Academic Affairs
The Core Policy: The decision to excuse a student from class or extend a deadline should be based on a direct conversation between the student and the instructor, in accordance with course policies outlined in the syllabus. Consistent with our peer institutions, Wicker Wellness does not provide "medical notes" for short-term issues such as minor injuries, mental health concerns that do not require professional clinical intervention, or short-term illnesses (e.g., the common cold, migraines, or self-limited gastrointestinal issues).
Why this policy is in place:
Empowering Student Self-Care: Our mission is to educate students to be wise consumers of healthcare. Requiring a professional visit for self-limiting illness is counter-productive to learning adult self-care.
Preserving Access: When appointments are filled by students seeking "notes" for minor issues, it limits our ability to see students with urgent or serious medical needs.
Privacy and Equity: Requiring specific medical information to justify an absence compromises patient confidentiality. Additionally, requiring a "note" often forces students to seek expensive urgent care or ER visits simply for documentation, creating an unnecessary financial burden.
Clinical Integrity: Providers often cannot "verify" an illness after the symptoms have passed, forcing them to rely solely on student reports. We prefer to keep the trust-based conversation between the student and their professor.
How to Navigate Absences:
For Short-Term Illness: Students should communicate directly with their professors as soon as they realize they will miss class.
For Serious or Chronic Conditions: The Wicker Wellness Center will continue to work with students facing serious illnesses and injuries, chronic disabilities, or long-term hospitalizations. In these cases, formal documentation will be coordinated through the Class Dean’s Office (Notification_DOS@union.edu) or the Office of Accommodative Services (accommodations@union.edu).
For Faculty: If you have concerns about a student’s pattern of absences or how an illness impacts their standing, please contact the student’s Class Dean for guidance.
For Students: If you need help navigating health circumstances and attendance, please initially contact and work with your professor; for additional support you can also contact your Class Dean and/or the Office of Accommodative Services, depending on the circumstance.
To help provide additional guidance for students and faculty in relation to absences, the Dean of Studies Office will be convening a working group of both faculty and students, with consultation from relevant campus offices, to develop clearer guidelines and shared resources around absences. The recommendations from the working group will build on this initial guidance to further align our processes with best practices to meet the needs of our students and faculty.
We recognize that navigating illness away from home can be challenging for students, particularly those doing so for the first time, and we also acknowledge the complexity faculty face in balancing flexibility, equity, and academic standards. We hope this message helps students and faculty begin to navigate these circumstances by encouraging early and direct communication about health-related concerns.
Wicker Wellness, the Class Deans, and the Office of Accommodative Services remain available for consultation with faculty and students as needed in navigating these conversations.
We appreciate your cooperation in fostering a culture of transparency, professional communication, and responsible health management within the Union College community.
