Mike Jenson.A new policy is now in effect that allows Indiana University students on all campuses to continue to fulfill their academic obligations while completing short-term military orders.

“This new policy is intended to clarify the university’s expectation that faculty provide reasonable accommodations to allow a student to continue their classwork during a short-term military event,” Associate Vice President and Chief Compliance and Policy Officer Mike Jenson said. “That could include excusing the student’s absence from class, providing alternate due dates for an assignment or exam or allowing the student to complete an alternate assignment.”

The new policy applies when a student receives military orders that conflict with completion of a course requirement but would not otherwise require them to withdraw from the course or IU altogether – a five day military training, for example, rather than an overseas deployment.

It works in conjunction with VPSS-02 Military Withdrawal, which sets out the process for students to withdraw from a course or request a leave of absence from IU if their military orders prohibit them from completing a course or academic term.

Once students receive military orders that interfere with a course requirement, they should notify their instructor and provide official documentation of the orders to request an accommodation. If a good faith effort is made and a reasonable accommodation cannot be provided, the student can still seek withdrawal from the class.

Staff and faculty, please note: The new policy only applies to accommodations for academic obligations and does not cover employment or academic appointment leaves for military duty, which are covered by university policies HR-05-60 and ACA-47.

Questions about the new policy? Contact policies@iu.edu. All university polices, including those that are under review, recently revised or new, can be found online at policies.iu.edu.