Attendance Policy for Didactic Coursework in the Occupational Therapy Program
The goal of an attendance policy is to ensure that the learning objectives are met per accreditation standards while supporting the students to be prepared for the NBCOT examination and fieldwork experiences.
The occupational therapy curriculum is grounded in professional and competency-based education, where active participation and consistent engagement are essential to learning and skill development. Attendance is expected for all courses,
if you are dealing with extenuating circumstances that are making attendance a challenge for some reason, please reach out to the program director as soon as possible.
Students who miss classes at a certain threshold per semester, indicated below, may result in a required meeting with the course instructor or program director. The outcomes of the discussion may include recommendations for additional student/IHP support, issuing notification of concern (NOC), remediation planning, or alternative paths (e.g., course withdrawal, LOA, for example).
Meet with Course Faculty:
- For courses that meet weekly for 12–15 weeks: 2 missed classes
- For courses meeting multiple times a week for 12-15 weeks: 3 missed classes
- For courses with 6-8 sessions per semester: More than 1 missed class
Meet with Program Director:
-Missing 5 or more class sessions across 1 or multiple courses per semester
Religious Observances
The Institute and Department of Occupational Therapy strive to be mindful of major religious holidays. Program faculty have actively planned alternative options for timing of exams, competencies, and major assignments which could fall on major religious holidays. Should students wish to use these plans, they are encouraged to notify course faculty within the first two weeks of the semester. Students are encouraged to contact the Fieldwork Office to use alternative plans set in place during religious observations.
Jury Duty
Attendance at jury duty is considered an excused absence. Students are expected to alert the Fieldwork Office and course faculty as soon as they are summoned. However, if students feel that this will cause an undue burden on their studies or fieldwork, they may request a letter of jury duty postponement from the Registrar’s Office: registrar@mghihp.edu
Notification of Absences
For all academic courses, students must notify all course faculty as far in advance as possible if they are unable to attend class. In cases of an unplanned absence, students must contact course faculty before the scheduled class time. Messages can be left for faculty using voice mail, email, or in the program office at (617) 643-2764 or otdel@mghihp.edu. Messages should indicate the length of and reasons for the absence.
Absences are only acceptable for reasons such as emergencies, religious observance, illness, jury duty, accommodations, or attendance at a professional conference. Student absences may result in grade deductions, scores of zero on missed assignments/quizzes/examinations, required make-up assignments, or other consequences specific to the missed session and as outlined above. Students are responsible for all material covered on days that are missed for personal reasons.
Policies regarding absences from fieldwork placements can be found in the Attendance and FW Schedules section.
Part-time Study
In the case that life events impact a student’s ability to continue full-time enrollment in the OTD program, the student may request permission to register for part-time study under the following conditions:
The student must be in good academic standing (cumulative GPA above 3.0) and hold a minimum grade of B- in all courses taken in the EL-OTD curriculum.
A letter of recommendation from the student’s faculty advisor with a plan for continued study must be submitted to CAPP.
The CAPP will review the student’s request and determine whether to approve/deny part time study. No adjustments to courses or course schedules will be made to accommodate part-time schedules. Students areresponsible for any expenses incurred because of the extended program.