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Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) acknowledges and appreciates the important contributions of our students who have served or are currently serving in our military. Therefore, ABC pledges to make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations for students who must be absent from class due to (1) military obligations or (2) required medical treatment for service-connected conditions. A student who misses class due to either of the above two reasons has the opportunity to develop a plan with his/her instructor for completing assignments missed during the absence. The plan is to be summarized in the Military Absence Agreement. A critical step in the development of the plan by the student and instructor is a discussion of, and agreement on, what constitutes a ‘reasonable’ length of absence, given the type and structure of the course. The instructor will provide reasonable accommodations to make up missed work, which may include a selection of assessments comparable, but not necessarily identical, to those that the student will miss, as stipulated by the instructor. If the grading policy for a course in which a student is enrolled includes dropping a test/quiz score for the calculation of the final grade, a test or quiz missed due to military-related absences will not automatically constitute the dropped test or quiz unless the student chooses to use this option.
Student and instructor will sign the plan that details the expectations for successful completion of coursework. If the length of absences challenges the student’s ability to successfully complete the agreed-upon plan and remaining current with coursework, it may be within the student’s interest to withdraw.
Procedures and Documentation
In the case of military training or drill periods, the student should email his/her instructor(s) upon receipt of verbal notification of activation. The student must provide the military orders and the leave schedule to his/her instructor as soon as possible after they have been issued. ABC understands that training schedules are subject to change; if a change occurs, the student must submit a memorandum from the service member’s unit to the instructor. In the case of medical treatment, documentation of a Veteran Affairs (VA) appointment may be requested by the instructor to validate the reason for the absence. The instructor has the option of verifying military orders or medical treatment appointments through ABC’s VA representative. If a student must travel to reach his/her training or treatment location, a full eight hours shall be excused before or after the military training or medical treatment to allow for travel time.
Both the student and his/her instructor(s)must sign the Military Absence Agreement, a copy of which will be kept by the student, by his/her instructor(s), and by ABC’s Veteran Affairs representative.
If the student chooses to withdraw due to lengthy military training obligations or extended medical treatment during the semester, the student should inform his/her instructor(s) and ABC’s Veteran Affairs representative, if he/she is using VA benefits.
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