Case 7: PTSD

Class Absence Excuse Discussion, ECE400, Spring 2012

A student has missed half of the lectures in the semesters. He would like to be excused because he has post-traumatic stress disorder following a tour in Iraq. When pressed for details, he says that he would rather not talk about it...

• Shicheng Guo, Response
  • Ask for proof of deployment, and a doctors note confirming that he actually has PTSD.
    • Unfortunately, privacy issues prevent an instructor from demanding any such documentation. -pm

• Artyom Melanich, Response
  • Should notify you in advance that it might happen and you can come up with the solution. He could at least explain to you the general idea and what makes him to missa a class so you can try to figure out a solution.

• Cody Cusic, Response
  • If this is the case, they should get a note from a doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist excusing the student. If it is too big of a problem and they are not taking the steps to help it, then they should not be given a free ride through the class. They should not have to talk about it to the teacher, as they deserve to keep it confidential if they want, but they do need to talk to a professional at least once in order to get a written note approving the student to miss class.

• Seth Strege, Response
  • I would accept this as a valid excuse to miss class. In order to prove this excuse, I would ask the student to see one of the school counselors. The counselor could help the student, as well as verify that PTSD is actually occurring.

• Zhanibek Bekmurat, Response
  • Since this is a serious problem that can last for months, I would try to cooperate with the student and help him out. However, it would be hard if no proof or verification paper is submitted.

• Upsham Dawra, Response
  • Though this is a very serious problem, I would not give the student credit for missing class. This is because he would have known about the PTSD before the semester started, and seeing this he should not have enrolled till he had recovered fully. Now that he has, he has to abide by the rules of the class and attend it, especially for classes like ECE40000 which are based on participation. I would allow him to withdraw from the class (if I have that authority) with a "W" and take it later.

• Keegan McGraw, Response
  • There are counselors on campus that can be spoken to in order to receive the adequate documentation to miss classes like these. If this student refuses to discuss his issues with a professional and seeks no remedy to the missing class, then the teacher has no incentive to believe him let alone forgive the absences.

• Han Byul Park, Response
  • He should not be excused, if someone has that kinds of problems he should not be in school. He should take a few semesters off and get better first, health is more important than school. Again if he has no proof, he should not be excused.

• Zachary Smith, Response
  • This is not a valid excuse, as mentioned before you shouldn't be in school if you PTSD is that serious. The military provides support for this during active duty and in retirement, PTSD is a serious issue that needs treated, the person shouldn't be in school if they aren't at a stage where they can handle it.

• Craig Lechlitner, Response
  • I do not think this is a valid excuse, even if he can provide proof. I think excuses should be made for medical reasons (and PTSD is certainly a serious medical issue). However, I think there should be a limit on how many classes may be missed (equivalent to a company giving their employees a number of sick days). In a class like ECE400 that meets 16 times, 1-2 excused absences would be a reasonable limit, so maybe the first two should be excused, but not the rest.

• Stephen Zabrecky, Response:
  • This falls into a similar category as Case 6. PTSD is a real medical condition and should be allowed 1 excused absence (mostly because asking for more too much information on this initially violates student privacy). There are treatments for PTSD and no further absences should be allowed without doctor’s notes.

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