Attendance is expected in all courses. Attendance will be a component of the grade of any course if so stated in the syllabus. Students are responsible for informing the instructor in advance or in a timely manner of the reasons for their absence. Instructors in consultation with their department chairs are expected to respect university practices and policies regarding what counts as an excused absence.

Typically excused absences include illness, bereavement, or religious observances. Serious tardiness may be dealt with at the discretion of the instructor.

Students who must leave the University temporarily(one day or more) either for medical or personal reasons may request a leave of absence. And all the students should abide by the following process:

1. Fill in and submit the Student Absence Form(which can be download from WKU official website or provided in Student Affairs Office). If student cannot submit timely, he/she can send e-mail to their professor whose courses would be missed during the absence, including reason for leaving, period time and back time, and the e-mail should Carbon Copy to Student Affairs (studentaffairs@wku.edu.cn) and Residence Life (reslife@wku.edu.cn).

2. An effective leave should be approved by professor, otherwise it will be regarded as truancy.

3.Students must report back to Student Affairs Office(D207) after the absence.

4. If you want to ask for leave, please notify your professor(acknowledged e-mail message is acceptable) at least one day prior to the date of absence if such notification is feasible. In cases where advance notification is not feasible(e.g.accident, or emergency) the student must provide notification by the end of the second working day after the absence. And the notification should include an explanation of why notice could not be sent prior to the class.

5.If a student is absent for two or more than two weeks, he/she may need to suspend his/her schooling after a consultation by the professor and Registrar Department according to the teaching schedule,

Excused Absences

The student is responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the professor to substantiate the reason for absence. Among the reasons absences are considered excused by the university are the following:

1.Death or major illness in a student’s immediate family. Immediate family may include: mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents, stepmother, stepfather, and others as deemed appropriate by faculty member.

2.Illness of a dependent family member.

3.Participation in legal proceedings or administrative procedures that require a student’s presence.

4.Injury or illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.

Absences related to injury or illness

1)For an injury or illness of three or more days

For an injury or illness of three or more university business days, the student should obtain a medical confirmation note(class excuse) from his or her medical provider when reporting back to Student Affairs Office.

2)For an injury or illness less than three days

Faculty members may require confirmation of student injury or illness that is serious enough for a student to be absent from class for a period less than three business days. And a confirmation of visit to a health care professional affirming date and time of visit may be applied. Also Explanatory Statement for absence form is available to confirm the absence.

3)An absence for a non acute medical service does not constitute an excused absence.

5.Pregnancy(childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom) and related conditions are treated as a justification for an excused absence for so long a period of time as is deemed medically necessary by the student’s physician.

6.Participation in an activity appearing on the university authorized activity list.(certificate required)

7.Mandatory admission interviews for professional or graduate school which cannot be rescheduled.(certificate required)

8.Others.

Download WKU Student Absence Form