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Legislation could broaden excuses for missing exams
EMILY WELLBORN
@EmWellborn
University Senate is considering new legislation to protect students in case of a major life event during an exam.
The proposed University Senate Rules and Regulations amendment would allow students to be excused from an exam if they have a major life event as defined by the IRS. The students would then be able to coordinate a new exam time with the instructor.
The legislation has already passed Student Senate. Joseph Kollhoff, an undergraduate representative, authored the legislation because of his upcoming wedding. He said there wasn't any legislation that protected students if a major life event was happening the same day as an exam, unless it was military service.
proposed policies would protect students from a professor deciding to fail a student because of a missed exam without a second opinion. He said it would also protect professors from fabricated excuses, but some faculty members thought the proposed policies were not specific enough.
"I think we already have the policies that cover that," said Geraldo Sousa, a faculty representative. "I think it was just very loose, what was being proposed."
Currently, the policies on absences during a final quiz or other test say that a student can make a test
"What started as a selfish endeavor, I can foresee protecting students in the future who may be less traditional or graduate students," Kollhoff said. "Just protect them and insulate them, I suppose, a little bit from just one instructor's whims."
Kollhoff said that the
if they miss because of a military order, if a friend or relative is having a medical crisis or for religious observance. There isn't a specific policy that would excuse a student due to their own life events, like a wedding or a medical procedure.
Ashley Hocking/KANSAN Geraldo Sousa, a faculty representative and English professor, speaks at the University Senate meeting on Feb. 23 in Green Hall.
Belinda Sturm, another faculty representative, said that the surrounding policies needed to be looked at.
"I know that it's important that the University accommodates emergencies and such, and I think where the discussion hinged was 'What is already in the protections, versus what is the need for an amendment,'" Sturm said. "As far as I
understood the conversation, we need to go back and look at the surrounding USSR discussion and understand what's omitted before we can have an intellectual discussion."
University Senate will vote on the proposed policy on April 27.
FROM SUICIDE
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sity's population, Waisner said that she feels the problem is concerning among students at the University.
"When we table, we have a lot more individuals than you would expect to come up to us and express how desperate they were for some sort of organization like this or someone else to understand," she said. "I think those individuals would be surprised that maybe their best friend was just at the table saying the same thing."
Another effort in the right direction, according to Kirk, was the hiring of Nancy Stark, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Watkins Health Services
Center. The KU Psychological Clinic has been working alongside Stark to coordinate services for students referring each other or being referred to the clinic.
"It's been very beneficial to have that greater connection with the medical providers at Watkins," she said.
"It can really hurt when your friends buy into those stigmas and don't hear what you're
However, access still remains a problem, even though both CAPS and the Psychological Clinic have tried to work on increasing students' access to services. For Waisner, another problem is the stigma that surrounds mental health and the impact it can have on people seeking help.
Suicides per 100,000 by year
saying," she said. "That's a problem because if that first line of defense is uneducated and unhelpful, that could make the person feel even more isolated, even more misunderstood."
Waisner said she knows that college students are at a higher risk, as a population, to suffer from a mental illness, and many people spend years dealing with mental health issues without asking for help.
Information from American Foundation for Preventing Suicide
Active Minds, said Waisner, works with
"Some people can go a very long time just kind of getting by before they do anything about it," she said. "And I would encourage people not to do that and to try and get help the second they notice something is off."
Graphic by Roxy Townsend
CAPS and, recently, has had discussions with some deans about training faculty and staff to recognize and help students who might be displaying symptoms of depression.
Kirk said that she
thinks these student-led efforts are the best way to reduce stigma through continued conversation.
"I think when you get students involved, whether it's through social media or just in networking themselves, it does a lot
to reduce stigma and to enhance people's understanding of the resources on campus and access to resources," Kirk said.
Edited by Casey Brown
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