Editorial : Important change to religious observance policy needs better promotion

As part of a new religious observance policy at Syracuse University, students will have to fill out the days they intend to miss class for religious holidays via an electronic form on MySlice. SU introduced the new system after reinstating classes on three religious holidays in exchange for a longer Thanksgiving break.

The electronic system provides a clearer and streamlined method for telling professors which classes students will miss due to religious observances. It alleviates some of the inconvenience the administration caused by reinstating classes. The electronic method also provides the colleges and individual professors with a database of attendance trends, which could prove useful in the future.

SU has done little to publicize the change, aside from relying on professors to include in their syllabi or draw attention to it in class. Not all syllabi include the new statement and some students have attended two days of classes with little mention of the change, if any at all. Professors must inform their students before the week is up, as they’ll only have a week left to fill out the online forms.

Professors who have decided to ignore the new system and still insist on a personalized written statement or verbal agreement complicate the process for students already under tight time constraints. The best way to prevent miscommunication is to adhere to a unified system. Students who have filled out the online forms should double check with professors to confirm the dates, as the new system may be prone to glitches.

A university office involved in the system change should send out an email in the coming days alerting students to the online format, as student have yet to receive an official notification.