If you, as a faculty or staff member, are concerned about a student please contact the Dean of Students Office. Concerns from faculty and staff members often revolve around excessive class absences and/or performance on major assignments. The Dean’s office is available to work with faculty and other resources in order to help guide students towards success.

Our office partners with the TCU Counseling & Mental Health Center to provide a faculty and staff training folder titled “Faculty/Staff 911 Folder”.  Staff members are available to speak to your department about how to recognize and respond to distressed students. To schedule the Faculty/Staff 911 Folder training within your department, please email the Dean of Students Office at deanofstudents@tcu.edu.

Report a non-emergency student concern by filling out the online form.

*For immediate health and safety concerns about your student, please contact the TCU Police Department at 817.257.7777

The following is a list of campus resources that our staff is frequently in contact with regarding student concerns. Please contact one of these offices for further information about their services and programs.

TCU Compliance Officers

Human Resources maintains a list of Compliance Officers. Please view this list for your specific need.

Records of class attendance are the responsibility of the faculty, and every course’s syllabus should clearly state the instructor’s policy on class attendance and how attendance affects a student’s final evaluation in the course.

Excused Absences Defined by TCU

When a student is absent to represent the university (as in athletics, chorus, band, national or state meetings of organizations represented at TCU), then an Official University Absence may be granted by the Dean of Students Office.

Faculty/staff who wish to have an activity sanctioned for Official University Absence status must submit the names of all students, including date and hours absent from campus, to the Dean of Students Office no later than one week prior to the date of the activity. The Dean of Students (and/or their designee) reviews and approves the request as appropriate and notifies impacted students’ faculty via email. Faculty members are required to permit students to make up work missed because of Official University Absences.

Excused Absences Defined by State and Federal Regulations 

Holy Day. In accordance with Texas Education Code Section 51.911 Religious Holy Days, an institution of higher education shall excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day.  TCU’s policy for the Religious Observances and Holidays states that students must notify faculty or staff the first two weeks of the semester of their intention to be absent from class or the required event on their day(s) of religious observance.  A faculty member may appropriately respond if the student fails to satisfactorily complete the assignment or examination within a reasonable time after the absence.  For more details on this policy, please visit the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life’s webpage.

Active Military Service. In accordance with Texas Education Code Section 51.9111 Excused Absence for Active Military Service, when a student is called into active military service, including travel associated with that service, an institution of higher education shall excuse the student from attending classes or engaging in other required activities, including exams. The student may not be penalized for the absence and shall be allowed to complete assignments and exams within a reasonable time after the absence. The Dean of Students can assist students with verifying the excused absence by collecting and storing appropriate documentation and then notifying the student’s professors. Faculty are encouraged to work with the student to help them satisfactorily complete assignments and exams within a reasonable time. If assignments and exams are not completed within a reasonable time, faculty make take appropriate action.

Absences outside the Official University Absence Policy

Faculty retain all discretion for consideration of a student’s absence if the absence does not fall within the Official University Absence Policy. If the Dean of Students Office is working with a student regarding an emergency or ongoing personal concerns affecting the student’s academic performance and/or attendance, the Dean of Students Office will notify the student’s faculty by email or telephone.  The Dean’s office will collect the appropriate documentation to verify the nature of an absence.

In the absence of documentation, the Dean of Students Office will either a) not notify the student’s faculty or b) will make it known in an email that the student’s claim has not been substantiated with sufficient documentation.

It is standard practice for the Dean of Students Office to advise students to communicate with their faculty regarding all absences.  Faculty retain all discretion for consideration of a student’s absence if the absence does not fall within the attendance policy.

Please alert the Dean of Students Office by filling out this brief form or by calling 817.257.7926 if any of the following are true:

• The student has had excessive absences in class. (An instructor should not assume that continued absence from class indicates an official withdrawal unless so notified by the Registrar.)
• The faculty member believes the student has been untruthful about the cause of his/her absence.

Would you like a presentation on a specific student concern to be discussed during a staff or faculty meeting?  The Wellness Education Office is available to speak about a variety of issues including recognizing and responding to students in distress and civility.

For additional information please contact Brad Stewart b.stewart@tcu.edu

Also, please visit the Don’t Cancel that Class website to review additional presentations that faculty and staff can request from other Student Affairs Departments. 

The Community Response Team (CCRT) advises the Chief Inclusion Officer on allegations of bias-related incidents that may impact the TCU community. TCU’s mission to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community requires the commitment and guidance of the entire TCU community. TCU encourages any member of our campus community who witnesses or is a target of a bias-related incident to report that incident.

Visit CCRT page here.