College of Veterinary Medicine DVM Program Class Attendance Policy

The College of Veterinary Medicine class attendance policy is in accordance with the University policy.  According to the University attendance policy:

• Instructors are expected to establish and clearly communicate in the course syllabus attendance policies relevant to individual courses including penalties for lack of attendance.
• The University expects each student to be responsible for class-related work missed as a result of unavoidable absence; this work may be made up at the discretion of the instructor.
• Only the instructor can excuse a student from a course requirement or responsibility.
• When conflicts or absences can be anticipated, such as for many University-sponsored activities and religious observances, the student should inform the instructor of the situation as far in advance as possible and the instructor should strive to accommodate the student.

In certain laboratory-based or intensive short-term courses, a student can jeopardize his/her academic status with an unreasonable number of absences, particularly in lab courses that cannot be made up later. In courses with extensive laboratory exercises, group projects, group performances, or participation requirements, equivalent exercises or assessments may not be possible as determined by the instructor and subject to review by the Dean of the school or college offering the course, or their designee. The student should always consult with the instructor to determine the potential impact of any absence.

The designation of “excused absence” means that the instructor(s) will provide to the student an opportunity by which to address graded activities that occurred during the absence.  Alternative activities may be arranged with the instructor(s) such that the student will not jeopardize his/her academic standing due to the excused absence.  These activities may be the same as, or different from, materials completed by students present in the class.  Unexcused absences will be handled according to the policy stated in the course syllabus. 

In the College of Veterinary Medicine, absences are grouped into three broad categories:

1. University Senate-established absences:
   1. The Purdue University Senate has guidelines for several categories of absences. These guidelines are subject to change at a university-level, and therefore students requesting excused absences in the following categories should follow the link above and complete the appropriate form which will notify the Office of the Dean of Students (ODS) regarding this absence. PVM students must also complete the Student Absence form on PVMConnect to inform the college of this absence. The categories as defined by the University Senate are:
      1. Emergent medical absences – these are defined as emergency room visits, hospitalizations, or surgery centers.
      2. Grief absences
      3. Jury duty absences
      4. Military training absences
      5. Parenting leave
2. Illness-related absences
   1. Students who are ill are expected to stay home. Students must complete the appropriate Student Absence form on PVMConnect.
   2. Although most illnesses are not covered under the University Emergent Medical Absence policy, it states, “In all cases, students are urged to not attend classes while they are ill and/or contagious and to seek appropriate medical treatment.”
   3. If the course(s) missed due to illness contained point-earning opportunities that could reasonably be made up, instructors-of-record (IORs) should work with students to complete the work missed during the student’s illness. 

3. Personal business absences
   1. This includes professional absences, such as to attend a professional conference or job interview, and personal absences, such as to attend a wedding, significant family event, or other personal business necessitating an absence (e.g. court appearance).

All absences must be documented by the appropriate absence request form submitted through PVMConnect. If an absence form is not submitted, the student is considered to be present and expected to complete all activities and assessments for that day.

Years 1-3 of DVM Program

1. Students are expected to participate in all scheduled class activities during their veterinary education and are responsible for achieving the learning outcomes addressed by all materials/learning opportunities presented.
2. Students are expected to consider their academic performance before requesting an excused absence for personal business. Full engagement in courses is important to achieve the learning outcomes. Absences cause a student to get behind and, due to the volume of material, it can be very difficult to catch up.
3. Students in the first semester of the DVM program are not eligible for personal business absences because full engagement in the curriculum is essential for transitioning to professional school and developing supportive relationships with classmates. Rare exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis and should be discussed with the Associate Dean of Academic Success.
4. For all absences, students must complete the 1^st to 3^rd Year Student Absence Form through PVMConnect so that their instructors-of-record can be notified.
5. Some course experiences cannot be made up, such as some laboratory experiences and group activities, so excused absences may not be given in these instances.
6. If the absence results in the student missing a point-earning opportunity like an in-class assignment or quiz, the student should first consult the syllabus for guidance from their instructor regarding how assignments or assessments are handled in the case of absences. If the syllabus does not offer this guidance, the student should contact the instructor-of-record directly to inquire if a makeup opportunity is available for these points.
7. If the absence requires rescheduling of an examination, the student must complete the online Examination Reschedule Form through PVMConnect.
8. Examinations are expected to be completed within 72 hours, or 3 business days of return to campus.
9. If a student is unable to complete a makeup examination within 3 days of the absence, they should contact the Office of Academic Success (townsenw@purdue.edu) to discuss a plan for catching up on missed work, as in many cases this may mean missing multiple examinations.
10. If a student is ill more than 2 times during a semester necessitating makeup exams, the student must meet with the Office of Academic Success (townsenw@purdue.edu) to discuss resources available to assist with any future exam or absence challenges.
11. Absences for court appearances (separate from jury duty, which is covered by the University Senate) and religious observances should be excused by the instructor-of-record. Students should complete a Pre-Planned Absence form for these occasions, but they would not count against their allotted personal business absences.
12. Personal business absences:
    1. Valuable extracurricular experiences (educational or personal) occur during the academic year, however, students’ first priority should be their courses.
    2. Students in the second through sixth semesters of the DVM program may request excused absences for personal business for up to 2.5 instructional days per semester.
    3. Students requesting an excused absence for personal business must not be on probation or have received a failing grade in the previous semester.
    4. The student must submit a Pre-planned Absence Request Form at least one month prior to the requested absence. In the rare situation where a student would request an absence during the first 4 weeks of the Fall semester, requests should either be submitted during the prior Spring semester or, at the latest, submitted within the first 3 days of the Fall semester to allow adequate time to review the request. Requests submitted during the summer semester will not be reviewed until the start of Fall semester.
    5. The Pre-Planned Absence Form will first be evaluated by the Office of Academic Success. This administrative review will be to first determine if the student is in good academic standing, has enough remaining personal business days to fulfill the request, and has a clear justification for the absence request. Once the request is approved administratively, it will be distributed to all IOR of affected courses for their response (approval or denial). These IOR will have 7 days to respond to the request.
    6. The student will be notified of the decision within 7 days of their submitted request. It is possible that excused absences may be granted for some, but not all, courses because of experiences that cannot be made up.
    7. Students elected to offices of professional organizations that require attendance at national meetings (e.g., Student American Veterinary Medical Association Purdue President) or students selected to present research at a national meeting which would occur during class time should submit a completed Pre-planned Absence Request Form at least one month before the requested absence.  Excused absences for these purposes will not count toward the 2.5 personal business day absences per semester.
    8. Students requesting to attend a conference or other professional opportunity (e.g. job fair, job interview, etc), but who are not required and who are not presenting research, should follow the same instructions described previously (Pre-Planned Absence Request), but these excused absences will count toward to 2.5 personal business day absences per semester. 

Year 4 of DVM Program 

1. Students who are absent from a clinical rotation (for illness or personal business) must contact their senior clinician and submit a Clinical Rotation Student Absence Form . If a student is unable to determine the senior clinician for their rotation, they should refer to the syllabus for directed contact information, or they can contact the Instructor of Record for that clinical rotation. Students who are ill are expected to stay home. In the case of an emergency, the student must contact their senior clinician and the PVM Clinical Education office (pvmclinced@purdue.edu) as soon as possible.
2. Absences are divided into two categories (illness and personal business). 
   1. Illness absences
      1. Clinical rotation absences due to illness should be communicated directly with the senior clinician as early as the student knows that they will be absent. The student must also complete the Clinical Rotation Student Absence form on PVM Connect.
   2. Personal business absences
      1. Personal business absences include absences for family events, weddings, job interviews, state licensure exams, court appearances, attendance at professional conferences, and other personal events. These absences must be approved and are limited to a maximum of 2 days in a 3-week block and a total of 5 days in the academic year. 
      2. Students selected to present research at a national conference must still submit the proper request in advance to get this absence approved. This absence must not exceed 2 days per 3 week block, but will not count against the 5 total days during the academic year.
3. Any absences totaling greater than 2 days in a single block, regardless of the category, will result in the instructor-of-record making a determination of the number of days to be made up based on if the student has demonstrated adequate progress in the rotation objectives.

4. Requests for preplanned absences (e.g., pre-planned medical appointments, court appearances, professional activities, weddings, etc.) must be made at least two weeks prior to the start of the block during which the absence will occur. Students must submit the online Clinical Rotation Student Absence Form to initiate the request.
5. Students will not be allowed to leave one rotation to make up missed instructional days in another rotation (block change days included). Weekend days for rotations that do not have weekend activities could be used to make up days in a rotation that has weekend activities with approval of both instructors-of-record. In addition, students may make up days during their vacation block, their hospital practicum vacation, or at the end of their fourth year.
6. Students preparing to begin an Externship or Off-Campus Block may not request absences from their previous rotation for the specific purpose of travel. Instead, the first day of their Externship or OCB is designated for travel. Similarly, students may not request absences at the beginning of the subsequent rotation for the purpose of returning from their Externship or OCB. The final day of their Externship or OCB is designated for return travel.
7. Excused absences will not be granted for the day immediately before or immediately after the December-January hospital practicum period.
8. Absence Policy for the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE)
   1. The NAVLE will be taken at a Prometric Testing Center. Scheduling of testing times will be coordinated through the Clinical Curriculum Coordinator.  Absence for the NAVLE does not require an absence form to be submitted, nor does the absence need to be made up. 
   2. NAVLE absences do not count toward the 5-day total for the clinical year. Students will be released at 3:00 p.m. the day prior to taking the NAVLE. Students should be relieved of all case responsibilities at 3:00 p.m. Students will assume case responsibility at the routine start time the morning following the NAVLE.