Although students generally consider the prospective changes to the short-term illness policy a good idea, many remain concerned that people might abuse a more trust-based policy. An unexpectedly long interim period after the old policy's expiration has frustrated a few, but the most common sentiments regarding the policy changes range from ignorance to reservation to relief.
The proposed illness notification policy, in accordance with the new Community Standard, would require only that students use an online form to tell teachers about their short-term health issues--a major change from the old policy, under which students had to procure absence excuses from health care workers in Student Health. However, thanks to attendance problems and Hurricane Isabel, voting on the proposed policy has been postponed until a joint meeting of the Arts and Sciences Council and Engineering Faculty Council tomorrow.
Although sickness has surely already kept some students out of class this year, many are unaware that the old Dean's Excuse policy has been eliminated or even that there is a policy regulating illness-related absences. Professors often make arrangements with students privately, and some upperclassmen said they have never needed to obtain a Dean's Excuse.
"I wouldn't even think to use [the proposed form]," junior Tiara Monroe said. Like several of her peers, she endures classes regardless of her health.
Many students expressed relief that the new policy could make getting rest less complicated.
"I think it's going to be good for students," said senior Tina Comissiong. "If I had that option [during my last illness], I might have used it."
Still, few students gave their unreserved approval to the proposed policy. The most widespread concern is the possibility that others might misuse the new system.
"I can see that getting abused really easily," freshman Nelson Williams said.
Williams is not alone. Students do not seem to have much faith that their peers will live up to the University's Community Standard. Faculty members, though, do not necessarily share students' concerns that the proposed policy is easier to abuse. Although the nurses at Student Health did not know if they were giving the sixth excuse of the semester to a student missing yet another midterm, professors will be able to notice a suspicious rise in reported illnesses on exam days.
"If a student walked all the way over to Student Health, they got an excuse," noted James Bonk, professor of chemistry, who headed the committee in charge of revising the system for handling short-term illnesses.
Though he admits students could use the proposed policy to deceive their teachers, he does not see this as any more of an issue than it was under the old Dean's Excuse policy. "The problem that most people don't understand is that... somebody has to take the student's word," Bonk said.
William Chafe, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences, echoed these sentiments.
"I think that any policy is open to misuse," Chafe said, explaining that the proposed policy is no more an invitation to abuse than its predecessor. "What we're trying to do here is put in place parameters for individual students to be responsible for their own decisions." Bonk explained that trust in students is an essential element of the proposed policy. The University has to start somewhere if it is to turn the Community Standard from ideal to reality.
"The faculty would be... putting the ball in the students' court [should they approve the policy]," Bonk said. He added that the change could "kick-start" the Community Standard.
The ball cannot get rolling, though, until tomorrow's faculty meeting. Some students feel the delay in voting has been unreasonably long.
"I think [the delay] is pretty ridiculous," said Sarah Weber, a freshman. For now, students can only ponder what policy they would choose to put in place. Others' suggestions are not always as idealistic or serious as the ideas faculty have developed. Mused first-year graduate student Richard Sawyer, "Maybe you should have to send in a webcam picture of yourself that shows that you're sick."
Of course, in the age of photo editing, even visual evidence would require a certain degree of trust.
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