<p>Collegeshopping, I do pretty much the same thing as Sylvan. The problem is that so many kids claim “health issues” as an excuse for missing exams, deadlines, etc. that sorting out the real from the not-so-real becomes impossible – as does making decisions on what to accept as legitimate and what not to. A few years ago, I had a student tell me she missed the final because she was in the hospital. Ok, fine. Show me a bill, your dismissal papers, something. Then, no, wait, she was in the hospital all night with her grandmother . . . You just get to the point where you can’t believe what you’re told and you don’t feel qualified to make the call as to what is an acceptable health issue. So, you make policies and stick to them rigidly. </p>
<p>A student with a major health emergency should never go directly to a professor. Go to the disability office for disabilities (and no, short term illnessess, even if they last a week or two, are not disabilities) and the student or academic dean for others for acute illness, hospitalizations, real deaths in the family (don’t get me started on those).</p>