Extended Absences

About Extended Absences for Health Reasons 

The primary responsibility of the Health & Wellness Center is to keep students healthy and in class. The staff in the HWC believes that the main focus of our services is to teach students responsible health behaviors, help provide treatment and symptom relief for their illnesses, and teach health measures to prevent the spread of disease to others. This will minimize the students' absence from class.

Since most of the illnesses and injuries seen in Health Services are of the acute episodic type and usually minor, we allow students to make their own decisions regarding attending class.  We encourage students to communicate their decision to their professor(s).  This is considered part of our effort to teach responsible health behaviors.  Certain illnesses, such as the common cold or a virus, are best treated with self-care measures and do not require a medical evaluation by a Health Care Provider.  Therefore, written excuses for missed classes are NOT provided by the Health & Wellness Center. However, if a student is medically assessed at the time of illness and based on the diagnosis, a medical note may be provided.  This is at the discretion of the medical provider.

When a complicated or serious illness requires hospitalization or home care, and the student will have a prolonged absence from NJCU of one week or more, the student should contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 201-200-3525.