Notice of Absence

In the case where a student needs to be absent from class due to a medical or emergency situation, the Office of the Dean of Students will contact the student’s faculty requesting accommodations to address the situation. To do so, proper documentation must be provided and verified. All accommodations requested by the Office of the Dean of Students are administered at faculty discretion. This process is not intended for scheduled appointments, vacations or work obligations.

Medical Absence

Students who miss class due to a medical emergency are asked to provide the Office of the Dean of Students with medical documentation within 10 business days of the event for review and verification. Once verified, we will contact your instructor to request any reasonable accommodations due to your absence. The course instructor has the discretion to determine what, if any, accommodations are possible in their course. Accommodations most often requested by the Office of the Dean of Students include ability to make up assignments/exams and to not penalize an attendance grade during the day(s) missed.

Documentation can be submitted to DeanofStudents@baruch.cuny.edu and should include:

Student’s full name.
Date of incident/seen by medical professional.
Information on when student can return to school.
In some cases, information supporting why the medical issue prohibits the student from attending classes.
Contact information for the medical practice.
The practice stamp and/or medical license number.

The Office of the Dean of Students will not provide notification of absence for a scheduled doctor’s appointment, or for the medical issues faced by a person other than the student.

Medical documentation or information received by the Office of the Dean of Students will not be shared with others. Requests for accommodations sent to instructors will only reference a medical issue, it will not state a diagnosis, illness or treatment plan. Students are free to share their medical information with whomever they choose, but can not be mandated to share their medical conditions with faculty.

For any long-term medical conditions, students should contact Student Disability Services for assistance.

Students Who Test Positive for COVID

If you test positive for COVID, you are encouraged to follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines. These include staying home and away from others; returning to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall (CDC.gov). Students may find the New York City Department of Health’s COVID page to be helpful. Baruch College does not require a negative test in order to return to campus and no longer participates in contact tracing.

If you test positive and are seeking Notice of Absence for a class, please note that a PCR test is required. Home tests are not accepted.

Students can send any COVID related questions to deanofstudents@baruch.cuny.edu.

Emergency Absence

For students who have experienced an emergency, such as a house fire, accident or are the victim of a crime, the Office of the Dean of Students can contact the student’s faculty to request accommodations for the student’s absence. This requires the submission of documentation for review and verification.

Documentation must be from a third-party source (for example, a police report, a newspaper article, etc.) that identifies the situation and the connection to the student. Once verified, the Office of the Dean of Students will reach out to instructors regarding the situation and requesting any appropriate, reasonable accommodations. The course instructor has the discretion to determine what, if any, accommodations are possible in their course.

Students are encouraged to talk with their faculty about their situation and their ability to be successful in the course.

Religious Accommodations

CUNY’s Religious Accommodation Policy, which is in accordance with New York State Education Law Section 224-a, states that “students who are absent from school because of a religious belief will be given the equivalent opportunity, without any additional fee charged, to register for classes or make up any examination, study or work requirements missed because of such absence on any particular day or days.”

Students should first work directly with their professors about these arrangements and should do so as early in advance as possible as some accommodations may be limited on short notice. If after speaking with an instructor, no agreement of accommodation can be reached, or if professors require additional clarification, students can email the Office of the Dean of Students at deanofstudents@baruch.cuny.edu.

All religious observances identified on CUNY’s Holiday Calendar are eligible for an excused absence and accommodation. Should a religious observance not be identified on the calendar, a student can submit documentation of the religious observance to deanofstudents@baruch.cuny.edu for review.