MIssed Class Policy

Introduction

The first responsibility of Purdue students’ is their academic work.  Student-athletes have the right and responsibility to prepare for, engage in, and attend classes, take final exams, and to pursue other scholarly interests without significant interruption from participation in athletics. This policy addresses missed class time related to 'away from home' competitions.  The goal of our missed class time policy is to aid student-athletes in maximizing their academic performance by providing guidance to the athletics department as team and individual competition schedules are developed. The intention is that schedules for practice, training, and competitions should result in a minimum loss of class time.  The policy herein is in accord with the policies on missed class time given in the Big Ten Handbook and the NCAA Division I Manual.

Missed classes during the semester

The goal is to have no athletic team miss more than 20% of the scheduled hours for any specific course. Thus, schedules should not require a team to miss more than nine class days in a semester. Missed class time is calculated as follows.
Departure on weekday
Before 11:30 AM                              1 day
Between 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM         ½ day
After 1:30 PM                                    0 days

NCAA championships, Big Ten Conference Championships, and post-season championship competitions are excluded from missed class time limits. For events when individual student-athletes or teams must qualify, missed class days will be treated     the same as post-season competitions.  Such missed class days must be identified and counted, but they do not count towards the total number of missed days in a semester.  Potential participation in these events should be accompanied by an academic impact plan that describes steps taken to mitigate the possible adverse academic effects of missing class including communicating with instructors, completing assignments/exams, making up missed assignments/exams, and providing study time during travel.  Additionally, student-athletes and teams must abide by the NCAA bylaws pertaining to Time Management Plans, and applicable playing and practice season legislation.

The AAC (via the Chair), the Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs), and the relevant sports administrator shall consider petitions for waivers from the policy limits.  The chair of the AAC and the FARs determine the outcome of the petition.  Recommended criteria to be used in deciding a waiver include current team GPA, individual GPA (as appropriate for individual competitions), actual classes missed, Academic Progress Rate (APR), and the academic impact plan to address classes missed.

Changes in travel schedules due to safety or weather reasons

Travel schedules may be impacted by weather or equipment malfunctions.  In such cases, changes to travel schedules are permitted without regard to missed class time policies.  Changes to travel schedules should be reported to the relevant sports administrator and the chair of the AAC and to the student-athlete’s instructors as warranted.
Competition during final examination period

It is important that student-athletes have the opportunity to focus on their academic responsibilities during the final examination period. Teams should avoid competition schedules that cause student-athletes to miss final exams.  In such cases where competitions occur during the final examination period, a waiver shall be filed with the AAC that must include an academic impact plan submitted for evaluation.  The plan must describe steps taken to mitigate the possible adverse academic effects of travel during the examination period including communicating with instructors, completing assignments/exams, making up missed assignments/exams, and providing study time during travel. The chair of the AAC and the FARs determine the outcome of the waiver.

DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURES

Scheduling

1. Head coaches, in conjunction with their sport administrator, will develop proposed home and travel schedules (including departure dates and times, return dates and times and total days absent from class).  The schedule approval process will be a part of each sport program’s Time Management Plan managed through the compliance office.  Once the proposed schedule is final, it is submitted to the compliance office staff member in charge of the Time Management Plans for the department to formally begin the approval process.
2. Should the home and travel schedule violate the missed class or final examination policy, the Head Coach, in conjunction with their sport administrator, will draft a waiver request and develop an academic support plan to be submitted with the proposed home and travel schedule.  A waiver is required for all non-NCAA or non-Big Ten tournament events which violate the missed class and/or final exam policy.
3. The approval process will be routed in order through the following:
   1. Head Coach
   2. Sport Administrator
   3. Compliance Office Staff Member in Charge of Time Management Plans
   4. Facilities Scheduling Staff Member
   5. Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Services
   6. Athletic Affairs Committee (AAC) Chair
4. If there are no deviations from the policy, the AAC chair will sign off on the schedule.  If there are deviations from the policy or waiver requests, the chair will review and decide whether to approve or will place the issue before the entire Athletic Affairs Committee for a decision.  Once the schedule is approved, notification will be sent from the compliance office staff member to the head coach and sport-specific support staff members.

Plans for Academic Support

• After discussion with the appropriate athletics academic support services advisor and the sport administrator, the head coach will develop an academic plan of support for his or her team that violates the missed class policy and those participating in a Big Ten and/or NCAA championship, which violates the missed class or final exam policy.  The plan should include the following information.

1. The reasons for requesting the waiver.
2. The amount of time that will be made available for study table while on the road or what steps will be taken to assure extra study time is allotted for additional study time prior to travel.
3. Number of student-athletes impacted by the additional missed class time.
4. If necessary, plans to have academic support services staff available to assist with academic preparation and/or supervision.

• The chair of the Athletic Affairs Committee will review the academic support plan as submitted.  If there are no concerns regarding the plan, the chair of the Athletic Affairs Committee will approve the schedule.

Waivers

If scheduling of competition for a team or student-athlete violates the approved policies, but the competition is viewed as in the best interests of the student-athlete and Purdue University, the head coach may request a waiver from the Athletic Affairs Committee.  The procedure for requesting a waiver is as follows:

After discussion with the appropriate academic support services advisor and sport administrator, the head coach will attach a letter to the proposed home and travel schedule outlining:

1. The exact waiver requested.
2. The dates of competition.
3. The travel schedule.
4. The student-athletes requiring the waiver.
5. The academic plan to be implemented.
6. The potential benefits to the student-athletes, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and Purdue University.

 
This waiver will be reviewed by, and have the signature approval of, the head coach, sport administrator, and the senior associate athletics director for student services.

The chair of the Athletic Affairs Committee will review the academic support plan as submitted.  If there are no concerns regarding the plan, the chair of the Athletic Affairs Committee will approve the schedule.  Should the chair require additional information, he or she will notify the senior associate athletics director for student services with the request.