September 14, 2009
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Faculty
FROM: Bruce W. Carney
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
RE: Clarification on H1N1 Written Excuses
The number of flu cases on campus has been rising significantly, and our expectations are that a large number of students, as well as a large number of you, will contract it. The campus has been told repeatedly that the best behavior is for "self-isolation". Stay home, in other words. For you and your faculty colleagues, this presents challenges on teaching your courses, but you're creative and collegial and can presumably arrange to alter the structure of your courses or cover for each other.
I ask each of you, however, to also consider that the flu may strike students in unusually large numbers at inconvenient times, such as exams. About two weeks ago, I sent out a memo about H1N1, and I am reiterating my request to each of you to be as flexible as you can in administering make-up exams. I ask as well that you not _require_ written proof of illness. Health authorities expect that most affected individuals will recover without seeking medical care. Requiring a written proof of illness would place additional pressures on health care
facilities- such as Campus Health Services- whose primary focus should be on providing medical care rather than documentation of illness in these extraordinarily busy times.
Please recall that our students have all taken an oath to uphold the honor system, and while a small number may betray the Code, our students as a whole deserve our trust.
Bruce W. Carney
Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
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