Bryn Mawr College

Guidelines for Reporting Illness

Please use your best judgment about whether or not you are able to attend class.  Remember that unlike in high school, you may only have one, two, or three hours of class on a particular day, and often your class is only a few-minutes away from your dorm.  This make make it possible to attend class when you have the typical minor illness.

If you do have to miss class, send your professors an email to let them know that you are sick. Professors will understand that sometimes students must miss class because of illness, whether because they simply do not feel well enough to attend or because they risk spreading illness to others.  

Please also notify coaches, employment supervisors, etc, if you must miss practice, work, or some other commitment. 

Remember to make use of the Health Center.  Walk-in hours and same-day appointments are both available and can be very helpful.  If the nurse thinks you are too sick to contact your professors yourself, she will call the dean’s office if you give her permission to do so. Your dean will then email your Bryn Mawr and Haverford professors to explain your absence. Please follow all medical instructions regarding both taking care of yourself and not spreading illness to others.   

If you need help getting to the Health Center, call Public Safety.You do not have to obtain excuse notes from the Health Center or emails from your deans to “prove” that you have been sick. We assume that you are operating on the Honor Code, and we expect everyone to be guided by it in their communications with us and with their professors. The Health Center does not issue excuse notes, and the deans do not want to be in the position of routinely confirming that a student is ill. We do our best to make this clear to faculty, and you may point them toward the policies on this webpage.  That said, if a professor still insists on a note, do let your dean know. 

If you are sick for more than a day or two, contact your dean. If you become very worried about falling behind in your course work, please share that with us. We will strategize with you about how to catch up with your work.  Be aware as well that if you have already been absent a number of times or have fallen behind in the course work before your illness, your professor may choose to contact your dean to discuss your situation.

Request extensions in advance of the exam dates or paper deadlines. Be realistic and ask for an extension before a due date arrives. More information on extensions is available here. 

Your dean does not ordinarily have to write your professor for you to obtain an extension. However, if you are falling behind in more than one class and need more than one extension, please let your dean know. Your dean can help you coordinate due dates. Keep in mind that deans must be consulted if extensions go into the exam period or beyond.