Absences & Missed Work
Absences can be excused with appropriate documentation
Lecture attendance is not required, but students who attend consistently, missing no more than three lectures for unexcused reasons, will be permitted to treat their final cumulative exam as optional and only their best three exams will count toward their final grade. This means that they can either 1) not take the cumulative multiple choice final, or 2) take the cumulative multiple choice final and drop a lower midterm exam grade. Learn more about lecture attendance here.
Lecture absences will be excused (according to Duke policy) due to incapacitating illness or injury (Incapacitation Form required), personal emergencies (dean’s excuse required) and university-required quarantine (Incapacitiation Form required), religious observances (must clear in advance), university athletic obligations (NOVAP required), and required court or legal appearances (must clear in advance). Absences due to other academic obligations will also be considered.
Below, find answers to each of the following:
What if I have to miss lecture?
Lectures are recorded and will be provided to students who miss class due to excused reasons.
Please email psy101@duke.edu and submit appropriate documentation within 48 hours of the missed class to excuse a lecture absence. For an absence to be marked 'excused,' students must both (1) provide appropriate documentation and (2) fill out our excused absence form for lectures. (Please note that the excused absence form is only for lectures, not for any other missed work. Also note that this excused absence form requires a google account login to complete. If that presents a problem for you for any reason, please reach out to us at psy101@duke.edu to let us know.) Only students who do both will have their absence excused and receive lecture videos.
Students MAY miss up to 3 lectures for unexcused personal reasons (e.g., personal travel, job interviews, unexpected life stuff, wanting to work on other classwork, being late and missing the attendance check, etc.) and still be allowed to treat the final as optional. This policy is designed to grant flexibility so that students can prioritize other goals when necessary and don’t have to feel overly anxious about attendance. Please note that any absence that does not fall under Duke’s excused absence policy will be formally treated as "unexcused" (no exceptions) and lecture videos will not be made available for unexcused absences. If students miss more than 3 lectures for unexcused reasons, there is no penalty, they just cannot treat the final exam as "optional" and it will be required as part of their grade.
What if I have to miss section?
Section attendance is an essential part of your learning in this course and directly affects your grade. If you miss a section, you must alert your Teaching Fellow (TF) within 48 hours to request to attend another section that same week or complete a make-up assignment. Excused absences (see previous section) may be made up for full attendance points and require appropriate documentation. Unexcused absences may be made up for partial credit. In recognition that “life happens,” we will grant one excused absence for students to use for ANY reason, provided you discuss the absence with your TF and agree to make up missed work. More details on Trinity attendance policies are available here.
What if I have to miss an exam?
If you are unable to attend an exam due to an excused reason, please submit appropriate documentation (see the section at the top of this page) and contact the instructors as soon as possible (and within 48 hours) to discuss your missed exam. More than one Incapacitation Form used for an exam in this course must be accompanied by a note from your academic dean.
When scheduling makeup exams, we take care to schedule a time that is fair both to the student requesting the makeup and to the rest of the class who attended the exam at the original time. To be as fair as possible to all students, we aim to schedule makeup exams for the earliest possible date that the student can reasonably complete the exam, up to 4 days maximum after the original exam date but ideally sooner.
Early exams will not be given.
You should seek support from your academic dean if you are experiencing long-term illnesses, personal emergencies, or will miss your final exam. See trinity.duke.edu/undergraduate/academic-policies/illness for details.
What if I have to miss an assignment deadline?
Deadlines on InQuizitive quizzes are strictly enforced but can be extended with appropriate documentation as described above. Also, we will drop your lowest InQuizitive quiz, so missing just one quiz because of forgetfulness or needing to focus on other priorities won't affect your grade.
For the Research and Writing project, due dates mark the END of the period in which you may submit your work. You are permitted 1 “late day” extension (up to 24 hours) to use for one of your four parts of the project.
Because each phase of the R&W Project allows for several weeks of worktime and to have questions answered, students should not expect to use Incapacitation Forms (intended for short-term illness) to receive extensions on the assignment.
In the unusual case that a last-minute illness prevents a student from finalizing or turning in their work, the student must email the TF the most current draft of their work to demonstrate the progress they have made, otherwise, Incapacitation Forms will not be considered. Extensions require approval from the course instructors (Dr. Hard & Dr. Grisham). Plan ahead, start early, back up all of your work, and do not expect to receive extensions. Given the cumulative nature of this project, assignments turned in more than two weeks late are not guaranteed to receive credit. Please note that you should seek support from your academic dean if you are experiencing long-term illnesses or personal emergencies that will likely delay your progress on the R&W project. Early submissions are accepted and encouraged.
A Special Note for Duke Athletes and other students who represent Duke:
If a valid university obligation/event/competition requires you to miss class or an exam, please include psy101@duke.edu in your NOVAP form or have your advisor/director/coach email this address. If you will miss an exam, we require at least 1 week notice to arrange an alternative exam for you. Contact psy101@duke.edu for assistance with scheduling alternative exams.