Loyola University Chicago

Student-Athlete Advising

Student Academic Services

Class Attendance

Guidance and instruction received from experienced professors in the classroom is an integral part of a student's education.  It is expected that student-athletes will attend and participate actively in all class meetings. Student-athletes are expected to attend all classes. However, athletic competition makes certain absences unavoidable. 

Scheduling classes in conjunction with athletic team practices and scheduled competition must be made with the highest level of discernment every semester.  For example, a student-athlete should not schedule a once a week class on a day when s/he will miss that class for competition more than twice in a sixteen week semester.  Missing a once a week class is equivalent to a week's worth of classes each time it is missed.  Additionally, when the participation component of the grade noted in a course syllabus is a significant percentage of the over-all final grade (greater than 15-20%) the student-athlete needs to determine during the first week of classes whether s/he is capable of achieving that highly significant portion of the final grade without penalty.  Students need to ascertain whether or not group work (graded components) may be negatively affected by missed classes for competition. Listed below is Loyola University's missed class policy.  Students who are having difficulty with any professor about the policy need to immediately contact Student-Athlete Academic Support for guidance.

Loyola University Absence Policy for Students in Co-Curricular Activities:

Students missing classes while representing Loyola University Chicago in an official capacity (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, debate team, model government organization) shall be allowed by the faculty member of record to make up any assignments and to receive notes or other written information distributed in the missed classes.

Students should discuss with faculty the potential consequences of missing lectures and the ways in which they can be remedied. Students must provide their instructors with proper documentation i.e., “Athletic Competition & Travel Letter” describing the reason for and date of the absence.

This documentation must be signed by an appropriate faculty or staff member and it must be provided to the professor in the first week of a semester. It is the responsibility of the student to make up any assignments. If the student misses an examination, the instructor is required to allow the student to take the examination at another time.