Student Absences

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.

Official University Absences

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 (or denies) the request as appropriate and notifies the student’s faculty members. Faculty members are required to permit students to make up work missed because of Official University Absences.

Absences outside the Official University Absence Policy

The student’s 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 provided the student uploads Documentation for Absence Verification so that the Campus Life-Dean’s Office can verify the nature of an absence. In the absence of documentation, the Dean of Students Office cannot verify the nature of an absence, and 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 their absence.

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 the 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.