Undergraduate Introductory Physics Courses
Lab Make-Up Policy

Lab attendance is mandatory. If you miss two labs sessions, you will fail the entire physics course. However, there are two possible ways to avoid having your absence recorded as a missed lab: Request to attend another lab section's session during the same week as the lab section you missed, OR Complete a special make-up lab. Attending Other Lab Section Sessions The primary recourse for missing a lab is to perform the experiment with another lab section during the same week. There are multiple lab sections that meet during the week. Request permission from instructor of the alternate  and if permission is granted, have the lab instructor for the section you sit in with sign the cover page for the experiment in the lab manual, and submit your lab report to your normal lab instructor. (Note: Because the experiments performed in Physics 111/226/231N are identical, you may sit in with a another lab section for either course. This same policy also applies for Physics 112/227/232N students. Make-up Labs Make-up labs are scheduled only for the most unusual of circumstances. This is because when you request a make-up lab you are in effect, asking for a personal lab session outside of the normal schedule, which requires your lab instructor to to conduct the make-up lab on his/her own time, and also disrupts the normal schedule for equipment set-up for the following week. Guidelines and Criterion for Requesting a Make-up Lab: Missed labs must be made up on the Friday of the following week. An extension of this time limit (one-week) may be granted by the course professor based upon unique circumstances or if there are no lab sessions scheduled during the following week. Make-up labs for most students are conducted only on Fridays after the completion of the last scheduled lab sessions for that week. However, make-up labs for students in the PHYS 103/104/126/127N courses may be scheduled on days other than Friday. Make-up labs are not granted for reasons of tardiness or broken transportation. Due to time constraints, make-up labs are not permitted during the summer semester. The last experiments on the lab schedules are not eligible for make-up and no make-up labs are permitted during finals week. Due to the extensive nature of the lab set-up, Experiments EX 12, EP09 and EP12 for the PHYS 101/102N courses are not permitted to be made-up. Your request for a make-up lab must be in writing. Your lab instructor has the make-up lab form. You must submit the make-up lab request through your lab instructor. Only your course professor has the option to either deny the request, grant forgiveness for the missed lab with no make-up required (grade adjusted), or approve the scheduling of a make-up lab. There are six categories of acceptable reasons under which a student may request a make-up lab: (1) Death or serious illness in the immediate family. The immediate family includes spouse, children, siblings, parents, grandparents and uncles/aunts. Verification may be required. (2) Serious illness or injury of the student.Self medicating (non-prescribed medicines) illness or injuries would not be a valid reason fro missing a lab or requesting a make-up lab. Required verification: A letter from the student's physician or the student health care center is required, noting the length of time that the student was directed to rest at home. (3) Court ordered appearances or a call to jury duty. Required verification: A copy of the official notification. (4) Participation in a University sponsored athletic event where the student is a team member. Required verification: A note from student services, athletic department or the team coach. (5) Military duty and deployments. Required Verification: A duty bill, note from the commanding officer or a copy of the deployment order. (6) Religious prohibitions. Verification may be required.