These two PTO days are to be used for any reason you may be absent from class. If you are sick, you may use a day of PTO; if you are out of town, you may use a day of PTO; if you just don't feel like coming to class on a given day, you may use a day of PTO. "Excused" and "unexcused" do not exist. I don't want to hear excuses; I've already heard them all.

You are responsible for attaining any information you missed from your classmates, so be sure to get to know people in class. Missed in-class assignments or quizzes cannot be made up.

If you are going to be absent on a day an assignment is due, you must e-mail the assignment to me (in your Absence Notification e-mail) and bring in the printed version the next day you are in class in order to receive credit for that assignment.

Punctuality
Tardiness is disruptive to your classmates, so be on time. Each tardy will detract from your PTO in increments of 1/4. For example, if you are seven minutes late to class, you lose 1/4 day of PTO; if you are twenty minutes late, you lose 1/2 a day; and so on.

Leaving class before being dismissed will also result in loss of PTO in the same manner.

Absence Notification
Unless otherwise stated in class, your PTO days may be taken whenever you may need (or in some cases, just "want") to be absent from class. However, if you are going to be absent, you must e-mail me and any effected group members (e.g. if working together on a project) of your absence before 8:00am on the day you will be absent. Telling me in class that you will miss an upcoming day is appreciated, but e-mail me so I have a written record of your notification.

Professional courtesy dictates that you give at least one-day's notice to me and any group members you may be inconveniencing, but for the purpose of use of PTO, I will accept notification until 8:00am on the day of your absence.

If you do not notify me of your absence before the deadline, you will be considered to have skipped class, and you will lose all PTO benefits for that absence. The day of PTO will be lost, and the absence will count against your grade, even if it is your first.

Student Athletes
In the first week of the semester, student athletes must inform me of projected travel dates, supported by official documentation from your coaches (a "Travel Letter"). We will arrange a submission schedule for assignment deadlines for which you will be absent. If you do not arrange this schedule with me at the beginning of the semester, you will not be allowed to make up the work you miss.

Lengthy Absences
English 314 is not a correspondence class. Many of the lectures and in-class activities will provide valuable experiences that is unable to be duplicated; therefore, you need to attend class daily. If for any reason you will incur long absences, even due to medical reasons, you should consider taking the class another time so you may benefit from the knowledge of these experiences.