Topics:

• Professional engagement
• Attendance Procedures Synopsis
• Learning activities with required attendance
• Block courses 1-7
• Excused absences
• Leaving early
• Documentation of excused absence
• Unexcused absence
• Chicago campus excused absence request and reporting process
• Multiple absences
• Late arrival to an exam for any course in Phase 1
• Absence implications for
  • Doctoring and Clinical Skills course (DoCS)
  • Block courses:
    • Team-based learning sessions (TBLs)
    • Core Case sessions
    • Health, Illness & Society (HIS) sessions
    • Healthcare Systems (HCS) sessions
    • Labs
  • Synthesis
  • Medical Colloquia
  • Transition to Clerkships

Attendance as an Element of Professional Engagement

Physicians in practice are expected to engage fully in their professional responsibilities to maintain the trust of the public they serve. Attendance and punctuality are particularly important reflections of this professional engagement. The MD Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine maintains firm attendance policies for several reasons:

• Punctuality and participation during medical school instill the habits that learners will need as clinicians in practice;
• Anticipating and communicating the need to be absent from mandatory curricular sessions for which learners have responsibility is a demonstration of learners’ good judgment; framing this need in the form of a request (e.g., asking permission) is a demonstration of learners’ respect for ones colleagues and recognition of how absences impact the workspace.
• The majority of learner classroom time is in active learning formats. Learner participation is an essential element for both individual learning and learning of peers as collaborative teams;
• In many learning activities, specific resources (e.g., cadavers) or services (patient instructors, patients) have been provided and scheduled for learners based on the anticipated number of learners in the class.

The faculty consider learners’ presence at mandatory learning sessions to be a fundamental part of the academic expectations of the MD program. As in professional practice, a pattern of tardiness or unexcused absences is not acceptable.  If a pattern is observed, a meeting with the curricular administration may occur.

The Illinois Medicine Curriculum Phase 1 Attendance Policy is consistent for all campuses and is approved by the College Committee on Instruction and Appraisal. Students are expected to be in their sear prepared to engage in the session at the scheduled start time of the session. The process for documenting attendance required each student verifying attendance for the session by completing a “sign in” within the first 10 minutes of class. Each campus procedure in applying the Phase 1 attendance Policy is approved by the cross-campus curricular deans. The attendance procedures for the Chicago campus are included below. 

Attendance Procedure Synopsis:

This synopsis is provided here as a quick guide to the procedures but is not intended to replace it. 

1. Whether the student arrives late to a session, forgets to sign in, or misses the session entirely, the event is recorded as an absence and will be either excused or unexcused.
2. An absence will be tracked by a student not signing into a session. Not signing in within a 10 minute window counts as an absence in the course and will be either excused or unexcused.
3. Students are permitted to “fail to sign in” without penalty for an unexcused absence a designated number of times depending on the course (see table below).
4. The “failure to sign in” without penalty for an unexcused absence only applies to individual, mandatory, in-person sessions on different days. Failing to sign in to more than one mandatory session in the same day results in one lost Professional Engagement point in those courses that count PE points in grading (Blocks 1-7).
5. One unexcused absence equals one lost Professional Engagement point in those courses that count PE points in grading (Blocks 1-7).
6. Students will be allowed three days of unexcused absence before failing a Block course. The number of days allowed is prorated for the DoCS courses and corresponds to the length of each DoCS course. These allowances do not apply to days in which assessment takes place.
7. Absence implications and grading vary in the DoCS courses, Medical Colloquia, Synthesis and Transition to Clerkships . See “Absence Implications” sections below for details.

*with the exception of the summer term where 1 “failure to sign in” event is permitted

Learning activities with required attendance

Students are encouraged to attend all learning sessions offered in the Phase 1 courses.  All learning sessions with required attendance are designed as mandatory in the course syllabi.

Learning sessions not listed as mandatory in the syllabi do not require attendance but students remain responsible for all material covered during these sessions.

All graded assessments (exams, Readiness Assurance Tests [RATs], quizzes, and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations [OSCEs], etc.) are mandatory.

Class sessions that require attendance are listed as mandatory in the schedule. Sessions that are not listed as mandatory in the schedule do not require attendance, however students remain responsible for all material covered. Absence may be excused if the reason for the absence meets the criteria listed below, and is requested and approved in advance.

Class attendance is taken *electronically through the “Benware” software using a unique password posted at the start of each session. Students are considered on-time and present if they sign into Benware within the first 10 minutes of class. Those who miss the 10 minute “window” for sign in will be considered absent even if they are physically present.

Failure to sign in is an instance in which students are in attendance for an in-person session, but fail to sign in. The student will need to contact the administrator to request use of the “failure to sign”.

Students are permitted:

• two failures to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence on different days in each of Blocks 1 through 8
• one failure to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence in the Transition to Clerkship course
• two failures to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence on different days per term (fall and spring) in DoCS.
• one failure to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence in summer term in DoCS.
• one failure to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence in Synthesis for any term that includes one Synthesis week.
• two failures to sign in to a session without penalty for an unexcused absence in Synthesis for any term that includes more than one Synthesis Week.

*Attendance is taken on paper for some courses. The 10-minute, on-time window still applies.

Block Courses 1-7

Professional Engagement points are part of the grade composition for each Block. One Professional Engagement point will be list for each unexcused day of absence withing the Block course.  There is no option to split up the point if only missing one out of the multiple mandatory sessions in a day. The “fail to sign in” without penalty for an unexcused absence only applies to individual mandatory, in-person sessions on different days. Failing to sign in to more than one mandatory session in the same day results in one lost Professional Engagement point in those courses that count PE points in grading (Blocks 1-7).

An unexcused absence in a Block session missed on the same day as an unexcused absence session in a DoCS course counts as an unexcused absence in the Block course and one unexcused absence in the DoCS course. So if a student misses a core case session in Block 1 in the morning, and then misses a mandatory DoCS session in the afternoon, the student will lose one Professional Engagement point in Block 1, and the occurrence will be counted as one unexcused absence day in DoCS, unless the “fail to sign in” applies.

For Block courses 1-7, if students have more than three unexcused absences (days) within the same course, they will receive a failing grade. (See below for absence implications as they apply to DoCS, Medical Colloquia, Synthesis, and Transition to Clerkships.)

Professional Engagement points are deducted within the current block/course/term only; points do not accrue from block to block, course to course, or term to term.

Excused absences

Students must contact the course coordinator IN WRITING in advance of any anticipated absence — excused or unexcused — via the absence request process outlined below. Advance notice is required even if the reason for the absence is not included in the criteria for excused absence. (See Absence Request Process below.)

If an absence meets the criteria listed for excused absences but was not requested in advance, the absence is considered unexcused except in case of emergency.

Students may receive a maximum of 3 excused absences per block without further discussion with Chicago campus administration.  If circumstances warrant greater that 3 absences, they must be approved by campus administration.

Examples of absence requests that are often approved at the discretion of the course coordinator in consultation with the campus-designated curricular administration team.

• Illness of student (mental or physical illness), significant other or family member
• Funeral of a significant other or family member
• Healthcare provider appointment for student
• Religious holidays (See UIC Senate Policy on Religious Holidays)
• Own wedding (2 days domestic, 3 days international)
• Inability to obtain emergency child care (maximum 3 days across the term)
• Civic obligations that cannot be rescheduled (court date, citizenship assessment, jury duty*).
  *Students should attempt to reschedule jury duty in advance using the Student Request Form.

Examples of absence requests that may be approved by the team of curricular administrators include:

• Illness of extended family member or friend
• Student representation on a College of Medicine Committee
• Funeral of a friend
• Major life event of a significant person in the student’s life, e.g. another’s wedding, graduation, match day etc. (maximum of two – three days based on location and date of event)
• Presenting at a medical conference or other professional organization meeting (only with approval well in advance by the campus administrative team)
• Healthcare provider appointment for significant other, family member
• Other circumstances of an extreme, unanticipated, and compelling nature

If an absence is anticipated, permission must be requested prior to the date of the learning session in order to be counted as an excused absence. When permission cannot be requested prior to the session (extenuating circumstances), the request must be submitted within 48 hours of the learning session.  If this is not done, the absence will be considered unexcused.

Leaving Early

Leaving a session prior to its completion without prior approval is considered a professionalism issue, and the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team.

If a student must leave a session due to an emergent issue, the student should notify the course coordinator before leaving and contact the course coordinator in writing as soon as feasible using the absence reporting procedure described below. The course coordinator will deem the absence to be excused or unexcused in consultation with the campus-designated curricular administrative team.

Documentation of Excused Absences

Documentation IS required for approval and must be submitted within seven calendar days following the absence for any session with graded assessment including:

• Formative and summative examinations (includes weekly quiz*, DoCS quiz*, NBME exams, block final, DoCS OSCE)
• RATs in a TBL session
• Standardized patient or manikin simulation

*Approval to be excused from a “take-home” quiz will be handled on a case-by-case basis due to the extended length of time the quiz is available.

Documentation IS required for approval and must be submitted within seven calendar days following the absence from any session with mandatory attendance due to:

• own or another’s wedding
• a healthcare provider appointment for self, significant other, or family member
• an illness of three days or more for student, significant other, or family member
• a presentation or attendance at a conference
• civic obligations that cannot be rescheduled or deferred (court date, citizenship assessment)
• student representation on College of Medicine Committee
• circumstances of an extreme, unanticipated, and compelling nature

Documentation IS NOT required for absence approval from any session with mandatory attendance due to:

• Observation of a religious holiday (see UIC Senate Policy on Religious Holidays)
• Attendance at a funeral
• Illness of one or two days for student, significant other, or immediate family member (Documentation IS always required for absence due to illness from any graded assessment regardless of duration as well as absence of three or more days from any session due to illness.)

Examples of Proper Documentation for Excused Absences:

• Healthcare provider’s note listing date of appointment
• Police report
• Wedding invitation with date and location
• Traffic ticket
• Public transportation delay receipt
• Email notice for College of Medicine Committee meeting

Unexcused absence

Students must contact the course coordinator IN WRITING in advance of any anticipated absence — excused or unexcused — via the absence request process outlined below. Advance notice is required even if the reason for the absence is not included in the criteria for excused absence. (See Absence Request Process below.)

Failure to notify the coordinator in advance– even if the absence meets the criteria for excused absence–will result in an unexcused absence.

Failure to provide satisfactory written documentation within seven calendar days following an absence will result in an unexcused absence.

Reasons for absences that are considered unexcused:

• Employment conflict
• Missed ride
• Missed bus/train/flight
• Overslept/forgot to set alarm
• Out of town without prior excusal
• Pet emergencies
• Listed wrong date on personal calendar
• Travel booked before schedule is finalized
• Time off request not made in advance or absent after request disapproved
• PCE visit

* Religious Holidays

Per UIC Senate Policy on religious holidays, students who wish to observe their religious holidays shall notify the course coordinator by the tenth day of the semester of the date(s) when they will be absent unless the religious holiday is observed on or before the tenth day of the semester. In such cases, the student shall notify the coordinator at least five days in advance of the date when he/she will be absent. The full policy and a list of religious days of special observance can be found on the Office of Access and Equity web site at: http://oae.uic.edu/religious-calendar/ (The posted list is NOT all-inclusive and customs may use a variation of the dates listed. If a holiday is not listed, that does not mean the holiday is not observed.)

Chicago campus excused absence request and reporting process

Students must contact the absence coordinator IN WRITING in advance of any anticipated absence — excused or unexcused — via the absence request process outlined below. Advance notice is required even if the reason for the absence is not included in the criteria for excused absence.

A request for an excused absence must be communicated in advance using the Absence Excusal and Reporting Link. The request  will be received by the course coordinators. The course coordinator will facilitate all communications about the absence request, and will serve as the point of contact about decisions and other information. If there are any concerns students should call the Office of Curricular Affairs at 312-996-9030 and the call will be directed to the appropriate coordinator.

NOTE: Submitting a request for an “excused absence” does not guarantee acceptance. The student is responsible for following up and confirming whether the absence is excused or unexcused. No expectation of prior notification will apply in the case of an emergency. However, if the student knows of an impending absence, the student is expected to submit an absence report. The absence will be deemed excused or unexcused by the absence coordinator in consultation with the campus curricular administration team.

Multiple Absences

If a situation leads to missing multiple class sessions (TBL, Core Case, Lab, Synthesis, DoCS, Medical Colloquia, or Transition to Clerkships) and completing the course becomes difficult, the student should contact the course coordinator as soon as possible to explore options such as a make-up plan, remediation plan, leave of absence, etc. The time period for this make-up will be consistent with UI-COM Academic Policies.

NOTE: Both excused and unexcused absences are tracked across the curriculum. Students with repeated absences may be asked to provide a higher level of documentation. Such absences may affect the student’s professionalism evaluation and grade (please see Assessment Policies and Procedures and may lead to review through the student promotions committee process. Please see the Statement on Professional Behavior contained in the Academic Policies and Professional Standards document posted on the Educational Policies web page.

Campus deans and course directors, in association with absence coordinators, may notify the campus student promotions committee of a student’s pattern of late arrivals or unexcused absences for review in relation to the college’s statement on professional behavior.

Late Arrival to an Exam for any course in Phase 1

• Students are expected to arrive at or before the scheduled start time of an exam. Late arrival to exams is disruptive to faculty, staff, and classmates, and will be noted. Patterns of late arrival to exams will result in a meeting with curricular administration.
• Students who arrive late but within 20 minutes of the scheduled start of an exam are still eligible to sit for the exam.

Example: An exam is scheduled to start at 8:00am with a 7:45am check-in time.  A student whose arrival was delayed may sign in at the check-in table as late as 8:20am and sit for the exam.

• Students who arrive more than 20 minutes late will be directed to the appropriate administrator. Students without an excused absence will receive a score of zero for the exam. Students with an approved excusal will be rescheduled to take the exam at a later date.

A pattern of not meeting punctuality expectations will result in a professional concerns form being submitted for the student and may impact a student’s ability to progress through the program. Curricular administration will meet with students to address these areas of concern.

Absence implications for Doctoring and Clinical Skills (DoCS) Sessions

DoCS is a clinical course and the same level of professionalism is expected in this course as is expected in clerkships. Assessment in DoCS is based on observation of students’ practice of clinical skills and attitudes. Punctual attendance is required at all DoCS sessions. Failure to attend an activity will affect your overall DoCS grade.

If an absence for a DoCS session is considered excused, the student is responsible for making arrangements with the course coordinator to make up the session, which will be determined on an individual basis. Requests for excusal should be made in advance, or as soon as possible in the case of emergency.

If the absence for a DoCS session is considered unexcused, the student will receive a score of zero for the quiz (if scheduled), the absence will be counted as an unexcused absence for the day and the student will be responsible for all material covered.

Unexcused absences will result in a failing course grade if they exceed:

DoCS 1 –

• three unexcused absences in the Fall term
• two unexcused absences in the Spring term
• one unexcused absence in the Summer term

DoCS 2 –

• three unexcused absences in the Fall term
• one unexcused absence in the Spring term

Due to the clinical nature of the DoCS course, students may be required to make up the missed session(s) to avoid further penalty. As this is also considered a professionalism issue, the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team.

Late Arrival: Since the ultimate goal of a DoCS session is to learn and contribute to the team, students are expected to go to the session even if they will be arriving past the posted start time. Students should contact the course coordinator in advance or immediately following the session to explain the reason for the late arrival. The course coordinator will deem the late arrival to be excused or unexcused in consultation with the campus-designated curricular administration team. Late arrivals will follow the same protocol for excused or unexcused absence in the paragraphs above. An arrival is considered late 10 minutes past the posted start time for the session.

An unexcused late arrival will result in the loss of one Professional Engagement point.

Absence Implications for Team Based Learning (TBL) Sessions

If a TBL absence is considered excused, the student must make arrangements with the course coordinator to make up the Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT). To receive credit, a student must complete the IRAT within one week of the TBL session. The student’s grade for the TBL will be the weighted average of their IRAT score and the team’s score from the Team Readiness Assurance Test (TRAT). TBLs’ application exercises do not have make-up sessions, but students are responsible for all material covered in the session.

If a TBL session absence is unexcused, the student will lose a Professional Engagement point, will not be allowed to make up the IRAT, and will receive a score of 0 (zero) for both the IRAT and TRAT for that TBL session. The student will be responsible for all the material covered. As this is also considered a professionalism issue, the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team. Please see Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Late Arrival: Since the ultimate goal of a TBL session is to learn and contribute to the team, students are expected to go to the session even if they will be arriving past the posted start time.

Late arrivals will be handled as follows:

• A student who arrives late for the IRAT may still receive any points gained within the remaining minutes allowed for the IRAT, and participate as usual in the TRAT and Application. If the arrival is more than 10 minutes past the session start time, however, the student will lose a Professional Engagement point. There is no option to retake the missed portion of the IRAT even if the reason for late arrival is excusable since the student will have viewed the questions in the TRAT.
• A student who completely misses the IRAT and shows up late for the TRAT may still participate in the remaining minutes of the TRAT and receive the full amount of points gained by the group but the student will receive 0% for the IRAT. Since an arrival after the completion of the IRAT is more than 10 minutes past the session start time, this will also result in the loss of a Professional Engagement point. There is no option to retake the missed portion of the IRAT even if the reason for late arrival is excusable since the student will have viewed the questions in the TRAT.
• A student who arrives after both the IRAT and TRAT portions have ended will participate in the application. The student should contact the course coordinator immediately following the session to explain the reason for the late arrival. The course coordinator will deem the late arrival to be excused or unexcused after consultation with the campus-designated curricular administration team. If considered excused, the student must make arrangements with the course coordinator to make up the IRAT and will receive the full amount of points gained by the group for the TRAT as detailed above. If unexcused, the student will receive 0% for the IRAT and 0% for the TRAT regardless of points earned by the team for the TRAT. The unexcused late arrival will also result in the loss of a Professional Engagement point.

Absence implications for Core Case Sessions, HIS Sessions, HCS Sessions, Sessions, and Lab Sessions.

If the absence for a session is considered excused, the student is responsible for all of the material covered in the session.

If the absence for a session is considered unexcused, the student is responsible for all material covered. As this is also considered a professionalism issue, the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team. Please see Assessment Policies and Procedures

If the absence for a Block core case session is considered unexcused, the student will lose a Professional Engagement point.

Late Arrival: Since the ultimate goal is to learn and contribute to the team, students are expected to go to the session even if they will be arriving past the posted start time. Students should contact the course coordinator immediately following the session to explain the reason for the late arrival. The course coordinator will deem the late arrival to be excused or unexcused in consultation with the campus-designated curricular administration team. Late arrivals will follow the same protocol for excused or unexcused absences in the paragraphs above. An arrival is considered late 10 minutes past the posted start time for the session. As chronic lateness is considered a professionalism issue, the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team.

Absence Implications for Synthesis and Medical Colloquia Sessions

If the absence for a session is considered excused, the student is responsible for all of the material covered in the session.

Synthesis and Medical Colloquia do not include graded assessments; course expectations are based on attendance, participation, and completion of assignments with each course component assigned a specific percentage of the grade. Students who do not meet the MPL for the course will be required to complete any missed course material via written make-up, in addition to submitting a narrative reflection before a passing grade will be submitted.

Unexcused absence or failure to complete an assignment may result in a failing grade for the course. (See the Assessment Policies and Procedures). Unexcused absences are considered a professionalism issue and the student may be required to meet with the campus-designated curricular administration team.

Late Arrival: Students should always plan to arrive 10 minutes prior to the session start time. Students should contact the course coordinator, using the reporting procedure described above, in advance or immediately following the session to explain the reason for the late arrival. Late arrivals will follow the same protocol for excused or unexcused absences in the section above. An arrival is considered late 10 minutes past the posted start time for the session.