Religious Accommodation

The following policy language was approved for the WWU Teaching Handbook.

Western provides reasonable accommodation for students to take holidays for reasons of faith or conscience or for organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious organization. Accommodation is available to students who expect to be absent or endure a significant hardship due to religious observance during certain days of the course of the program. An example of significant hardship would be challenges resulting from fasting for religious reasons.

Students seeking such accommodation must provide written notice to their faculty within the first two weeks of the course, or at least 3 weeks prior to when the accommodation is needed, citing the specific dates for which they will need accommodation. If the exact date of a religious observance is variable (for instance, pending official sighting of the moon), faculty will work with the student to include options to provide accommodation one day before or after the expected date.

“Reasonable accommodation” means that faculty will coordinate with the student on scheduling examinations or other activities necessary for completion of the course or program so that class activities do not conflict with the student’s participation in the religious observance. Alternate times offered must extend at least 24 hours before or after the scheduled activity to provide reasonable accommodation. In the event that course activities cannot be rescheduled, such as certain laboratory activities, faculty will provide an alternative method for the student to learn the missed content. Absences as part of religious accommodation will not count against any attendance requirements for the course.

The testing center is available to administer exams for these accommodations. Additional information about this accommodation can be found in SB 5166: Providing religious accommodations for postsecondary students.