A. General

1. Each term, a course listing is published showing the time period for each class.
2. If an instructor should be late in meeting the class, the students shall wait twenty minutes after the published starting time. If the instructor has not arrived by that time, the students may leave unless specifically notified to await the instructor's arrival.

B. Class Attendance

1. There are no formal institutional requirements regarding class attendance at Georgia Tech. The resources of the Institute are provided for the intellectual growth and development of the students who attend. A schedule of courses is provided for the students and faculty to facilitate an orderly arrangement of the program of instruction. The fact that classes are scheduled is evidence that attendance is important; students should, therefore, maintain regular attendance if they are to attain maximum success in the pursuit of their studies.
2. All students are responsible for obtaining an understanding of each instructor's policy regarding absences; all students are expected to attend announced quizzes, laboratory periods, and final examinations. Although it is recognized that occasionally it may be necessary for students to be absent from scheduled classes or laboratories for personal reasons, students are responsible for all material covered in their absences, and they are responsible for the academic consequences of their absences. Students should discuss planned absences with their instructors as soon as possible after the beginning of an academic term. Work missed may be made up at the discretion of the instructors.
3. In the event of a medical emergency or an illness that is severe enough to require medical attention, students are responsible for contacting the Office of the Dean of Students as soon as possible to report the medical issue or emergency, providing dated documentation from a medical professional and requesting assistance in notifying their instructors. The medical documentation will be handled confidentially within the Office of the Dean of Students and will inform a decision as to whether communication with instructional faculty is appropriate. It is the expectation of the Institute that instructional faculty will honor a request from the Office of the Dean of Students to excuse a medical emergency or illness and allow make-up of the work missed, including homeworks, quizzes, presentations, examinations, or other class assignments.
4. Students who are absent because of participation in approved Institute activities (such as field trips, professional conferences, and athletic events) will be permitted to make up the work missed during their absences. Approval of such activities will be granted by the Student Academic and Financial Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate, and statements of the approved absence may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. Course instructors are responsible for establishing reasonable deadlines and/or make-up materials for the missed work, and for clearly communicating this information to the relevant student(s), when absences for Institute activities are approved.
   1. Student Responsibilities
      1. Individual students requesting approval from the Student Academic and Financial Affairs Committee are expected to do so at least two weeks before their requested absences;
      2. Students are expected to inform their instructors about their approved absence by the end of the class meeting immediately following receipt of their approval notice.
   2. Course Instructor Responsibilities
      1. Course instructors receiving timely notification of student absence (as outlined above) are expected to establish reasonable deadlines and/or make-up materials for missed work, and for clearly communicating this information to the relevant student(s).
   3. Faculty/Staff Sponsor Responsibilities
      1. Faculty/staff sponsors of student organizations are expected to submit requests for absence approval, to the Office of the Registrar, at least one week before the date of the expected absence(s);
      2. Faculty/staff sponsors are expected to provide the Office of the Registrar with roster changes in as timely a fashion as possible, to reduce negative impact on the ability of students and instructors to coordinate their plans;
      3. Faculty/staff sponsors are expected to notify students of approved absences, along with instructions for notifying their instructors, within two business days of receipt of approval from the Office of the Registrar.
5. Students who are absent because of participation in a particular religious observance will be permitted to make up the work missed during their absence with no late penalty, provided the student informs the course instructor of the upcoming absence, in writing, within the first two weeks of class, and provided the student makes up the missed material within the time frame established by the course instructor. Exercising one’s rights under this policy is subject to the Georgia Tech Honor Code. The course instructor is responsible for establishing reasonable deadlines and/or make-up material for the missed work, and for clearly communicating this information to the student. Students may choose to appeal to the Student Academic and Financial Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate for formal approval of this type of absence.
6. In alignment with section 4.1.3 of the University System of Georgia (USG)’s general Student Affairs policy, students are encouraged to vote in all federal, state, and local elections. Students are encouraged to plan their voting to avoid missing classes. Students are also encouraged to participate in early voting whenever possible or to vote before, in between, or after classes on election day. For students who are registered elsewhere, they are encouraged to request absentee ballots by the appropriate deadlines. However, faculty should not penalize students for missing a class to vote on election day. In this case, a student should inform the course instructor at least 5 business days before election day about the absence for voting in writing. The course instructor is expected treat the absence as an officially excused absence if a student chooses to vote in person on election day.
7. Faculty members must provide students with reasonable accommodations for making up graded work missed while on jury duty.