Religious Inclusion and Accommodation | Campus Ministry

PLU Religious Inclusion & Accommodation Policy

(Students: for quick access, here is the initial request form described below)

A Statement related to Religious and Spiritual Identities and Practices

(for Students, Faculty, and Staff)

As a University rooted in the tradition of Lutheran Higher Education, enacting a mission of critical inquiry, service, leadership, and care, and committed to Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability, Pacific Lutheran University values the multiple religious and spiritual traditions and practices within our campus community and supports students, faculty, and staff in living them out. This also includes supporting community members in the process of exploration and asking critical questions with regard to faith and spirituality.

Additionally, the following policy seeks to put PLU in compliance with the Washington State law regarding religious accommodations, RCW 28B.137.010 Reasonable accommodation for religious holidays.

Resources to Support Religious & Spiritual Life at PLU

Religious and Spiritual Community and Engagement – Campus Ministry hosts programming related to faith and spirituality. See website for current offerings. The University Pastor is also available for students, faculty, and staff for pastoral care or 1-on-1 support. Anyone can schedule a time with the University Pastor.

Multi-Faith Meditation & Prayer Space: All members of the PLU community have Lute card access to our Multi-Faith Meditation & Prayer Space, located on the main floor of the Anderson University Center, and the Ness Family Chapel, located on the third floor of the Karen Hille Phillips Center, and are invited to use these spaces for their personal practice.

Interfaith Support and Learning: Campus Ministry hosts programming related to interfaith engagement and celebration of religious holidays. Current offerings can be found on the Campus Ministry website. Additionally, Campus Ministry pulls together ad hoc groups of students, faculty, and staff to work on various interfaith projects, events, and policies.

Student Clubs: Several religious and secular student clubs are currently active. If you would like to start a religious student club, please consult the Associate Director for Campus Life.

Calendar and Scheduling

Interfaith Calendar: Members of the campus community are asked to avoid scheduling meetings and events on widely-practiced religious holidays; calendars for consultation are linked below. We recognize that the variety of traditions and related observances present on campus cannot be represented in a list, and note that important dates may vary across traditions and countries, including through the use of lunar calendars.

Our Interfaith Calendar of widely-practiced religious holidays
Comprehensive Interfaith Calendar, with additional holidays

Meetings and Events: Students, faculty, and staff should make efforts to avoid scheduling meetings or events at times that would exclude faculty, staff, or students who are observing a religious holiday from participation.

Accommodations - Academics & Employment

The University values the religious and spiritual life of its students, faculty, and staff and seeks to provide reasonable support and accommodation for religious observances across campus as described below. Religious accommodation includes practices that affect both attendance and dress. All are encouraged to communicate with Campus Ministry as needed for support of religious and spiritual accommodations.

Academics

Students: PLU values the religious and spiritual life of its students and seeks to provide reasonable support and accommodation for religious observances. To begin the process of requesting an academic religious accommodation, complete this brief form. Pastor Jen Rude or her designee will follow up within a reasonable timeline (usually 3 business days) with additional instructions and resources to guide your communications with your instructors. Students are responsible for reviewing their syllabi each semester and communicating with their course instructors about religious observances that are likely to create a significant hardship and/or conflict with academic coursework, assignments, and/or course attendance policies. The Academic Religious Accommodations – Student Form must be completed each term for which academic religious accommodations are needed. There will be no costs or fees for seeking reasonable religious accommodations.

As per state law, written requests for religious accommodations should be communicated by the student to the instructor within the first two weeks of the course. Ideally, please submit the above form at the beginning of the term. All are encouraged to communicate with Jen Smith (jennifer.smith@plu.edu), Associate Provost for the Core Curriculum and Faculty Development, or University Pastor Jen Rude (rudejl@plu.edu) as needed for support of religious and spiritual accommodations.

The following examples and factors are intended for consideration and educational purposes. They do not constitute a prescriptive policy. Each request for an academic religious accommodation will be evaluated on an individual, case-by-case basis, considering the totality of the factors involved.

Determining “Reasonable” Accommodations (some factors instructors may consider):

What percentage of the total number of [labs, rehearsals, classes] are impacted?
What is the process for “make up” if a student is sick/injured, etc. and is being accommodated? Can this approach to “make up” also be provided for a student needing religious accommodation?
Can students still meet the learning outcomes of the course with this accommodation?

Examples of Reasonable Accommodations:

For a lecture-based course: Having a classmate record a lecture so the accommodated student can “make up” participation by listening to that recording. Or, the instructor provides a lecture/content to the student in another form that has already been created.
Ability to turn in an assignment early, prior to a due date that conflicts with religious observation. This may include faculty providing assignment prompts early, adjusting Sakai assignment open dates, and other tasks to make early completion of assignments possible.
Ability to adjust the date of an exam due to conflict with a religious observation on a particular date.
Ability to reschedule a required activity that is necessary for completion of the course or program due to conflict with a religious observation on a particular date.
Ability to complete alternative assignments to demonstrate engagement that may have occurred during in-class participation.

Examples of reasons for an instructor to Deny a Request:

Travel is not a religious accommodation. If a student chooses to travel, the days that fall outside the required religious observance are not part of the religious accommodation.
If the absences prevent the student from meeting the learning objectives of the course and there are not comparable alternatives to meeting those learning objectives.
If the request would require the instructor to change course requirements and/or content due to the student’s absence.
If the student is asking for accommodation to extend outside the dates of their religious observance or holiday.

Faculty: Guidelines for supporting students’ religious observances can be found under “Students – Academics” above. Per RCW 28B.137.010 passed during the 2019 regular session, PLU’s policy “must require faculty to reasonably accommodate students who, due to the observance of religious holidays, expect to be absent or endure a significant hardship during certain days of the course or program. ‘Reasonably accommodate’ means coordinating with the student on scheduling examinations or other activities necessary for completion of the program and includes rescheduling examinations or activities or offering different times for examinations or activities.” Faculty are encouraged to see the above criteria and/or consult with the Associate Provost for the Core Curriculum and Faculty Development or Campus Ministry for support in providing accommodations.

*Required by law*: Faculty members must have a link to PLU’s Religious Inclusion & Accommodation Policy in their syllabi. Below is a suggested statement faculty can include on their syllabi that includes the required link:

Example Syllabus Statement for Religious Accommodations:

As a University rooted in the tradition of Lutheran Higher Education –enacting a mission of critical inquiry, service, leadership, and care, and committed to Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability –Pacific Lutheran University values the many religious and spiritual traditions and practices within our campus community and supports faculty, staff, and students in living them out. This also includes supporting community members in the process of exploration and asking critical questions with regard to faith and spirituality.

To begin the process of requesting an academic religious accommodation, please complete this brief form. I will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations for any of you who, because of religious observances, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments, or attendance in our class. To help me in doing this, please review the course schedule at the beginning of the semester to see if there are any dates when you would need accommodation. Please submit the online form within the first two weeks of the term. You can also find more information about resources and other religious accommodations you can request related to employment, athletics, etc. on the Religious Inclusion and Accommodation website.

Employment

Faculty: When faculty miss scheduled class time due to a religious observance, appropriate alternative arrangements should be made and communicated with students, with the goal of minimizing impact on student learning. For additional information, see “Class Attendance–Faculty” in the Faculty Handbook.

Students: The University encourages students to schedule time off and to request accommodations as needed to observe religious holidays and practices. Supervisors are encouraged to support student workers in fulfilling religious observances and practices. For more information, see Student Workers Handbook.

Staff: Policies regarding vacation and paid time off are outlined in the Personnel Manual. The University encourages staff to schedule time off and to request accommodations as needed to observe religious holidays and practices. Supervisors are encouraged to support staff in fulfilling religious observances and practices. Staff supervisors of student workers may consult the Student Employment Supervisor Handbook or reach out to Student Employment (stuemp@plu.edu).

Living and Eating on Campus

Residence Halls: PLU is committed to care and inclusion. Incoming or continuing students with particular needs or requests related to religious or spiritual identity or practice while living on campus are encouraged to review the On-Campus Housing website for instructions and complete the online Accessibility Application through eRezLife.

Examples of religious accommodations for housing may include limited ability to light candles for a religious holiday, ceremonial smudging as part of a religious practice, living on a single gender wing, access to cooking facilities to prepare meals in line with religious needs, etc.

Hospitality Services & Campus Restaurants: If you have special dietary requirements or preferences – for health, medical, allergy, religious, ethical, or lifestyle reasons – we are dedicated to assisting you to the best of our ability. Campus Restaurants staff members work closely with PLU’s Office of Accessibility and Accommodation to provide appropriate menus for students with dietary restrictions. To help you make healthy food choices at PLU, The Commons marks menu items with the 9 major allergens, as well as vegan or vegetarian. Pork and alcohol are clearly marked when contained in a dish. For additional assistance in finding food to fit into dietary requirements, please fill out a form to meet with an administrator. During Ramadan, The Commons will extend dinner hours an extra half hour to help accommodate fasting.

Athletics: Student-athletes are encouraged to look ahead in the season and talk with their coaches about any religious accommodations or needs they anticipate, including missing practice or missing a game due to a religious holiday or observance. Students may also contact Mike Snyder, Director of Athletics and Recreation (mike.snyder@plu.edu), to request accommodations or to have further conversation.

Title VI and Title VII Report & Appeal Process

Title VI and Title VII* and Religious Discrimination

Title VI and Title VII protections extend to individuals of any religion when discrimination or harassment, intentional or unintentional, is based on characteristics that overlap with national origin or ancestry. This includes discrimination based on:

Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics (e.g., targeting individuals who are perceived to be of a particular national origin or shared ancestry, such as Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, or Sikh individuals)
Citizenship or Residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity

*Title VI – prohibits discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin in all university programs and activities

*Title VII – prohibits employment discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin

If you as a student, faculty, or staff member feel as though your request for accommodations is not being met appropriately, you may contact Dr. Angie Hambrick (hambriaz@plu.edu), Title VI and VII Coordinator, for consultation. Dr. Hambrick works with students, faculty, staff, and other relevant personnel to offer guidance and resources.

If a satisfactory resolution is not reached, you as a student, faculty, or staff member may submit a Title VI or Title VII report. After the receipt of the formal report, PLU initiates a timely and comprehensive investigation into these claims. Whenever feasible, reports are acted on within 24 hours, unless a situation compels a more rapid response. Investigations will be conducted in a timely manner, dependent on the academic and university operating calendar.

After you have received the determination based on your report, you have the option to appeal the decision within 5 business days. The grounds for appeal include one of the following:

Newly available evidence (not reasonably available during investigation)
Documentable bias in procedures

To begin an appeal, contact Dr. Hambrick (hambriaz@plu.edu), citing the grounds for appeal. Dr. Hambrick will forward the appeal to the appropriate decision makers. Appeals related to academics will be reviewed by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academics and Student Experience, along with the respective College Dean, and a final determination made. All other appeals will be reviewed by the Vice President of University Finance and Operations and Chief Operating Officer, and a final determination made.