A.POLICY

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 3345.024, the Testing Your Faith Act policy sets forth that state institutions of higher education must reasonably accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs and practices of individual students with regard to all examinations or other academic requirements and absences for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system.

B.POLICY GUIDELINES

1. A student may be absent for up to three days each academic semester to take holidays for reasons of faith, or religious or spiritual belief system, or to participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church or other religious or spiritual organization.

1. Zane State College shall not impose an academic penalty as a result of a student being absent as permitted in this policy.
2. The College shall provide a student with alternative accommodations for examinations and other academic requirements missed due to an absence permitted in this policy, if both of the following apply:

1. The student’s sincerely held religious belief or practice severely affects the student’s ability to take an examination or meet an academic requirement, and
2. Not later than fourteen days after the first day of instruction in a particular course, the student provides the instructor with written notice of the specific dates for which the student requests alternative accommodations.

PROCEDURES

1. An instructor shall accept without question the sincerity of a student’s religious or spiritual belief system. An instructor shall keep requests for alternative accommodations confidential.

1. An instructor shall schedule a time and date for an alternative examination, which may be before or after the time and date the examination or other academic requirements was originally scheduled, but shall due so without prejudicial effect (i.e., without negative academic impact on the student).

1. The College shall make this policy available in a prominent location on its website and shall include the contact information of an individual who can provide further information about the policy.

1. The College shall post a non-exhaustive list of major religious holidays or festivals for the next two academic years on its website. Each time the policy is posted, printed, or published, the College shall include a statement that the list is non-exhaustive and may not be used to deny accommodations to a student for a holiday or festival of the student’s faith