Extenuating Circumstances ☔

Life can present unexpected challenges that may impact your ability to participate in this course. If you encounter extenuating circumstances, such as illness, family emergencies, or other significant events, I am happy to help you continue your learning journey in a way that works for you.

What counts as an extenuating circumstance?

Extenuating circumstances are events beyond a student’s control that impair their ability to meet course requirements or deadlines. Typical examples include serious illness, major personal crises, bereavement, unavoidable caring responsibilities, legal obligations, technical outages, and other emergencies.

I want you to be able to succeed in this course. If something in your life limits your ability to succeed, please let me know. I’m happy to work with you.

Communication is key

If there is an emergency, please prioritize taking care of the emergency. There is no reason to email me during a crisis. When you reasonably can, please reach out if you need accommodations.

I explicitly trust you. I believe you are here to learn, not to take advantage of anyone. Until I have a reason to stop trusting you, I will likely not ask for documentation. Especially for students, it is not always possible to get a doctor’s note, a police report, or any other documentation of extenuating circumstances.

If you have advance notice, arrangements must be made before the extenuating circumstance. For example, if you have jury duty, I will not provide accommodations if you do not contact me before the obligation.

Your options

There are several options at the course and university level for accommodations to extenuating circumstances.

Deadline extensions. The easiest accommodation for most exentuating circumstances is a deadline extension. Students should request a short, specific deadline extension (i.e., a number of days).
Deferrals. Similarly, assessments (written or oral exams) may be postponed to a specified date.
Temporary concessions. Attendance and participation expectations may be reduced.
Alternative formats. Assignments may be delivered in a specified alternative format.
Reassessment. If you underperform due to extenuating circumstances, it may be possible to redo work.
University options. In case of circumstances that prevent you from finishing the course, it may be possible to receive an “Incomplete” grade or access another resource at the university level.

Email template

Drafting emails is annoying. Reading emails is annoying. Feel free to use this template if you need help knowing what to say. If in doubt, be assertive and brief.

Subject: Requesting accommodation

Hi Landon,

I am unable to complete assignment by its deadline because reason.
Will you please specific accommodation?

Best,
Sally Student