Class Attendance

Promptness and regular class attendance are expected of all students. The student should inform their instructor of reasons for absence from class — before the class if they plan to be away, or after the class if they have a sudden illness.

Failure to attend a class for which one is registered does not result in being automatically dropped from the class. Students should check Penn InTouch before the end of the Course Selection period and before the end of the Drop period each semester to verify their roster.

Athletes are responsible for making up any work missed because of athletic obligations.

Policies Governing Holidays

The University observes the following holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and New Year’s Day.

The University also recognizes that there are several religious holidays that affect large numbers of University community members, including Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first two days of Passover and Good Friday. In consideration of their significance for many students, no examinations may be given and no assigned work may be required on these days. Students who observe these holidays will be given an opportunity to make up missed work in both laboratories and lecture courses. If an examination is given on the first class day after one of these holidays, it must not cover material introduced in class on that holiday.

The University further recognizes that there are other holidays, both religious and secular, which are of importance to some individuals and groups on campus. Students who wish to observe such holidays must inform their instructors within the first two weeks of each semester of their intent to observe the holiday even when the exact date of the holiday will not be known until later so that alternative arrangements convenient to both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity.

See the University’s complete policy on holidays.

What to do in case of absence from a class

If a student will miss more than one day of classes due to illness, family emergency or other issues, they should email or call the Research and Academic Service Office  (215-898-7246) in addition to submitting a Course Action Notice about the absence via Path@Penn.

If the student provides proper documentation, an additional notification will be sent to the student’s professors by a representative of the Office. Notifications will be sent to all instructors. Note that during peak advising periods, requests may take more than one day to process. This notification does not constitute an excused absence; students are still responsible for following up with faculty to discuss the completion of missed work. Students should refer to the course syllabus for policies regarding absences.

Course Action Notice

Course Action Notices are designed to provide a way for students to communicate with their instructors when medical issues, family emergencies, or other concerns necessitate missing class. Once online, students will log in and send a report to one or more instructors, indicating the number of days missed (up to a maximum of five days) and the general reason for the absence.

Begining Sepetember 6, Course Action Notices are availabe for students to submit absence notificatoins to their instructors when they need to miss class.  Students should access Course Acton Notices (CAN) through a link on Path@Penn.  

Each instructor will have a policy on class attendance that will be communicated to students in the course. Students who submit Course Action Notices are still responsible for following up with the instructor about any missed work. Course Action Notices do not constitute “excuses.”

Course Action Notices will also include the ability for insturctors to sent support notices to their students.  The support notices within CAN replace Course Problem Notices (CPNs), which were part of Courses InTouch system.  Support notices should launch the week of September 12.

Please note: Students who will miss more than five days of class should still contact RAS (215-898-7246 | ras@seas.upenn.edu) to discuss the impact of this longer absence on their schoolwork.