Dear Lafayette Students,
This is a reminder of the policy whereby “Absences necessitated by participation in a sincerely held religious faith are excusable by the Office of the Dean of Advising.” The Office of Advising and Co-Curricular Programs is working with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life to review requests for Dean’s Excuses for religious observances for Spring 2021 semester.
As a reminder, students wishing to explore a possible Dean’s Excuse for religious observance must contact or meet with the College Chaplain or a Class Dean no later than 12:00 PM on the drop/add deadline (the end of the second week of classes) during the semester in which the religious observance will occur. The deadline for future semesters may be adjusted when we are aware of religious observances during the initial weeks of a term that may call for a Dean’s Excuse. Please compare dates on your class syllabi with dates you may need to request a Dean’s Excuse for religious observance. A comprehensive list of holidays may be found on this Interfaith Calendar provided by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Requests will only be considered for observances that require your absence from class.
If your request is granted, you and your professors will be notified. IMPORTANT: A dean’s excuse for religious observance only excuses a student from class; it does not provide permission to travel from College Hill. Requesting permission to travel is a separate process, and can be initiated through the following link: TRAVEL REQUEST FORM.
We also encourage all students to take this opportunity to review Lafayette’s Dean’s Excuse policy, particularly the situations that are and are not covered by the policy.
If you have questions about this process or about religious observances in general, please contact Chaplain Alex Hendrickson (hendrica@lafayette.edu) or your Class Dean to schedule an appointment.