Indiana University respects and protects the rights of all students to observe their religious holidays. Instructors must make a reasonable accommodation when a student must miss an exam or other work because of a required religious observance.
Faculty can refer to the 5-year calendar of religious observances.
The "Request for Accommodation for Religious Observances" form must be submitted by the student to the professor by the end of the second week of the semester to which the request applies. A separate form must be submitted for each day and for each course. The form can be obtained here.
When planning courses departmental programs, and other activities for the academic year, it is important to remember the rich mixture of religious and ethic groups that comprise our student population. The following includes some religious holy days, civic holidays and festivals that occur during the academic year, variously observed by certain religious and ethnic communities. This list is not exhaustive, nor does the observance of all the holy days or holidays require absence from class. Please review the Schedule of Classes for additional information about the academic calendar: https://registrar.indiana.edu/calendars/schedule-of-classes.shtml.
The IU Religious Observances policy attempts to strike a reasonable balance between accommodating religious observances of students and meeting academic needs and standards. This policy requires instructors to make a reasonable accommodation when a student must miss an exam or other academic exercise because of a required observance. The policy outlines a procedure that students should follow in requesting an accommodation.
Indiana University's policy on accommodations for religious holy days or holidays for both students and faculty is available at: https://vpfaa.indiana.edu/policies/bl-aca-h10-religious-observances/index.html.
Alternative accessible formats of the PDF documents on this page can be obtained by contacting VPFAA at vpfaa@indiana.edu.
