one of the below criteria as noted in the Student Attendance Policy. The request and all necessary documentation must be received by our office within two weeks of the first day of absence.

PLEASE NOTE:

Requests submitted without the appropriate documentation will be denied. A new request with proper documentation can be submitted within the approval timeframe.
Students with chronic medical conditions or a documented concussion may qualify for additional support and accommodations with Disability Support Services.
Weather-related absences: Students work directly with their instructors if unable to attend class due to inclement weather or road closure. Reference ‘Guidelines for Managing Student Absences.’
When the University is officially closed by the President, absences are automatically excused. No excused absence request is needed.
Absence requests are carefully reviewed. Any false or misleading information is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and may result in conduct proceedings.

Excused Absence Criteria

Admission to a hospital, accident with significant injury, family medical emergency. Excused absences can only be issued if absent 3-5 days. If absence is 1-2 days or exceeds 5 days, the absence dates will be at the discretion of your professor(s) and per the class syllabus.

Documentation: doctor or medical provider note stating your needed absence dates and a return to class date.

Academic field trip, judging, academic conference, field work, RSO activity, athletic event. These requests must be submitted by supervising/advising UW faculty or staff member.

Documentation: itinerary, travel schedule, etc.

Death of an immediate family member, caregiving to a family member requiring an absence of 3-5 days, or other extenuating circumstance.

Documentation: For funeral attendance, a copy of the obituary or memorial service card & how student is related to the deceased. Caregiving requires a doctor’s note stating dates of care. Other extenuating circumstances may require a meeting with a Care Team member. Contact Dean of Students with any documentation questions.

Submit an excused absence request for any orders of 5 days or less. If orders exceed 5 days, contact the Veteran’s Service Center (VSC) for review. VSC will help coordinate any absence of 6+ days.

Documentation: mandatory service orders.

Allowed for observance of a religious holy day or holiday. Include name of holy day or holiday.

Documentation: Provide brief description, including dates, of the holiday/holy day and the importance of attendance or participation. Can provide a calendar or link to holiday information, if desired.

Contact Dean of Students to meet and discuss available resources and support. Online resources can be found HERE. Disability Support Services (DSS) can offer ongoing accommodation.

Documentation: medical documentation.

Jury duty, subpoena

Documentation: court-issued subpoena or jury duty summons.

Documentation Questions?

Contact the Dean of Students Office at dos@uwyo.edu or call (307) 766-3296.

What Does Not Qualify?

PLEASE NOTE: The Dean of Students, in conjunction with Academic Affairs, DOES NOT issue excused absences for:

Cold, flu, or other typical type of illness/medical condition that affects student attendance for 1-2 days.
Doctor or dentist routine appointments
Jail time for any reason
Appearing in court if the violation was incurred because of the person’s own behavior
Vacations, trips, weddings, graduations, or non-UW activities

What else should I know?

Students are responsible for communicating absences to their instructors. If approved, the student receives a PDF of the excused absence that they need to share with relevant instructors directly.
For situations that are planned ahead (e.g. University travel), students should work with faculty on plans to make-up the missed coursework as soon as possible. We recommend students engage in collaborative discussion regarding absences early and often with their instructors.
When an absence is excused, the instructor will give the student a reasonable amount of time following the absence to make up the material or activities covered in the absence, regardless of location or modality of the course. Specific discussions on making up coursework and any relevant deadline is between the student and their instructor.
Students are encouraged to work with a DOS Care and Outreach Coordinator if they need wellbeing support related to their absence, or to explore alternative options available to them.

How Can I Submit an Excused Absence Request?

Anyone requesting an excused absence must include the W-number of the absent student(s), using the format W00000000.

Excused absence requests and all supporting documentation must be submitted within two weeks of the first day of absence. Late submissions will be denied.

Absence requests can take several days to process, depending on the overall request volume at the time of form submittal.

Submit Absence Request

Group Absence Requests

Faculty and staff requesting a group excused absence for participation in official university activities or functions should allow at least one week for processing of the absence request.

How are Excused Absences Managed?

Faculty can find important information on how to effectively manage student absences from the Guidelines on Managing Student Absences and the Student Attendance Policy.

Approved absences will be documented in a signed PDF letter and emailed to the student as an attachment. Students are expected to provide the letter as documentation to any faculty member who will be affected by the student’s absence. The letter will not include detailed information about the nature of the absence. Instructors will give students a reasonable amount of time following the absence to make up the material or activities covered in the absence, regardless of location or modality of the course. Once the Dean of Students has excused the absence, the student must communicate the excused absence to the instructor at least 24 hours prior to the absence when possible, or as soon as is practicable after the absence occurs, except in an emergency or when the University is officially closed.

APPEAL PROCESS: If your request is denied, you have the right to appeal the decision. Appeals must be specifically described in writing and submitted within ten days of the denied excused absence notice to the Dean of Students, 128 Knight Hall, Laramie, WY 82071 or via email to dos@uwyo.edu. Consistent with University Regulation 11-3, appeals may be sought on two grounds: (a) failure to follow proper procedures; or (b) newly discovered relevant facts. Appeals will be reviewed by the Dean of Students or their designee and a written response will be sent to the student within ten business days of the appeal submission.