Student attendance during school hours (7:25 am - 4:55 pm) is required on all days officially scheduled on the annual school calendar. For any deviation from this policy, the procedures described below must be followed. Leaves of absence, except for emergencies, will be granted only to students in good academic standing.

1. Academic responsibility

While it is recognized that students occasionally will need some time to attend to personal needs, this must not be abused. The student assumes full responsibility for his or her actions should his or her academic progress or graduation be jeopardized through failure to complete courses, clinical competencies, and electives in a timely and satisfactory manner.

The student must report all absences to the Office of Education using the Report of Student Leave Form. Any absence of 1-5 consecutive school days requires approval from the faculty advisor/TEAM leader. A copy of the Report of Student Leave must be submitted to the Office of Education prior to the student going on leave. If a student is enrolled in a course with a required attendance policy, the student must also get written approval from the course director(s). The Report of Student Leave Form must include an address or phone number where the student can be reached in case of an emergency and give a reason for the leave request. The student must sign the request.

A student who is absent because of an illness is required to call the Office of Education (392-2949) to advise them of the situation. Personnel in this office will complete a leave request and hold it until the student returns to school and signs the form, it will then be sent to the faculty advisor/TEAM leader for signature.

Absences for documented emergencies, such as death or serious illness in the family, will be immediately approved. Absences for personal convenience will be granted only when the course director and the Associate Dean for Education determine that such absence will not be detrimental to the student's progress in the course, or that such absence will not impact on teaching of the course.

It is the responsibility of the student to notify the course director of any excused absence from a scheduled class session. This notification shall be made no later than two working days following the date of the absence and prior to the next scheduled class session. Failure to notify the course director within this time frame may result in grade penalties at the discretion of the course director. A Report of Leave form must be completed. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange for remediation of any missed assignments/exams that were given during the missed class session(s).

2. Jury Duty

Juries are selected in Florida from a list of United States citizens 18 years or older who have Florida's drivers licenses and are legal residents of Florida. This list includes University of Florida students who are obligated to serve on juries when selected. In all cases jury service shall be a legitimate excuse for missing class. Faculty shall not penalize students for missing class because of jury duty and students must be given the opportunity to make up tests or work missed as a result of jury service.

3. Consecutive absence of school days

The Associate Dean for Education (in addition to the TEAM Leader and the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs for third and fourth year students) must approve absences of 6-30 consecutive days. As described in a., documented emergency leave will be approved without any problem. Leave for personal convenience will be approved only when the student documents that he/she has received approval for absence from all courses, and has also received approval from the appropriate course director(s)/department chairperson(s) that the absence will not compromise the student's normal progress in the curriculum.

NOTE: An absence exceeding 6 days usually will be viewed as a breach of expected protocol for timely treatment of patients and as detrimental to maintenance of clinical skills and progress in the curriculum.

Specification of leave policy should not be interpreted as an entitlement to leave time, but rather as a descriptive protocol when leave becomes necessary. The annual academic calendar includes appropriate holidays and semester breaks.

4. Absence of more than 30 consecutive school days

A student must petition in writing the Associate Dean for Education for approval if it is anticipated that leave of more than 30 consecutive school days will be necessary. It is recognized that circumstances or opportunities may arise which demand or legitimately necessitate a temporary interruption in a dental student's course of education and training. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, the recommendation of a physician or counselor providing treatment to the dental student, childbirth or adoption, death, illness or infirmity of a close family member, financial distress, professional obligations, and other family tragedies.

Under these circumstances a reasonable attempt will be made by the Associate Dean for Education to approve requests for leave of absence and that such requests will be judged by the same criteria and considered without discrimination among students. When necessary and appropriate, accommodations will be made to facilitate a student's continued participation in the program of study, providing that the cost of such accommodations is reasonable, and do not infringe on the rights of others.

Granting leave of more than 30 consecutive school days may result in a stipulation that the student be dropped back one year in standing, or that the student withdraw from school and apply to the Associate Dean for Education for reinstatement.

5. Cumulative absence for a calendar year

A student missing a cumulative total of 4 weeks of course work during one academic year will be subject to the stipulations described in item 4 above. This policy applies regardless of the length of time of each absence making up the cumulative total.

6. Religious Holidays Policy

Students and faculty must cooperate to allow each person to observe the holy days of his or her faith. A student needs to inform the faculty member of the religious observances of his or her faith that will conflict with class attendance, with tests or examinations or with other class activities prior to the class or occurrence of that class, test or activity. The faculty member then is obligated to accommodate that particular student's religious observances. Because our students represent a myriad of cultures and many faiths, the University of Florida is not able to assure that scheduled academic activities do not conflict with the holy days of all religious groups. We, therefore, rely on individual students to make their need for an excused absence known in advance of the scheduled activities. The UF Religious Holidays policy is as follows:

Students, upon prior notification of their instructor, shall be excused form class or other scheduled academic activity to observe a religious holy day of their faith. Students shall be permitted a reasonable amount of time to make up the material or activities covered in their absence. Students shall not be penalized due to absence from class or other scheduled academic activity because of religious observances.

If a faculty member is informed or is aware that a significant number of students are likely to be absent from his/her classroom because of a religious observance, a major exam or other academic event should not be scheduled at that time. Further, a student who is to be excused from class for a religious holy day is not required to provide a second party certification of the reasons for the absence. Finally, a student who believes that he/she has been unreasonably denied an education benefit due to religious beliefs or practices may seek redress through the student grievance procedure.

7. Elective Extramural Activities and Elective Clinical Clerkships

Although participation in some approved elective courses and college sanctioned elective extramural externships may require absence from usual scheduled activities, the leave policy as described above is applicable to those endeavors. This does not include required extramural rotations.

8. Student Safety

Clinical experiences by their nature involve students in a variety of settings, locations and communities, as well as with a variety of patients/clients. Students are expected to exercise good judgment and reasonable caution in ensuring their own safety during clinical experiences (e.g., lock car doors, travel with classmates when possible, be aware of security services). Patient care areas may have the potential for exposure to hazardous substances such as radioactive materials. Students who require protection beyond those of all staff are to notify faculty prior to any clinical assignments. If at any time students believe the clinical setting is unsafe, students should take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their patients, including leaving the setting if necessary. Contact the course instructor or any college administrator immediately so that appropriate arrangements can be made.