It's the reality of life in college that a family emergency such as a death, illness or divorce can tear students away from classes to deal with the situation. Suddenly, the tenuous organization of a semester disintegrates as an all-consuming emergency gobbles up study time and may require missing a key exam, a research paper or an important seminar. Approaching a professor to make new arrangements for critical assignments and tests, though, can be daunting.
Official school policy allows for longer leaves of absence to be worked out through an academic dean. But for a sudden, short-term absence, students must rearrange deadlines by speaking with professors about a specific class, assignment or exam which can be stressful.
On the other side of the desk, professors must make the decision to trust that the story they're hearing is legitimate.
While students admitted they would be intimidated to ask professors for extensions and would only do so as a last resort, Tufts professors and deans are generally understanding, trusting and compassionate when it comes to family emergencies.
"Under official Tufts policy, a student should first contact his or her associate dean to inform the dean of the situation," Interim Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies Carmen Lowe said. "The dean will need to meet the student in person or talk with him or her over the phone, and students should be prepared to give a full and honest explanation of their situation."
Lowe noted that if the leave will conflict with a significant amount of class time, then the student may be urged to take a medical or personal leave for the semester. However, in the majority of cases, in which only a few classes or assignments would be missed, the student's dean will contact the student's professors.
Most importantly, according to Lowe, a dean will keep the student's information confidential, even from professors.
"The deans have mastered the art of writing vague but convincing letters to professors urging them to be understanding of the student's situation," Lowe said.
While this procedure is meant to be supportive and helpful, the communication between dean and professor is purely a recommendation, according to Lowe. The final determination of requirements is up to professors, who are not required to excuse any work. However, the Tufts professors interviewed indicated a tendency to cooperate when a student is struggling with a difficult circumstance.
"I trust my students and I trust that when my students say that there's a family emergency there really is one," Professor of Drama Barbara Grossman said. "If a student says to me, ‘I was in the emergency room' or ‘I have to go home because my father's sick,' I have no reason to question that."
Other professors echoed Grossman's views.
"There's never been a point when I did not believe the student," Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chris Rogers said. "My students have told me that they were going to have to miss something, and we came up with an alternative time for them to take an exam."
Professor of Classics Bruce Hitchner takes a slightly different approach, tending to grant more leniency to those in his smaller, upper-level courses.
"My working relationship with students and their responsibilities for the course are such that I have complete trust in them when they claim a family emergency."
It's a rare case that students have been known to use family emergencies as a false claim to get out of work. Lowe cited one incident in which a letter of condolence was sent to a "grieving" family; subsequently, a relative contacted Tufts to ask why a sympathy letter was sent when no one died. The student was later sanctioned.
For those in his introductory-level classes, Hitchner requests some form of verification when a student requires time off, though he doesn't instate a formal policy regarding missed work for family emergencies. In any case, Hitchner said that few of his students have ever needed to miss class or important exam due to a crisis at home.
Lowe said that when short-term accommodations can't be made to rearrange work due to illness, hospitalization or family emergencies, extensions on requirements such as senior honors theses and similar projects can be made by negotiating an incomplete grade for the course through the student's dean. In fact, according to Lowe, the incomplete policy was created to handle such situations.
Grossman said she makes every attempt to accommodate students when they return and does not attempt to confirm a student's story.
"[A family emergency] can be traumatic enough without layering on the trauma of missed work," she said.
