Religion and Belief Policy for Students

This policy is for all students studying at the University of Exeter and provides information to all colleagues involved in supporting teaching and learning at the University.

The objective of this policy document is to provide clear and transparent guidance on how teaching and assessment practices can accommodate the requirements of our student community in terms of their religious and belief-related needs.

1. You can find information for Streatham and St Luke’s campuses' faith facility policy: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/chaplaincy/policies/faithfacilities/ . (Prayer rooms | Chaplaincy in Exeter | University of Exeter)
2. Penryn and Truro campuses facilities: https://fxplus.ac.uk/student-support/multifaith-chaplaincy/.  

The University understands that there may be certain occasions when a student may be absent due to religious observance. If religious observance means that a student will miss a lecture or other scheduled learning or research event, they must notify their module leader(s) or supervisor(s) in advance. In addition, students must report their absence via the My Exeter absence reporting tool or as directed by their Faculty (or delegated School). PGR students should refer to The PGR Student Absence Policy and record their absence in the Trent PGR Absence Record. The request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by relevant teams, to determine if the absence is likely to be recorded as authorised. For more details, see section 4 b of the policy document.

Please note that if you are going to miss a teaching session for a PSRB-regulated programme which has strict requirements for attendance (e.g. Medicine, Nursing) or the teaching sessions at external placement sites such as a hospital (clinical placement), you need to discuss this with the programme director in advance to understand the consequences of being absent to the session before you report your absence through My Exeter.

Religious requirements may be observed as well as praying at certain times of the day.  Obligations to pray should be fulfilled either before or after scheduled academic or research activity wherever possible. Where this is not reasonably possible, the University recognises the right of students to excuse themselves for a short time to fulfil religious obligations. 

If a student needs time to pray, they should speak to the lecturer/supervisor beforehand and arrange to leave to pray during the break if possible. For more details, see section 4 b of the policy document.

The University will make every effort, in its timetabling of exams, to avoid holding exams on religious days or festivals which occur during exam periods for those students whose commitment to the observance of their faith would otherwise cause them to miss the exam. Any affected students must fill in the Examinations and Religious Observance Form by the dates given on the links below which cover both Exeter and Cornwall campuses: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/students/administration/examsandassessment/ugpgt/religiousobservance/   

For more details, please see the section 4 f of the policy.

Where it is not possible for an assessment to be held other than on a religious observance date, and/or a student is unable to attend University because of religious observance, the student should submit a Mitigation Application form in accordance with the requirements of the university`s mitigation policy and regulations. If the Multifaith Chaplaincy can confirm the date of religious observance, the student will be offered a deferral to the next available opportunity.

For more details, please see the sections 4 c and 4 f of the policy.

Please note that if you are going to miss an examination or summative assessment for a Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)regulated programme (e.g. Medicine, Nursing) the deferral may involve consequences which might affect your progression. You need to discuss this with the programme director to understand the consequences of deferring your examination/summative assessment. In addition, some of the exams for these programs (e.g. MLA exam for the BMBS programme) are set by external bodies and hence the University cannot accept deferral requests for these exams.

 Students with religious requirements or observance should inform the PGR Administration team of any religious days or festivals that they observe which may fall within the examination period (usually 3 months from the date of thesis submission). This information should be included in the PGR Submission form, available in the PGR Handbook. The Board of Examiners and students should make every effort to avoid scheduling the date for the viva voce examination on religious days or festivals which the student observes.

Ceremonies such as weddings and other celebrations where the dates are selected based on personal preference are not eligible for consideration for absence to teaching and examination/assessment sessions as described in the Religion and Belief Policy. In addition, the University’s policy is that it will consider applications for amendments to the taught examination timetable with regard to religious observance that usually occurs over a restricted period, such as Eid ul Fitr, Shavuot, Vaisakhi and Shivaratri. It is not able to consider applications where religious observance extends over a significant period (e.g., Ramadan, Lent, Chinese New Year etc.), or where the normal expectation is that daily activities (including examinations) will continue as usual. It is also unable to consider applications for amendments to the examination timetable in relation to students making religious visits.