For Faculty & Campus Partners

Supporting students' mental and emotional well-being is a shared priority. Faculty play a crucial role in recognizing signs of distress and connecting students with appropriate resources. The Counseling Center offers confidential counseling services, crisis support, and workshops focused on mental health, resilience, and stress management. For after-hours or immediate support, TimelyCare provides 24/7 virtual mental health care accessible to all students. Students can also call the Counseling Center after hours to be connected with a counselor. 

In addition, Care Support Services assists students navigating complex challenges by coordinating care and connecting them to campus and community resources. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with these services and submit a Care Concern when you have concerns about a student’s wellbeing. Together, we can foster a supportive environment that promotes student success both inside and outside the classroom.

According to the Student Handbook, disruptive behavior is "conduct which obstructs or disrupts a normal function" of the university. If a student is disrupting your class to the point that you find it difficult to teach or students are finding it difficult to learn, we encourage you to address the student's conduct.

You should be able to handle most inappropriate behaviors at the time of the disruption. However, some may require consultation, a student conduct referral, or immediate emergency response. To learn more please read our recommendations for managing and responding to disruptive behavior in the classroom.

Class attendance policies are set by individual faculty. Students are responsible for communicating with their faculty about absences and plans for making up missed work.

When documented emergency circumstances prevent students from communicating themselves (hospitalization longer than one day, concussion, death of an immediate family member), students can utilize the Student Emergency Notification Request and a notification will be sent on the student's behalf. 

Care Support Services will only notify faculty for emergency or special extenuating situations. These letters serve as notification only and are not excuse notes. W&M offices do not give doctor's notes for missing classes nor are excuses required for students.

Instructors are empowered to determine whether they wish to provide their students consideration with respect to missed classes, assignments, or examinations. Please consult the academic dean of the appropriate department with any questions regarding this policy and your options.

You must have permission from the student before you can release any information to their parents or legal guardians. Students may give general permission to release information about academics, financial matters, or honor code/student conduct information.

Please review FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) information to learn how to navigate working with parents before you discuss information concerning a student's academic performance including grades, notification of academic warning, academic probation, required academic withdrawal, or conduct/honor code related issues.

The Advising Center has an exam rescheduling procedure. Students should request the Advising Center to reschedule their final examination when:

• A student has three scheduled final examinations in four consecutive exam periods on consecutive days
• There is a conflict between a student's scheduled examinations
• A student wishes to take an examination with a different section of the same course

Requests made in the Advising Center must be filed by the last day of classes. 

Academic Wellbeing manages the rescheduling or deferring exam process during final exam periods. Academic Wellbeing will reschedule/defer exams for the following reasons:

1. Medical circumstances (physical and psychological) verified by a healthcare professional
2. International student travel complications without alternatives
3. Family emergency, such as death of a close family member
4. Conflict with a religious holiday/service
5. Interview or training for a permanent job that cannot be rescheduled
6. Interview for graduate or professional school
7. Activities at which the student is formally representing the university

Please note that family events such as weddings and graduations do not meet the requirements for rescheduling a final exam with Academic Wellbeing. Final Exam Schedule Adjustment Requests are due by the last day of final exams at 11:59 p.m.  for any given semester.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are designed to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to public services and programs. In a post-secondary setting, these acts require that reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students with disabilities and prohibit the university from excluding students from, or denying them the benefits of, its programs or activities. While universities and colleges must "level the playing field," they are not required to ensure that a student reach their full potential in their class, or succeed academically. For example, William & Mary may build a ramp so wheelchairs can gain access to buildings and classrooms, or may allow extra test-taking time for a student with a learning disability. 

At William & Mary, Student Accessibility Services facilitates accommodations for all types of students - undergraduate, graduate, degree-seeking, non-degree seeking, full-time and part-time.