Office of the Provost

Dear Colleagues,

The coming month is one of significance for many members of our community in their religious practices, including the observances of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, Passover, and Easter. As these holidays approach, we are sharing resources and reminders with the community to promote awareness of these observances and their potential effects on the academic activities of our students.

We believe that meaningful inclusion plays a critical role in the well-being of all members of the UConn community. In accordance with this mission, we advise faculty and staff to take dates of religious holidays into consideration when planning events or setting academic deadlines. The Provost’s Office, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Equity, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Dean of Students Office, has created a webpage that includes information on key religious observances this academic year. It also includes links to UConn’s policy on religious accommodations for students, faculty and staff, as well as resources to learn more about individual holidays. Please click here to visit the Religious Observances webpage. If you notice a religious holiday that is not included on this webpage, please contact provost@uconn.edu.

As a reminder, faculty and instructors are expected reasonably to accommodate individual religious practices unless doing so would result in fundamental alteration of class objectives or undue hardship to the University’s legitimate business purposes. Such accommodations may include rescheduling an exam or giving a make-up exam, allowing a presentation to be made on a different date or assigning the student appropriate make-up work that is intrinsically no more difficult than the original assignment.
Students are responsible for making arrangements in advance to make up missed work. Students are also responsible for identifying potential conflicts with final examinations and must contact the Dean of Students Office for accommodations for final examinations.

Your attention to these observances and accommodations is an important part of supporting our University’s commitment to building and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive learning and work environment.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey

Jeffrey S. Shoulson, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs