Large lecture classes in the hard sciences, engineering, and computer science departments have scheduled evening exams on major religious holidays in recent years. Students and faculty have faced challenges in accommodating religious observances when exams coincide with holidays, despite Washington University’s implementation of a policy to mitigate this issue. 

In 2021, the Office of the Provost introduced a new Religious Holiday Class Absence Policy with the aim of better accommodating students’ religious beliefs. Faculty occasionally schedule exams on holidays to avoid scheduling exams on the same day, and the policy seeks to alleviate potential challenges this may cause for students.

The policy states that any student observing a religious holiday should have their class absences excused, their exams rescheduled without incurring academic penalties, and their assignment deadlines extended. 

Ostensibly, the policy is applied only if a student notifies their professor of their future class absence within three weeks of the beginning of classes, though many professors offer leeway with this timeframe.

The stipulations of the three week rule can pose issues for students who are not sure whether they will observe a given fast or cultural practice weeks in advance or are unaware of the guidelines of the policy. 

Benji Meron, a second-year Chemistry major who practices Modern Orthodox Judaism, said he had a General Chemistry exam scheduled on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, in 2022. He also had an Organic Chemistry exam scheduled on the same holiday in 2023. 

“Last year, I ran straight from Chabad to my Gen Chem exam,” he said. “I didn’t have enough time to eat. I took my exam after not eating for 25 hours.”

Meron said that he felt unprepared for his General Chemistry exam due to his religious observance, which made finding time to focus on studying difficult as he fasted and attended Chabad for prayer.

Noah Kabbaj, a second-year Muslim student, fasted while taking an evening Biology exam scheduled during the holy month of Ramadan. The exam took place after sunset, when observers normally break their fast and eat their evening meal. 

Like Meron, Kabbaj struggles to wake up in time to eat before sunrise, so he did not eat or drink until after he completed his exam, over 24 hours since his previous meal.

Kabbaj said that the only accommodations faculty members were willing to grant Ramadan observers was a 15-minute snack break during the exam.

“I thought if I ate a small snack then I might be more hungry during the exam,” said Kabbaj. “So it wasn’t really worth it.” 

Another Jewish student, Isabella Rastegar, said that she skipped lectures last year to observe Yom Kippur, but attended her Organic Chemistry lecture on the holiday this year.

“I went to lecture because I didn’t want to be behind,” said Rastegar. “I didn’t want to [go to the lecture], but I was already stressed as it was.”

Unlike Meron and Kabbaj, some religious students compromise their religious observance to improve their overall academic performance — and not just for exams. Dina Abdalla, an observant Muslim student who studies Cognitive Neuroscience, said she faces this dilemma when a prayer room is not accessible for her daily prayers.

“If I have something I need to get to super quick, and there isn’t a prayer room in that area, then I can’t really pray,” Abdalla said. “I’ll have to put off the prayer until later with another prayer.”

Abdalla, like Meron, voiced her frustration with exam scheduling during religious holidays. She fasted her freshman year when her General Chemistry exam coincided with Ramadan, and again during her sophomore year when her Biochemistry exam was scheduled during Ramadan. 

“It was okay in the end, but still difficult,” Abdalla said. “WashU hasn’t been very good about notifying professors that there’s a good majority of Muslims who are observing a month of fasting.”

Last year, Abdalla ended up taking her General Chemistry exam in the morning shortly after having her pre-sunrise breakfast. 

“At that point, I didn’t feel super fatigued,” said Abdalla. “But waking up early after having just gone to sleep a few hours prior is still difficult.”

Abdalla said that she wished the University was more active in making professors aware of religious observances. She also suggested that makeup exams be scheduled at suitable times for fasting students, specifically in the morning, soon after they have eaten their pre-sunrise meal.  

Yael Shaw, a fourth-year Jewish student and member of the Hillel Advisory Board, conveyed her appreciation for the University’s new policy, but expressed reservations about the three-week requirement.

“The [three-week] rule is kind of bulls—,” Shaw said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be home or if I’m going to be at WashU for the High Holidays at the beginning of the year. I don’t even necessarily know what the exact dates of the holidays are.” 

Shaw, who also serves as a teaching assistant for an Olin course, said that the three-week rule poses challenges not just for students, but for professors and teaching assistants too. 

“Let’s say you email [professors or TAs] in August that you’re going to be missing a date in early October,” Shaw said. “By October, the professor and TAs have forgotten that email ever happened.” 

Other students echoed Shaw’s frustration, feeling unsatisfied with solutions worked out with professors, even after properly notifying them. 

Aisha Adedayo, a junior majoring in Educational Studies, skipped a Macroeconomics exam that she would have had to take during Ramadan after discussing the policy with her professor. 

As a result, Adedayo only had two exams count towards her final grade, instead of three. Each of the two exams carried greater weight in determining her final grade, putting greater pressure on her to perform well on them. 

When Rastegar asked her Macroeconomics professor to reschedule an exam that would have taken place on the same day as a General Chemistry Lab exam, her professor refused.

“She was very, very adamant about not changing it,” said Rastegar. “She told me to talk to my other professor [about rescheduling my exam].”

According to Rastegar, her Macroeconomics exam was then switched without explanation to a Friday evening. This forced her to miss Shabbat, a Jewish holiday celebrated every Friday evening. 

“I didn’t [ask my Macroeconomics professor to change the date],” Rastegar said. “Her previous behavior indicated that she would not be at all lenient in changing the date.”

The Director of the Office for Spiritual, Religious, and Ethical Life, Reverend Callista Isabelle, said she believes that the policy will enable students to observe their religious holidays faithfully, without worry that their observance will impact their academic performance. 

Isabelle said that a central issue is the lack of awareness among the student body about the policy’s existence. She added that she and fellow faculty members are actively working to spread awareness among the student body about the policy’s potential benefits. 

Jennifer Heemstra, the Chair of the University’s Department of Chemistry, said that the large number of night exams that are taken makes scheduling them difficult.

“On almost any evening, there is an exam happening in some class,” said Heemstra. “Say we choose to move our exams — that would put our exam in conflict with another exam that many students in any given course also need to be taking.” 

Bill Siever, a teaching professor and Associate Chair of the University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, echoed Heemstra’s concern. 

“The sheer number of exams makes scheduling incredibly challenging,” Siever said. “And there’s a wide range of classes and expectations which makes it hard to have an overly specific policy that fits everything.”

Siever said that in his courses, he schedules easy-to-miss assignments for days he knows will have conflicts. 

“Most of those [assignments] are pretty low stakes,” said Siever, referencing several springtime religious conflicts. “So even if a student would have more than one problem, it doesn’t necessarily impact their final grade.”

University administrators voiced their desire to allow students to observe their religion without negatively impacting their academic performance.

“We know how important this is,” Heemstra said. “Spirituality and faith is something that’s very, very important personally to us, so we understand how critical it is for students to be able to celebrate religious holidays.”

Adedayo wishes that the University and professors would give students more agency in determining plans for academic conflicts. 

“We’re all very hardworking and goal-driven,” Adedayo said. “Just believe and trust students and give them the power to determine what their needs are. To sum it up, just have trust and empathy.”