Punctuality

Every minute of learning time in each class is precious, and starting a class with everyone present is a desire shared by both students and faculty. Therefore great emphasis is placed on students being on time to every class. Most faculty will reduce a student's grade if he or she is repeatedly late.

Attendance

In Consciousness-Based education, a premium is placed on student-student and student-faculty interaction, and for this reason attendance and engagement in class discussions is central to every MUM class. In addition, priority is given to study in the presence of a teacher who can immediately answer questions that arise and pose additional questions to challenge a student working on an assignment.

Students are expected to attend and participate in all classes, except when they are sick or have a family emergency or some other compelling reason. There are no "personal days" during academic blocks, and taking a class day off for other reasons will usually lead to a reduced final grade. Students should be especially vigilant with respect to days before or after holiday breaks. Such missed days are not considered excused absences.

Excused absences

If a student must miss more than 2 sessions for a 1-credit course, 4 sessions for a 2-credit course, 6 sessions for a 4-credit course, or 8 sessions for a 6-credit course due to illness or family emergency, he or she will be asked to withdraw from the course.

In the case of illness, students must notify their faculty immediately by email or telephone, and the illness must be confirmed in writing by the MUM Campus Nurse or a licensed health care professional. In the case of a family emergency, students should notify their faculty or a member of the Department of Student Life.

The Associate Deans of Students are notified by the instructor in these situations. If a student has special circumstances justifying continued participation in a class in which he or she has exceeded the allowable absences, the student will need to submit a petition to the Academic Standards Committee, which will determine if the student is allowed to continue.

Unexcused absences

Repeated unexcused absences are a violation of the code of student behavior. In addition to academic consequences, students with repeated unexcused absences are subject to the following actions.

• If a student misses 6 sessions of a 6-week class, 4 sessions of a 4-week class or 2 sessions of a 2-week class for reasons other than the allowable sickness or family emergency, the student will be placed on Attendance Alert 1.
• If the student then has another unexcused absence in that class, the student will be invited to a conference with an Associate Dean of Students, who will place the student on Attendance Alert 2.
• If a student on probation misses yet another class without proper excuse, the Associate Dean of Students will call a Student Support Meeting, and the student will likely be suspended from the University.

Switching classes

Ideally all students should be in class on the first day and attend each day until the conclusion of the course. If, however, students find it necessary to change class for any reason, they may do so without penalty up to the morning of the third day (usually Wednesday), when they are expected to be in the course that they will be taking that block. If they have switched class, they will have to make up work that they missed on the first day or two they were not present. This policy should not be used by students who wish to take a long break or holiday, missing the first day or two of class. In other words, students who miss the first day or two of a block for reasons other than switching classes (e.g., returning late from a break, taking the day off, etc.) will be subject to the policy for unexcused absences.

Withdrawal from class

Students may withdraw from a class for any reason up to the end of the first week of that class for a full time class (usually before the second Monday of the class). Students who live on campus will be expected to engage in some kind of alternative activity approved by the Department of Student Life for the remainder of that block, unless they are sick in bed. Students may request permissions to withdraw after the end of the first week in the event they are sick or have a family emergency and, due to one of these reasons, have missed too much work to receive an incomplete. This request must be approved by one of the Associate Deans of Students and requires a note from the campus nurse or a doctor.

Meditating in class

Every student at MUM is expected to practice the Transcendental Meditation program, the core academic program of the University. Students who choose not to participate in the TM program are not eligible for continued enrollment at the University

It is a benefit of every class that students practice the Transcendental Meditation program in both the morning and afternoon classes. These meditations are a structured part of the academic day. Students practicing Transcendental Meditation who have not yet taken the TM-Sidhi program will have a 20-minute group meditation in the classroom beginning at 2:50 p.m., with class ending at 3:15 p.m. Students who have learned the TM-Sidhi program may leave class at 2:45 p.m. in order to do an early afternoon group TM and TM-Sidhi program in the student program halls, or later in the afternoon in the student program halls or the Golden Domes.

While these meditations are part of class, if a student is has any questions about the group meditations, he or she should speak immediately with the faculty in the class.

The content of this page was reviewed in August 2011.