Occasionally, a student's participation in athletics or other extracurricular activities (such as tournaments, practices, short-term service obligations for reservists and members of the National Guard, performances, rehearsals, interview weeks, debates) may conflict with academic requirements (classes, exams, project due dates, field trips, etc.).
The Academic Senate's Guidelines Concerning Scheduling Conflicts with Academic Requirements, recently revised in 2024, can be a resource for faculty.
From the Guidelines: "It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor (or designated teaching assistant), in writing, before the end of the second week of term of all foreseeable conflicts between the syllabus (classes, examinations, project due dates, field trips) and scheduled practices, matches, games, potential tournaments, interview weeks, performances, and other activities in which the student will be participating (or might be participating) that would require absence from academic activities during the semester, as well as to provide a proposal for resolving these conflicts. If unforeseen conflicts arise during the course of the semester students must promptly notify the instructor and arrange to discuss the situation as soon as these conflicts (or the possibility of these conflicts) are known."