April 18, 2023
This message is distributed to Senate Faculty, Unit 18 Faculty, Academic Department Chairs & Deans, Academic Assistant Deans, and Academic Business Officers & ASC Directors. (Click here to view description of distribution groups.)
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Dear Faculty
The Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, will begin on the evening of Thursday, April 20, and end on Friday evening, April 21. Many of our Muslim students will observe this holiday and not attend classes during this time. Students, of course, always have the responsibility to make-up any missed work (and to clear it in advance). We hope that instructors will be as accommodating as possible, particularly since this holiday will occur far enough into the quarter that exams or quizzes might be a factor (see the requirements for testing and examinations under Education Code, Section 92640(a) below). Faculty should realize that a student's absence may not indicate a lack of commitment to the class. We encourage faculty to accommodate students' religious observance.
Please note that the California Code, Education Code (EDC § 92640) calls on the UC Regents “to ensure that each campus of the university, in administering any test or examination, permits any student who is eligible to undergo the test or examination to do so, without penalty, at a time when that activity would not violate the student's religious creed.” It adds that this “requirement shall not apply in the event that administering the test or examination at an alternate time would impose an undue hardship that could not reasonably have been avoided,” but every effort should be made to provide a reasonable accommodation.
Thank you.
Michael Miller
Interim Dean of Undergraduate Education
College of Letters and Science
Glenn Beltz
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
College of Engineering
Tim Sherwood
Interim Dean of the College of Creative Studies
Leila Rupp
Interim Dean of the Graduate Division