TO:                  Varsity Student Athletes

FROM:            Jill Dolan, Dean of the College, John Mack, Ford Family Director of Athletics

RE:                  Varsity Athletic Competitions and Class Attendance Policy

Princeton has long been committed to maintaining a competitive varsity athletics program as part of its broad conception of undergraduate education.  We make every reasonable effort to schedule your competitions at times that do not conflict with your academic commitments.

In cases where those conflicts are unavoidable, our policy is not to penalize you for missed class time resulting from attending or traveling to/from varsity competitions. 

We ask for your cooperation and collaboration here.  Notify your professors about potential conflicts as close to the beginning of the semester as possible but by no later than the end of the add/drop period.

We understand that you may have post-season conflicts that you don’t know about at the beginning of the semester.  Please address these conflicts with your instructors as soon as they arise later in the semester.

Please meet with your professors to identify any class meetings you are likely to miss because of varsity athletic competition or related travel, and to discuss how you plan to cover the assigned material.

For example, you might propose reviewing a classmate’s notes (only if permitted by your instructor); meeting with your professor during office hours; writing a short essay on the assigned readings discussed during your absence; or completing an assignment the professor considers fair and equivalent.

In addition, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning offers a number of educational technologies that can help mitigate the academic disruptions caused by missed classes.  In all cases, you should communicate clearly and offer to collaborate with your instructor on how you’ll make up any material you miss.

Just a reminder that student athletes are not permitted to miss class to attend practices.

In short, while the University permits you to miss classes for sanctioned varsity athletic competitions and related travel, these absences must not compromise your ability to remain in good standing in your courses.  That standing—and your full participation in your program of study—may well be compromised if you miss more classes (for personal travel, job interviews, or other extracurricular commitments) than those required for athletic competitions.

First-year students, please note:  Writing Seminar classes missed for athletic competitions do count towards the Writing Program’s limit of four absences.  Students who miss more than four seminar meetings, for whatever reason (including illness) will not receive credit for the course.

Our goal is to balance the rigor of your academic program with your pursuit of athletic excellence.  We truly appreciate your commitment to your work in both areas here at Princeton.

If you have any questions, please contact Dean Alec Dun at 609-258-9310 or by email at [email protected].  

We wish you a very successful semester, in class and in your sport!

Cc:       Elizabeth Colagiuri, Deputy Dean of the College

             Varsity Head Coaches

             Anthony Archbald, Executive Associate Director of Athletics

             Greg Busch, Senior Associate Director of Athletics

             Alec Dun, Associate Dean, Office of the Dean of the College