Short-Term Injury or Illness
The Office of Student Accessibility facilitates support for students experiencing disabling conditions such as illness or injury that impacts class attendance and/or work completion for more than about 2-3 weeks, as these cases may necessitate formal accommodations. Students experiencing a short-term injury, illness, or personal/family situation are encouraged to use the below guidelines for communicating with faculty.
In the case of an illness or personal emergency that may result in excessive absences, please start by reaching out to your faculty member(s) to formulate a plan. If you’re not sure how to initiate this conversation, below are our recommendations:
- Email your professor(s) as early as possible - include your name and the name of the class you’re taking with them.
- Describe, generally, what you will be missing and why. You do not need to go into detail, or share health or disability information. Please note that faculty may not request documentation supporting a health concern, and you are under no obligation to provide this information to them directly.
- Propose a plan for making up the work that feels realistic, based on your current situation. For example: “I should still be able to turn my paper in by Wednesday, but I’m not sure I will be able to finish the reading response that’s due on Monday. Could I turn it in on Tuesday instead?”
- If you are concerned about your progress or standing in the class, include a question about this in your email.
- If any part of of your conversation with your professor makes you feel concerned about your ability to successfully complete the class, or if you would like to explore your options in terms of continued enrollment or withdrawal from the class, reach out to your advisor in the College Advising Center.
We recognize that this may be a major change for many students, so please let us know if you need any additional support by emailing access@lclark.edu.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have approved flexibility accommodations (i.e., flexibility with attendance, flexibility with deadlines) and need further assistance with disability-related absences or extensions, please email access@lclark.edu.
In the case of an illness or personal emergency that may result in excessive absences, please start by reaching out to your faculty member(s) to formulate a plan. If you are not satisfied with the result of that conversation, you should then contact your department chair and/or Associate Dean Janet Bixby (bixby@lclark.edu).
Students who miss more than three days of class, due to illness or personal emergency, can contact Associate Dean Libby Davis (eadavis@lclark.edu) to request assistance.
For more information, please reach out to access@lclark.edu if you have any questions.
Student Accessibility is located in room 206 of Albany Quadrangle.
MSC: 112
email access@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-7192
fax 503-768-7197
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
CAS Exam Proctoring Hours:
Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Student Accessibility
Lewis & Clark
615 S. Palatine Hill Road
Portland OR 97219