As the FAS Aims to Enforce Course Attendance, Harvard Athletes Navigate Missing Class for Travel

Amid a push by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to increase class attendance by students, Harvard athletes already trying to balance their courses with travel for athletic competition may soon face greater difficulty in doing so.

In a February report, an FAS committee recommended instructors mandate class attendance, adding that professors are “under no obligation to provide make-up opportunities” for students who miss class for athletic events.

FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra endorsed the committee’s recommendations in a letter to its chairs.

The Harvard College student attendance policy currently states that athletes are not exempt from completing coursework when they participate in competition, but does not explicitly mention attendance requirements.

Even before the report, athletes have long dealt with individual professors’ rules in the absence of any official policy from Harvard about missing class for sports. Weekend athletic competitions often require travel on Thursdays and Fridays, which can result in conflicts with classes.

For volleyball player Zach T. Berty ’26, this means being more careful about excused absence days, which are often built into his courses’ syllabi.

“A person who doesn’t play sports, if they’re sick, they use it, and if someone does play sports, and they just use it for that,” Berty said. “You have to use it more wisely when you play a sport.”

In her time at Harvard, Mfoniso M. Andrew ’26 — a sprinter on the track team — said she has learned how to get her work done when she has meets, even if it means missing out on social events.

Andrew said she prioritizes notifying her professors ahead of time if she’ll miss class, often providing instructors with a “general landscape” of when she’ll be unable to attend her courses throughout the semester.

Andrew added that she schedules office hours with her professors ahead of time so she doesn’t fall behind in classes.

While some athletes on Harvard’s 42 teams travel more than others, all athletes have to anticipate how travel will affect their schedules — and how their professors will respond to absences.

In an October interview with The Crimson, Director of Athletics Erin McDermott said faculty who don’t allow students to miss class have every right to do so.

“There may be those that take a harder line, and that’s their prerogative,” McDermott said.

Harvard athletics spokesperson Imry Halevi wrote in a statement that Harvard holds the same requirements for its student athletes as it does for the rest of its student body.

“While athletics is a part of the education of student-athletes, it is complementary to the classroom experience. At times, the athletic schedule may put strain on student-athletes’ academic life, but the priority system at Harvard remains the same — academics always come first,” Halevi wrote.

Volleyball player Brian C. Thomas ’26 said missing class time for travel hasn’t been a problem for him. Most course assistants and professors, in his experience, have been flexible and allowed him to attend a different section after he or his coach emailed them.

While Thomas said most of the time athletes he knows don’t face much pushback, he added that some teammates have had to complete “additional assignments to get their participation grade” for missed sections.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association requires that all athletics departments have a Faculty Athletics Representative responsible for helping balance academic and athletic life and serve as a liaison between the faculty and the athletics department.

In the October interview, McDermott said if athletes receive pushback from faculty, Harvard’s FAR Michael D. Smith can provide support by speaking with athletes or their professors.

Athletes said their coaches can also play a role in optimizing travel schedules so they don’t miss class — making sure to schedule flights around student course schedules or school breaks.

Still, as athletes work to balance their schedules, something often has to give. Andrew said she’s learned to accept when she needs to take an extension on work because of a meet in order to be a good athlete and put her best work forward.

“Traveling is hard, but everything’s gonna get done,” Andrew said. “If it’s not, the next day you try again.”

—Staff writer Elyse C. Goncalves can be reached at elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @e1ysegoncalves.