Absences due to illness or personal or family emergencies must be reported to the Office of Student Affairs via the dedicated email address: absence@med.cuny.edu . These should be reported prior or as soon as possible after an absence. Students need not report the reason absence to the course director. The Office of Student Affairs will inform the course director of the absence.

Absences for the following reasons must be reported to the Office of Student Affairs via the dedicated email address (absence@med.cuny.edu ) a minimum of 2 weeks in advance (except for holidays for which dates are announced with shorter notice):

1. Absences due to religious obligations should be reported as early as possible prior to the date of the holiday. Students should use discretion in judging a holiday’s importance and in requesting absence. Students may not extend the absence beyond the timeframe of the official religious holiday. Students need not report the reason for such absence to the course director. The Office of Student Affairs will inform the course director of the absence.

2. Requests for absence due to a scheduled conference for research presentation or in functioning as a leader of a student organization must be approved by the Office of Student Affairs at absence@med.cuny.edu and the course director at least 2 weeks in advance of the conference. Students must await approval before making travel plans that could interfere with attendance at required course sessions. For students in good academic standing, leadership in co‐curricular activities is encouraged; however, such opportunities must not occur at the expense of a student’s required coursework and attendance. The Office of Student Affairs will inform the student of the decision as soon as possible after the request is made.

3. Requests for absences for life events such as family weddings, graduations, etc. must be sought from the Office of Student Affairs at absence@med.cuny.edu and the course director at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. The office of Student Affairs will inform the student of the decision as soon as possible after the request is made.

All absences from a scheduled examination require documentation (e.g., a physician letter) that should be sent to the Office of Student Affairs at absence@med.cuny.edu only.

All other absences must be reported to the course directors in advance. If confidentiality about the reason is necessary, the student can report the reason for the absence to the Office of Student Affairs instead of at absence@med.cuny.edu.

Each course syllabus specifies the number of absences that are allowed each semester, and the consequences for exceeding this number. Every absence may require the student to complete “makeup” assignments. These policies are described in each course syllabus.

Students can find policies related to non-compliance with the Attendance Policy in individual course syllabi. Consequences may include:

● issued professionalism form,

● ad hoc Professionalism Committee referral for review

● a lower grade assigned

● failing a course

● additional time assigned to the course.