University of Delaware
Official Student Handbook 1995-1996
Student Guide to University Policies

Responsibility in Financial Matters

Indebtedness to the University

A student may not register for a new semester/session if he or she
has a balance due from a prior semester/ session. The University will
not furnish a transcript or diploma until the student's account is
paid in full.

Student Class Attendance

By action of the University faculty, the responsibility for defining
attendance expectations is left to the individual faculty member,
subject to the guidelines given below. Thus is of great importance
that early in each course the instructor make clear to each student
what attendance expectations are, and how absences due to "relatively
minor" illnesses, as described below, are to be communicated. The use
of the syllabus to list attendance expectations and means of communicating
about illnesses is recommended.

It is the policy of the University of Delaware not to cancel classes
on religious holidays. However, students and faculty are encouraged to
exercise their own judgment pertaining to their attendance on these
days. In addition, faculty are encouraged not to schedule examinations
or require the submission of special assignments on the following
days: the evening before as well as the first two days of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the fall term, Good Friday and the evenings
before and the first two days of Passover in the spring semester. To
facilitate planning for the potentially large number of absences on
these days the University shall include the dates of these holidays in
the academic calendar. Adjacent to each of these dates the academic
calendar will include a reminder to consult the University policy on
excused absences.

 a. Absence on religious holidays listed in University calendars is
    recognized as an excused absence. Nevertheless, students are urged to
    remind the instructor of their intention to be absent on a particular
    upcoming holiday.
 b. Absences on religious holidays not listed in University calendars, 
    as well as absences due to athletic participation
    or other extracurricular activities in which students are official
    representatives of the University, shall be recognized as excused
    absences when the student informs the instructor in writing during the
    first two weeks of the semester. Absences due to similar events which
    could not have been anticipated earlier in the semester will be
    recognized as excused absences upon advance notification of the
    instructor by an appropriate faculty advisor or athletic
    coach.
 c. Absences due to serious illness or death within a student's
    family are recognized as excused absences. To validate such absences,
    the student should present evidence to the Dean's Office of his or her
    college. The Dean's Office will then provide a letter of verification
    to all of the student's instructors for the term.
 d. Absences due to serious illness (e.g. hospitalization, surgery,
    or protracted medical illness or convalescence) shall also be
    recognized as excused absences. To validate such absences, the student
    should present evidence of the illness to the Dean's office of his or
    her college. Supportive evidence will be provided on the student's
    request by the Student Health Service directly to the respective
    Deans.

For relatively minor, short-term illnesses (e.g. colds and flu,
where attendance in class is undesirable), the University system
depends upon reasonable communication between students and faculty. If
possible, students should report such illnesses before the affected
class, following the directions of the instructor provided at the
start of the term.