Religious and Faith-based Accommodations

Queen’s Religious and Faith-based Accommodations

Supporting learners, staff, and faculty’s religious and faith-based observances in academic settings requires a principles-based approach to ensure inclusivity and respect.

Acknowledge and Respect Religious and Faith-based Observances

The foundation for a principles-based approach to supporting learners, staff, and faculty during religious and faith-based observances should be acknowledging and respecting religious and faith-based observances.

Following this there are many possible next steps:

Establish Clear Policies and Procedures

Develop policies and procedures that outline the process for requesting religious and faith-based accommodations. These policies should detail how requests are evaluated and implemented to ensure transparency and consistency. These policies should be clearly displayed in a central location for learners, staff, and faculty access (e.g. dedicated link on an OnQ page or on a program/department website).

Provide Reasonable and Comparable Alternatives

When scheduling conflicts arise with religious and faith-based observances, reasonable alternatives should be offered such as rescheduling exams, providing make-up assignments, or opportunities to opt-out of a scheduled meeting. These alternatives should be comparable in rigor and not disadvantage the learner, staff, or faculty.

Consult Multifaith Calendars for Planning

Before finalizing due dates, exams, events, meetings, or other academic activities that need to be scheduled, consult a multifaith calendar (e.g., the Multifaith Calendar created by the Queen’s University Human Rights Office) to avoid scheduling on religious and faith-based observance days. While multifaith calendars are likely not all encompassing and may contain errors, however they can be a good place to start. Becoming familiar with the various days of religious- and faith-based observance throughout the year and being open and flexible when scheduling is important.

Ensure Proactive Syllabus Design

Encourage students to review course syllabi for potential conflicts with religious and faith-based observances and to notify instructors well in advance. Faculty can facilitate this by including a statement in the syllabus. The syllabus should also contain information about Queen’s accommodation policies and the process for requesting scheduling accommodations.

Example: “Students who require accommodations due to religious and faith-based observances are encouraged to inform the instructor as early as possible, ideally within the first two weeks of class.”

Ensure Open Communication Channels

Invite learners, staff, and faculty at the beginning of the academic term or calendar year to share if they anticipate any religious or faith-based observance conflicts and help initiate open communication channels.

Example: “We recognize the importance of religious- and faith-based observances. If any of the dates for deadlines/activities in the course pose a conflict, I’m happy to discuss options with you.”

Educate and Train

Implement training (e.g. Queen’s Human Rights and Equity Office Trainings) to increase cultural competence regarding religious and faith-based diversity and respecting religious and faith-based observances. Education helps learners, staff, and faculty understand their responsibilities and the importance of accommodations to create inclusive environments.