September 30, 2003

UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMITTEE

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY

CLASS ABSENCE POLICY AND PROCEDURE 

      Intercollegiate athletic competition provides young men and women with opportunities for character development and learning that are not necessarily available in the classroom context.  This is particularly true at the Division III level where athletics remain unsullied by the pressures imposed by scholarships, high exposure, and the need to promote revenue-generating events.  As a consequence, Washington and Lee University encourages students to take maximum advantage of opportunities at the University to engage in intercollegiate athletics.  This is part of their education.  At the same time the University and the Department of Physical Education and Athletics recognize that the primary goal of a university education is intellectual development.  As a consequence, student-athletes are fully expected to devote themselves to their courses and to their intellectual development in no less a fashion than they would were they not engaged in intercollegiate competition.

      To accommodate these twin goals of intellectual development and athletic participation, the Department of Physical Education and Athletics makes every effort to schedule "the time, place, and duration of team practices and contests" in a manner that avoids conflicts with students' class schedules (Mission Statement of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics).  With respect to practices and team meetings, the faculty and coaching staff understand that class attendance takes precedence over participation in athletics.  Furthermore, full class participation in courses that may cause students to miss occasional practices will not, in itself, prejudice the coaches in the selection of team participants. 

      On occasion, University-sanctioned athletic events may unavoidably conflict with academic schedules.  In those situations, student-athletes are not automatically entitled to exemptions from class attendance.  However, given the Athletic Department's commitment to the academic mission of the University, professors are encouraged to accommodate those conflicts whenever doing so will not damage the individual student-athlete's academic performance.  In this regard, students who participate in intercollegiate athletics should review their calendars to see which athletic contests, if any, conflict with their academic schedules.  Each student is responsible for discussing any scheduling conflict with his or her professors at the beginning of the term or as soon as possible after the student learns of the conflict.  The ultimate goal is a reasonable accommodation of academic and athletic pursuits.