Attendance and engagement in courses are an essential part of the student learning process leading to student success. Absences impact those students who are absent and can also negatively affect their peers. The scope of this policy applies to all students at the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine. The practice of medicine requires physicians and students to be available for patient care all days of the week and may conceivably occur at any hour of the day. Medical student learning activities may be scheduled any day of the year with mandatory attendance at the discretion of each course director.
Attendance and punctuality are required for all assessments (e.g., exams, quizzes, competency assessments, etc.);laboratory sessions (e.g., anatomy, Osteopathic Clinical Skills (OCS), etc.); engaged learning sessions; scheduled clinical experiences (Clinical Clerkships and Electives, Standardized Patients, Simulations, etc.); and any other session as designated by a Course Director.
Accommodations for Religious Observances or other personal reasons will be considered on an individual basis. RVU complies with the Disabilities and Academic Accommodations and Pregnant and Parenting Student policies.
Additional resources can be found in the University Policy Repository, currently entitled “DynamicPolicy” at: http://policies.rvu.edu.
Punctuality and Tardiness – Students are expected to arrive early for all scheduled events. Timely arrival is 10 prior to the scheduled laboratory sessions, assessments and exams, and 15 minutes prior to scheduled clinical or simulations sessions. A student who arrives late may be refused participation, resulting in no points or grade for the assignment. Every incidence of tardiness may result in a Professionalism Improvement Form being submitted. It is the individual responsibility of the student to request an excused absence prior to the start of a required activity, if possible. Repeated tardiness, defined as three or more tardy incidences in a semester, will result in a meeting with the Professionalism Committee.
Excused Absences and Make-up Activities – If a student is unable to attend a required academic event (e.g., quiz, exam, lab, ELS, etc.), the student must request an excused absence approval from the Office of Student Affairs, through the appropriate online form prior to the required session, except in cases where proactive communication is not possible.
Repeated excused absences will be investigated on an individual basis to determine a breach in professional behavior.
Examples of situations which would generally be approved for an excused absence include but are not limited to death of an immediate relative, birth of a baby (including absence due to pregnancy as medically necessary), pre-approved professional conference, jury duty, or any emergencies of mental or physical illnesses.
Examples of situations which would generally not be approved for an excused absence include, but are not limited to weddings, graduations, and cultural holidays.
Procedure for Seeking an Excused Absence
The Excused Absence Form is found online on the RVU iNet site, at the following link: https://inet.rvu.edu/home/forms- 2/excused-absence-form/
If a student starts but is not able to complete a required activity due to illness or other emergency, they should submit a request for excused absence as soon as possible that explains the circumstances surrounding their inability to complete the activity. Excused absences in these circumstances will be evaluated and granted on a case-by-case basis.
Examinations are stressful; stress/nervousness/panic does not qualify as a medical excuse.
If a student is absent from a required event or assessment and does not receive approval through this process, the student will receive a grade of zero for that event. If an absence is appropriately excused, a student may be allowed to make-up the required activity or participate in an equivalent session at the discretion of the Course Director and/or Program Leadership (Director of Preclinical Education, Assistant/Associate Dean of Preclinical/Clinical Education, Program Director, or designee).
A student who is excused from attending a required lab or other required learning session will not be penalized any grading points. However, that student should not expect faculty to recreate the lab or learning session experience. Hence, it is critical for students to attend all such event, whenever possible.
To take an examination at a different time other than the originally scheduled time, a student must be approved for an excused absence. A student who does not take an examination at its scheduled time and is appropriately excused will be allowed to take a make-up examination, usually before the scheduled exam time. Make-up examinations will be of comparable difficulty and format to the original examination, at the Course Director’s discretion. The policies for examinations will pertain to all makeup examinations. In the interim, the student will have a grade of incomplete (IN) for the course. If the student misses a scheduled make-up examination, the student will receive a zero for that examination.
Any exception to this policy will be made solely at the Dean’s discretion. Attendance requirements may be established by the programs and individual course instructors who have the right of taking attendance in their course at any time.